Students sing, dance in Greek Sing for charity

Two Pitt Greek organizations were cursed by a mummy Friday night. Four were hypnotized by a voodoo queen and another four were imprisoned for third-degree murder.

These events all transpired onstage during the annual Greek Sing competition, where 10 teams of fraternities and sororities took turns performing 11-minute themed dance acts at the Fitzgerald Field House. Cheering spectators filled nearly every one of the 2,700 seats available in the audience.

The competition brought an end to Greek Week, a week of academic challenges, blood drives and other events meant to encourage bonding between different Greek organizations at Pitt and raise money for charity. Pitt students got in for free, but anyone else paid $20.

The Children’s Miracle Network program of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation will  receive the earnings from this event as part of the $500,000 pledge the Interfraternity Council and the National Panhellenic Conference made to the organization earlier this year. According to Chris Fagan, 2017 Greek Week Chair, the Interfraternity Council and the National Panhellenic Conference will count the money raised so far after the Pitt Dance Marathon April 8.

Members of Chi Omega, Beta Theta Pi and Kappa Alpha Psi took first place in the event for their performance, “The Making of Greek Sing,” high kicking, somersaulting and shimmying their shoulders to songs such as “Fresh Eyes” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

The competition’s five judges, three of whom took part in Greek life in college, represented various organizations around Pittsburgh including City Council, the Pittsburgh Foundation and Pitt Athletics.

Tom Baker, a judge, member of Pittsburgh City Council and brother of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, said the winning team had to show enthusiasm, creativity and organization.

“I was overwhelmed when I watched this as a spectator a couple years back,” Baker remarked prior to the show. “So I’m expecting to see a lot of that tonight.”

The sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon and brothers of Sigma Chi kicked off the event with their performance “Leaving Earth,” in which they backflipped and twirled their way through songs such as “Drops of Jupiter” and “Heroes (We Could Be),” dodging asteroids and solar flares.

Junior Claire Le Gall, a psychology major and member of Delta Phi Epsilon, jumped off the stage at the end of the performance, sweaty and smiling, and said she was happy with how the performance went.

“It felt good to finally perform what we’ve been working on for so long,” she said.

Fagan said Greek Sing Overalls, the coalition of fraternity brothers and sorority sisters who oversee Greek Sing, began preparing for the event in October. Each Greek organization was assigned its partner based on a random lottery system at that time. Fraternities and sororities held auditions among their respective chapters for dancers in November. Teams began practicing once the spring semester rolled around and they selected singers from their group a couple weeks before the competition.

“They’re college kids who’ve got a lot on their plate, so it’s awesome that they take the time out to do this,” Fagan said.

According to Leigh Anne Tarabocchia, a senior exercise science major and member of Tri Delta, her group increased their practice time from two to four times a week to five or six after spring break. They had to work hard to master the choreography, as a majority of the members had never danced before.

“A lot of people on the team, mostly guys, had absolutely no dance experience when we started,” she said. “But in the span of two months, we’ve seen our hard work pay off. We’ve got a great routine now, and we’ve got a fantastic team bond.”

The night of the show, clad in street wear and police uniforms, the members of Tarabocchia’s team shimmied their shoulders and slid into splits through hits like “Bang Bang (Baby Shot Me Down)” and “Smooth Criminal,” the fraternity brothers leaping gracefully through the air and effortlessly lifting and swinging their dance partners around. Their performance, “Locked Away,” ended up winning third place.

Many of the spectators of the night were the brothers and sisters of the Greek chapters performing. They arrived bearing signs and T-shirts with their respective fraternity or sorority’s name or theme, eagerly chanting their chapter’s name when it came time for them to appear onstage. One, junior chemistry major Brett Ondich, arrived to his first Greek Sing with one purpose in mind.

“I’m mostly here to see Brennan Kolar singing like an angel,” declared Ondich, eager to see his Alpha Tau Omega brother perform onstage.

Nathan Hyre, a sophomore rehab science major and member of Beta Theta Pi, was breathless with excitement after a tense ten-minute wait to hear the winners.

“It’s — It’s, I can’t even describe it,” he said, as his teammates cheered and hugged each other behind him. “All that hard work. It paid off.”

And what did he want to do next, now that his team had achieved victory?

“Take a nap,” he said.

First place: Chi Omega, Beta Theta Pi and Kappa Alpha Psi — The Making of Greek Sing

Second place: Sigma Sigma Sigma & Delta Chi — College

Third place: Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Tau Omega, and Pi Lambda Phi — Locked Away

Best choreography: Chi Omega & Beta Theta Pi — The Making of Greek Sing

Best costumes: Delta Phi Epsilon & Sigma Chi — Leaving Earth

Fan Favorite: Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Tau Omega, and Pi Lambda Phi — Locked Away