Greeks start up practice for Greek Sing

On Tuesday night, fraternity members from Phi Kappa Theta and Delta Phi and sorority sisters… On Tuesday night, fraternity members from Phi Kappa Theta and Delta Phi and sorority sisters from Delta Phi Epsilon met at a fraternity house for dance practice.

After an hour of jumping, stepping and twirling, the group had gotten down about one minute of a 10-minute dance routine.

The 20 Pitt students have not embarked on a three-month-long practice regimen for fun. Instead, they will commit their dance routine to memory by March 30 to compete in Pitt’s annual Greek Sing performance and competition at the Fitzgerald Field House, where 11 teams of fraternities and sororities will bust their moves for charity.

“If you’re in Greek Life and you can dance, you’re in Greek Sing,” said Hannah Urick, Delta Phi Epsilon’s Greek Sing chair.

Last year, Pitt’s Greek Life completed its five-year goal to raise $500,000 for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The students’ new goal is to raise $300,000 in three years for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Urick said that all proceeds from the sale of Greek Sing tickets, which will most likely remain priced at $10 each, will go toward the charity.

To put on a show like Greek Sing — in which participants compete for titles like best costume, best set and first, second and third places overall — takes some coordination.

Each of the 11 sororities on campus is paired up with one or more fraternities, depending on the size of the fraternities.

The teams then have three months to create a 10-minute choreographed song and dance routine set to a theme, complete with vocal solos, sets and costumes.

Urick said that most fraternity and sorority teams practice two times a week in January, three times a week in February and four or five times a week after spring break.

Their hard work breeds fierce competition. Each team brainstorms a theme for its routine and keeps it a well-guarded secret for as long as possible.

In fact, Ian McGrath, Greek Week chair for Phi Kappa Theta, said that only 10 people in his fraternity even know what its theme is.

But Urick said that the ideas don’t stay secret forever. “We’ll know probably in March what other people are doing because people start blabbing,” Urick said.

When it comes to talent, every team decides differently how to select performers. Some host tryouts for dance positions, while others take anyone they can.

McGrath said that he promised his partners in Delta Phi Epsilon that he would get one brother, who happens to be a talented gymnast, to do a few flips on stage come showtime.

But contributing is about more than just athletic ability. “We have ‘Builder Joe,’ he’ll just build a bunch of stuff,” the sophomore said. “We have another kid who’s a studio artist, so he’ll paint too.”

For Rob Kiernan, a junior in the Delta Phi fraternity, Greek Sing is an opportunity for campus involvement.

“It’s just another way to get involved with campus in general. I mean, that’s a big reason to join a Greek organization, to get more involved on campus, and this is one of the biggest ‘Greek-only’ things that they do,” he said.