Crowd moves with the rhythms of step show

As sophomore Eric Saunders and his team went through their intricate routine, the crowd rose to its feet and cheered, excitedly anticipating the next maneuver.\nThe team screamed its chant "Moo Psi!" and the crowd went wild.\nAll who were in attendance at the first annual Non-greek Step Show on Thursday at the Willkie Auditorium were as loud, if not louder, than the crowd at an IU men's basketball game.\nSaunders' team, Moo Psi Moo, was a representation derived from the tradition of black greek organization's step and sing shows. The four Moo Psis dressed the part, wearing black and white, with black and white canes and cow-patterned rags.\nJunior Remus Woods was all-too excited to talk about how good the show was.\n"It was a good gathering for the community," he said. "We need to get together more often."\nThe over-capacity crowd loved the Moo Psis, which was only a demonstration team. The competition would begin later, with two teams vying for a free entry into the Little 500 Step Show Blast, where a $1,000 top prize awaits the winner.\nDoctoral student B. Afena Cobham said though she and others started planning and advertising two months before, she was surprised at the number of people who came.\n"The advertising was really good," she said. "We had to turn away some people."\nCobham said the show was an important tool to bring out the non-greek community, because often IU social life revolves solely around that community.\n"I wanted to give the students an opportunity to get out," she said. "This was an inexpensive way to get involved."\nStepping, in today's form, evolved from traditions in the black greek community from the days of the first black fraternities and incorporated elements of other parts of life. There are varying accounts of stepping's history, but the first black greek organization, Alpha Phi Alpha, founded in 1906, incorporated synchronized movements reminiscent of African dance. Later, as other black greek organizations were founded, black greeks took a page from white greek organizations, holding a "Sing" where members would sing traditional songs. After World War II, many soldiers came home with regimented styles of movements and these marches were combined with the African dancing and group singing traditions, forming what is seen from the black greek organizations today.\nFreshman Terrance Dennie was a member of one of the competing teams. His team was themed "Don't Sleep on the Class of '06." They were outfitted in blue pajamas and T-shirts.\n"We were going to do gangsters or African wear, but we're college students, and pajamas are cheap," Dennie said.\nDennie is an experienced step competitor, but the non-greek show took a lot of work in a short amount of time. \n"Usually in high school we had six months to practice," he said. "Here, we had three or four weeks." \nDaisy Rodriguez, a graduate assistant for the Commission on Multicultural Understanding, was one of the judges for the show. Though team "Charisma" won the show with their 30s gangster theme, Rodriguez was impressed with all the performers.\n"I thought they were extremely talented," she said. "I was impressed with the choreography and the transitions."\nOverall, the show was a success. Saunders said though Moo Psi Moo was not a real organization, he got several inquiries about joining the group.\nEven the IU Police Department security officers enjoyed the show.\n"Basketball and football are number one, but this is pretty cool," officer B.A. Teter said.