Hundreds of students, alumni, Greek-affiliated visitors and other homecoming attendees lined up outside Burr Gymnasium last Friday night waiting to enter the sold-out step show, the first in years that all Greek organizations of the Divine Nine (D9) took to the stage.
As the doors opened at 7 p.m., ticket collectors let in the crowd that soon packed the gym’s bleachers and rows of chairs on the floor in front of the stage.
Tyla’ Woods, a junior marketing major, served as co-coordinator for the step show this year. She hopes people took away a sense of unity from the show given the presence of all nine organizations.
“We have a full yard this year, so that’s really exciting, especially for the 100th, so I just hope that people just get a sense of family when they leave here, and connection, because I feel like Howard needs it,” Woods said.
Five of the D9 organizations — Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. — are Alpha chapters, the founding chapters, and were founded on Howard’s campus. The step show is an annual competition among the organization’s teams that began in 1976.
As they prepared to take the stage, members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. held a private pre-show prayer. Members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Alpha Phi chapter, danced in their nun costumes, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. posed for pictures.
Musical artist BenDaDonnn hosted the show, and the Alpha Tau Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. kicked off the performances. Each organization’s team selected classic films from the Black community. The Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s “Beta Boys” referenced the movie series “Bad Boys” and the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. members based their step performance on “Sister Act.”
The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. theme was based on the movie “Us,” where half the steppers were “real Zetas” and the other half were “tethered Zetas.” Kennedi White, a senior physics and English major and a spring 2023 initiate of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., stepped in the show as a “real Zeta.”
“This was a difficult theme, so trying to get a way to get the audience to translate what our step mistresses, Morgan Durham and Destiny Pridgen, were envisioning to just have us looking good, stepping hard, being loud,” White said.
Each team paid homage to other D9 organizations by highlighting their signature moves. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., members shimmied like the members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. got in cheerleading pyramids while they referenced the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
The members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., also brought out the university’s Showtime marching band to fit in with their “Drumline” theme. The crowd got on their feet when the band marched out and sang along to their rendition of “Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck.”
Freshman Ty’Onna Smith, a clinical laboratories science major from Dayton, Ohio was impressed by the band and the rest of the performances.
“I don’t feel like there was one bad performance, but of course everybody can’t win,” Smith said. “The band, that was tea, and especially all the tributes to all the sororities and fraternities from both sides.”
The crowd also cheered when the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.’s performance featured a video from actor, comedian and alumnus Anthony Anderson. In the video, Anderson, an honorary member of the organization, voiced his support for them in the competition and wished everyone a happy 100th homecoming.
A panel of judges selected the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Chapter and the Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as this year’s winners. Both first-place teams won a cash prize of $3,000 from the show’s sponsor Morgan Stanley, an investment banking company.
Throughout the show, many in the audience leaned forward in their seats and stood up to cheer, impressed by the steppers’ athleticism when they did flips and the splits. The crowd drew Greek alumni, connecting current and past students.
“So for a lot of us and a lot of our alumni, the centennial is truly coming home,” White said. “And then for the step show, I like to say it’s a pivotal part of that homecoming.”
Although Patrick Kelly is not an alum, he is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.. He came to the show with his daughter, Saji, who is a freshman. He saw the performances bring the crowd together, and spoke to the significance of the D9 at Howard.
“I think it’s imperative, I think there’s a lot of high-value membership in all the organizations. I think it’s an excellent way to network and connect,” Kelly said. “The brotherhood, the sisterhood that you get from it is outstanding, I can’t speak enough words for it.”
Preparation for the show started months before the show. Woods, co-coordinator of the show, said the process was exciting but stressful.
“Today going through it, it was a lot, but looking at what it is right now it’s really beautiful,” Woods said.
Copy edited by Anijah Franklin
