The UAC Step Tease brings together all students, including some new faces each year, for a night of exhibition.
Troy University has several National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations that take part in the step tease every year, with the recent addition of the Troy Dance Theatre Ensemble.
The step tease showcases the talents of NPHC organizations through an activity called “stepping,” which is a form of rhythmic dance.
This year’s step tease was Thursday, Aug. 13, and it was hosted by the University Activities Council and comedian Jermaine “FUNNYMAINE” Johnson.
But what keeps some of these organizations returning to the event?
“Sigma Gamma Rho returns to the step tease each year for numerous reasons,” said Knyra Ratliff, a senior business administration major from Birmingham, who is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho. “One is to expose our organization to the student body, specifically those who are unfamiliar with the National Pan-Hellenic Council.”
And for Sigma Gamma Rho, participation has become a tradition, Ratliff said.
“We love to perform and display our passion for our organization on stage through our energy,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff also said she noticed a change in the audience.
“The audience has become larger and more diverse,” Ratliff said. “This event has gone from a more prominent African-American event to having more international and Caucasian audiences participate.
“It’s an improvement every year.”
Among the improvements and expansion, new members of NPHC organizations and new organizations participated this year.
One of the new participants is Matthew Pouncey, a senior interpreter training major from Troy, who is in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
“I was really nervous; I was shaking and everything,” Pouncey said. “Once I got started, it’s kind of happening now — you’ve got to finish it.”
TDT Ensemble was invited to participate this year, and this is the first time it accepted.
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