Greek Week 2012 is coming to a close, and it has all led up to the most anticipated event of the week, the Puttin’ on the Hits dance competition.
This event will take place today at 4:15 p.m. It will be held at the ArtStreet Ampitheatre. Seven fraternities and six sororities will participate in the event, which requires each organization to perform a dance routine with a specific theme. One fraternity and one sorority are each crowned winners.
Megan Eckerle, a junior communication major, is looking forward to participating in POTH for a second time. Her sorority Alpha Phi won last year’s competition, and she is hoping to have a similar experience this year.
“It was so much fun,” Eckerle said of her experience last year. “I experienced a lot of nerves at first, but the feeling of winning was so incredible.”
“It’s definitely our goal to keep the title,” Eckerle said, although she added that it’s really all about having fun and friendly competition.
Last year’s runners-up from Pi Beta Phi are also looking forward to this year’s competition, according to Alexa Barbati, a senior early childhood education major and Pi Phi choreographer. She will participate in POTH for a third and final time this year.
This is also Barbati’s third year choreographing Pi Phi’s POTH routine, and she helped them come in second place last year by just a tenth of a point.
“We would love to win, but it is fun in general,” Barbati said. “It’s a really unique experience and you get to know people on a different level through practicing so often with them.”
“This is the most competitive event of Greek Week because it takes the most commitment,” Barbati said, who has been working on the routine with help from Mandy Ogulnick since the end of August.
Sigma Phi Epsilon was the winning fraternity last year, and they have also been working hard to prepare for POTH according to Mark Cracchiolo, a junior marketing major and Sig Ep POTH committee member.
This will be Cracchiolo’s third time participating in POTH.
“It was amazing,” he said of winning last year’s competition. “We worked really hard last year.”
Cracchiolo said that they warn brothers beforehand what a time commitment it is, and he said that they practice quite a bit to prepare.
It is this amount of dedication and hard work required that makes POTH “the biggest event of Greek Week,” according to Cracchiolo.
Eckerle also said that POTH is her favorite event of Greek Week because it is the one they prepare for the most. She said that they put a lot of time and dedication into their routine and it all pays off in the end.
“We really appreciate support since so much time and effort goes into planning,” Eckerle said. She encourages students to come watch POTH, and said it is a lot of fun to watch friends perform.
Barbati also encourages students to come support POTH. She said it’s really entertaining to see the different themes and how many people are so committed.
“It shows how unified the Greek organizations are,” she said.
Cracchiolo said that it’s a great time and it’s really funny to see your classmates dancing up on stage.
POTH will charge $1 for admission and proceeds will go to the Distance 4 Dreams charity.
