Dance contest promotes Greek unity, closes Greek Week

By: Ayse Altunisik – Staff Writer

Now that Greek Week 2014 is in full swing many students are looking forward to the annual Puttin’ On the Hits dance competition, more commonly known as POTH, which concludes Greek Week.

Every year, sororities and fraternities compete in the dance competition, and the winning sorority and fraternity each receives a trophy and check to the charity of its choice. Last year, Pi Beta Phi sorority and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity claimed the titles of POTH winners.

Pi Beta Phi president Kaitlyn Tunney, a senior leadership and marketing major, is excited for the competition this year.

“I’m most looking forward to Greek unity. I know that it’s a competition and a lot of people think it tears us apart but really it unites us because we have a common goal. POTH allows us to spend time together outside of chapter.”

Ryan Brown, president of Pi Kappa Phi, is looking forward to POTH as well.

“It’s a really fun atmosphere,” Brown, a senior operations and supply management major said. “You don’t really have the opportunity to see all of Greek Life in one setting, so that’s kind of cool. We’ve won for two years now, and we’re hoping to win again this year.”

“My favorite part of POTH, other than performing, would be seeing the other fraternities and sororities dance. It’s fun to see what everyone else comes up with,” Jordan Blosser, a junior early childhood education major in Zeta Tau Alpha said. This is Blosser’s second year participating in POTH, and, this year, she is choreographing for Zeta Tau Alpha along with Kelsey Maag.

This year, POTH will be performed at ArtStreet amphitheater, which is a change from last year when it was held in the RecPlex.

“I loved POTH last year,” said Blosser. “I am excited to see what it will be like at ArtStreet. It will be nice to have it outside.”

Practicing can be very time consuming for fraternities and sororities competing in POTH.

“We practice up to five hours a week,” Tunney said. This year, her sorority Pi Beta Phi has about 90 girls participating in POTH. “There’s a lot of hype this year because we did win last year, and we’re very excited,” Tunney said.

On the fraternity side, there is just as much preparation, if not more.

“Right now we have about 16 guys dancing, and practicing four to five hours a week in the early morning,” Brown said.

Winning POTH isn’t just important to members of Greek Life for the bragging rights: a check also goes out to the charity of the winning sorority and fraternity’s choice.

Pi Beta Phi’s organization of choice is Read Lead Achieve, a charity that focuses on literacy efforts in Dayton and around the country. Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropy is the Ability Experience, formerly known as Push America, a nonprofit that serves people with disabilities.

Puttin’ on the Hits dance competition will take place at the ArtStreet Amphitheater Friday, Oct. 3 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. It costs $1 and the money raised will be divided between the winning fraternity and sorority’s philanthropy of choice.