The Homecoming Lip Sync and Dance competition was once again the highlight of this year's Spirit Week. The teams at the annual event put a twist on classic movie favorites, including "Star Wars," "Goldfinger" and "Animal House."
Ten teams made up of Greek and student organizations competed, filling the night with comedic one-liners, choreographed action sequences and a variety of dance moves.
Actors mouthed their lines to pre-recorded sound clips. In addition to the actors, each skit required the work of a director and writers.
The skits were aimed toward promoting College spirit, with the heroes of each movie being portrayed as College students, while the villains as someone from Homecoming opponent William Paterson University.
A skit by Alpha Psi Chi and Sigma Sigma Sigma featured students playing "Animal House" characters Otter and Bluto. In the skit, the burden of winning the Homecoming football game for the Lions rests on these two crazy characters. Of course, the two triumph in the end, with the audience chanting, "Toga! Toga! Toga!"
Four teams were disqualified during the competition due to infractions of the event's strict rules.
"There are some rules," Justin Schiavone, junior psychology major and Alpha Chi Rho member, said. "Props have to be carried in by one person or else they're considered too big. And the skits have to be family-appropriate, so no cursing."
Schiavone's fraternity collaborated with Theta Phi Alpha, Lambda Sigma Upsilon and Uníon Latina for all of the Spirit Week events. The team modeled its dance after "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," featuring costumes and an impressive display of dancing and back handsprings. The dance even featured a mock sword fight accompanied fittingly by "Pirates of the Caribbean" music.
"So much time and energy is put into the skits," Schiavone said.
Most teams had practices over fall break and clocked in even more hours in the days leading up to the event.
"I actually had to skip some other (Homecoming) events to practice for the Lip Sync," Schiavone said.
This year, the event was moved to the Student Recreation Center as opposed to Packer Hall, where it had been held in previous years.
"I think the rec center worked out really well," Dominique Sauro, junior chemistry major and Theta Phi Alpha member said, "There was more seating and you could see the stage better."
"And it was a lot cooler," added Carlie Voros, junior art education major and Sigma Sigma Sigma member, referring to past events where the large audience caused temperatures to rise.
Overall, the event did not fail to meet its high expectations. Fits of laughter from the audience were common throughout the night.
In the end, two winners emerged. The team consisting of Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Kappa Tau, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi took first place in the Lip Sync competition with their movie theme of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
Kappa Delta, Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Beta Sigma were awarded first place for their dancing skills accompanying their theme of "Guys and Dolls."
"It's fun watching all of the skits," Sauro said. "I think it's something that brings everyone together."
