Students from Boone and University High Schools, Lakeview Middle School and Plantation High School came together in the Venue on Saturday to step dance their way to success.
The competition was put on by UCF's Men- of -Integrity and for its members as a way to provide children an opportunity to display their talents.
The event started at 4:30 p.m. and for a few hours each team braced the stage, simultaneously stomping and clapping to their rhythms.
"You can tell these kids put their hearts and souls into this competition," said Luigi Andou, one of the judges of Saturday's event. "Stepping is a hard form of dancing that takes creativity, muscle memory, timing, dedication and patience. Some of these teams were performing dance moves that some college step teams would have difficulty doing and would give some of the fraternities a run for their money."
One of these teams was the Plantation High School boys step team.
The defending champions were on a mission as they took the stage in their old men's uniforms. Their civil rights theme astounded the crowd as they took command of the stage.
In turn, the crowd showed their appreciation with thunderous applause and cheering and the team took first place in the competition. Although the Plantation students won, Frank Pinkney, the team "Step Master" wasn't satisfied.
"Overall, I was a bit disappointed, "said Pinkney. " We weren't as sharp as previous years but it's still early in the year and this was the first competition of the year. I'm hard to please and the team knows they could have performed better."
The team took home the cash prize, which Pinkney says will go toward future bus trips and scholarships for the children.
Jerry Johnson, MOI's student advisor thought the event was a success.
"I thought that the event was a great success. Both the teams and parents seemed to really enjoy the whole competition. Furthermore, we received a lot of positive feedback from the outside community as well as the UCF community in attendance," Johnson said.
Johnson also said the importance of a step show competition for the children goes beyond dancing. He acknowledged while dancing and having a great time is the main prerogative, he has a great sense of gratitude just knowing that he is helping shape young people's lives.
"The purpose of hosting the step show on a university campus is so they can start building connections with members within our organization and even the university. Also this event gives the youth of Orlando something to look forward to performing at, not only does this event benefit the organization, 'MOI,' but also the University of Central Florida," said Johnson.
For $15, parents and friends were also entertained with music provided by DJ Blaze, t-shirt giveaways and a performance by local up-and-coming rapper Young Ratchet.
Some members of the audience also seized their opportunity to dance in a "dougy" dance off, a dance made popular by American hip-hop group Cali Swag District.
The Plantation High School girls' team also took first place in their division. The University High School girls came in second place and the Boone High School girls came in third place.
Lakeview Middle School won their division.
For those teams who didn't place where they wanted to, Johnson says the children's drive to get better will be a key factor to a successful competition next year.
"Something that we notice was a high degree of sportsmanship and an eagerness to do better for next year's show," Johnson said.
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