• The 2008 Brew City Stomp Down step competition took place Saturday night at the Varsity Theatre
• Four fraternities and two sororities performed for more than 900 people
• Stepping is a form of dance in which team members use their entire bodies as instruments to produce complex rhythms and sounds
• Alpha Phi Alpha won the men's competition and Zeta Phi Beta took first place in the women's competition

Dancing, clapping, stomping and yelling shook the sold out Varsity Theatre Saturday night at the 2008 Brew City Stomp Down step competition. Four fraternities and two sororities performed in front of more than 900 people at the annual event.

Stepping is a form of dance in which team members use their entire bodies as instruments to produce complex rhythms and sounds through footsteps, spoken word and hand claps, said Dasmond McMillan, secretary of the Marquette chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. McMillan, a junior in the College of Communication, said stepping derives from African foot dances and has evolved using military drills and elements of gymnastics, tap dance and marching.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. from the University of Minnesota took first place in the men's competition and the Marquette chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. won the women's competition.

McMillan, also president of the Marquette chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, performed in the competition and his team took second place honors.

"Even though we won second place, we are proud to have put on a great show," McMillan said. "We practice hard and did the show for our fans and audience, and most importantly, ourselves."

McMillan said stepping is about tradition, hard work and brotherhood. He said his group began practicing about two hours per day last November in preparation for the competition.

Late Night Marquette and the NPHC, an organization of nine major historically black fraternities and sororities, sponsored the event.

Courtnee Jordan-Cox, vice president of the NPHC and a senior in the College of Communication, organized most of the event and began working on it last October.

She said she was pleased with the turnout and the event ran smoothly overall, despite a few technical difficulties. She said tickets were sold out since Monday, which was expected, because the event sells out almost every year.

A panel of nine judges, one from each NPHC organization, scored teams on a 100-point system, with different categories, Jordan-Cox said.

"I thought they were all very creative," said Toby Peters, associate vice president of the Office of Administration. Peters coordinates Late Night events and said he has seen several step competitions.

Peters said all the performances required much skill, and the teams did a good job using humor and engaging the audience. He said step competitions have created a strong tradition at Marquette.

The event's atmosphere included dancing in the audience during intermissions to music provided by DJ O of V100 jams. It was hosted by Marlin Hill, a comedian who has appeared on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and BET's Comicview and is a radio personality for Milwaukee's Jammin' 98.3.