By Josh Gill
Reporter
There’s rhythm on the Burning Sands, with stomping feet and clapping hands.
So if that sounds fun, you should know of Alpha Phi Alpha’s step show.
Alpha Phi Alpha is presenting the step show, Battle on the Burning Sands this Saturday in Waco Hall to support its mission of service and scholarships. The event will be hosted by social media celebrity King Keraun.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. in Waco Hall, and the show will begin at 7:06 p.m. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Bill Daniel Student Center Ticket Office for $10 or purchased on Saturday for $20 at Waco Hall. The event is open to the public. Proceeds from the event will go toward the renovation and resupply of the local Boys and Girls Club as well as toward Alpha Phi Alpha’s Tribute Scholarship.
Ft. Worth senior Donte Williams, president of the Tau Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at Baylor, said the step show is a series of short dance performances where the rhythm is generated by a choreography of stomps and claps put on by various teams who compete against one another in the categories of Fan Favorite and Best Performance.
“Each performance is anywhere between five and 10 minutes,” Williams said. “We’re actually introducing a new section this year called Fan Favorite. All of those in attendance will determine the winner. Judges will determine the grand prize winner.”
Killeen senior Alfred Rucker, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha who helped organize Battle on the Burning Sands, said step show teams will be coming to perform from several states.
“We have different teams come down,” Rucker said. “This year we have UTA Sigmas, University of Houston Alphas and Deltas, and University of Oklahoma AKAs.”
While most of the teams performing will be from National Pan-Hellenic Greek organizations, Rucker said this is not the case for all teams.
“We have this team called Elite Step Team and they’re non-Greek,” Rucker said. “They’re a step team out of Dallas.”
Williams said the event is geared toward all people of all ages.
“People think that because we’re a predominantly African American organization that this is only for black people, but that’s not true. I want everybody to come out to this.”
Williams said any Greek organization that would like to attend as a group should let Alpha Phi Alpha know in advance and a section will be reserved for them.
Garry Williams, Donte Williams’ brother and an alumnus of Baylor, said Battle on the Burning Sands is meant to support Alpha Phi Alpha’s mission to promote service and academics.
“We’re kind of based on service and academics,” Garry said. “First of all. Servants of all. We shall transcend all.”
The majority of the proceeds from this event will go to the Weldon Youngblood Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs.
“We just want to restore it,” Williams said. “We want to replace as much of their supplies as we can and we’d like to renovate the building. That’s where most of the money is going.”
The rest of the proceeds will be allotted toward the academic part of Alpha Phi Alpha’s mission.
“Our main scholarship is the Tribute Scholarship,” Garry said. “Historically it’s called Tribute to a Black Woman, but it’s a tribute to all women. It is for any young woman who wants to apply and will be decided this Saturday based on GPA and the essay they submit.”
