Ballads of love, freedom and heartbreak took center stage at the Alumni Memorial Building this past Thursday, Feb. 7 and Friday, Feb. 8 to compete in the 81st annual “All-Sing” competition.
“All-Sing” is a UT tradition for student organizations on campus, where each group must compete in a contest to earn the All Campus Events’ ACE Cup. The 10 groups are allowed to choose different themes or musicals to reenact through singing and dancing.
The groups are judged on clarity, vocals and overall performance.
Erin Dyer and Lanier Loftin, who serve as the “All-Sing” chair and director’s chair for ACE, opened and hosted the show. Dyer said she chose the theme, “Let’s Face the Music,” because she wanted to connect the origin of “All-Sing” with the original song — both created in the 1930s.
“It’s also a generic theme about music, so it gives the groups participating the chance to pick any type of theme they want,” Dyer said. “That’s why you get everything from Classic musicals like ‘Les Mis’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ to more modern things like the group doing a TV medley and a 90s theme.”
The first organizations to take the stage were the sororities Chi Omega and Delta Delta Delta, who sang songs from Cole Porter’s Tony-winning musical, “Anything Goes.” The girls showed off their enthusiastic personalities through the humorous lyrics. Each performer wore sailor-inspired outfits, as the original musical is set on a ship.
Individually, the Baptist Collegiate Ministry entered the stage to sing songs about freedom for God and country. This organization wore World War II dresses, suits and solider uniforms to sing U.S. national songs and show pride for America.
Zeta Tau Alpha and Kappa Sigma performed the musical, “Bye Bye Birdie.” The girls wore poodle skirts and pretty pastels, while the boys wore leather jackets and jeans. Overall, the performance showed the sweet side to this 50s-inspired Broadway musical.
Kappa Delta and Delta Tau Delta changed the atmosphere of the show by throwing the audience back to the 90s. Popular songs were played in this throwback such as “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child, “Fire” by the Backstreet Boys and “All Star” by Smash Mouth. The group wore fanny packs, scrunchies and flannel as they relived their childhood years.
“We didn’t want to take anything too serious,” said Tyler Brewer, Delta Tau Delta’s director of “All-Sing” and senior in marketing. “We just wanted to have a good time.”
Beta Theta Pi and Gamma Sigma Sigma sang out their hearts in, “Seasons of Love.” The group wore red dresses and black and white suits to express their love for each other in this romantic performance, where the audience was at the edge of their seats waiting for a final kiss.
Delta Gamma and Beta Upsilon Pi performed a medley of well-known songs from television. The groups sang theme songs from the popular shows “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “That 70s Show” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
Phi Mu Alpha and Alpha Omicron Pi moved the audience to truly believe in “The Prince of Egypt.” The ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi wore white dresses and headbands, while the men of Phi Mu Alpha wore ripped shirts and khaki pants.
Alpha Delta Pi entered the stage individually in their rendition of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The girls sang of women’s empowerment by saying “to forget the boy.” The girls wore 20s inspired dresses and bobbed their hair to show the changing fashion during the time.
Sigma Kappa and Delta Zeta brought back a classic with “Annie.” The girls sang about the misfortunes of being an orphan while a look-alike “Daddy” Oliver Warbucks directed the show.
Phi Mu and Alpha Chi Omega presented the last performance of the night, a performance from “Les Miserables.” The girls showed an enormous amount of emotion and despair as they dreamed of better times.
The show concluded with the winners being announced. Delta Gamma and Beta Upsilon Pi won the mixed division, and Sigma Kappa and Delta Zeta swept the performance with a win in the single division and overall.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Kelsey Darnall, sophomore in food science and technology and the director for Sigma Kappa sorority. “We worked so hard. Every girl deserved it and we put our hearts and souls into this.”
“All-Sing” is an open event and welcomes any student organization to participate. The 2013 All-Sing performance revealed the hard work and sweat each organization puts into continuing the show as a successful tradition on campus.
