Homecoming, while a celebration of UA tradition and history, is also, for many organizations an opportunity for community and competition. Tonight in Coleman Coliseum, close to 20 organizations will present dances at the choreography competition.

Each year, organizations participate in events throughout the week with the goal of winning homecoming. At the end of the week, points are tallied and the winning group is announced at halftime on Saturday.

Along with other events such as the basketball tournament, dodge ball competition and the lawn decoration and parade, the choreography contest is one of the most competitive events of homecoming week. 

“Having the opportunity to dance in the homecoming competition is super fun because it gives me a chance to come out of dancer retirement,” said Abigail Oswald, a sophomore majoring in computer science and math.

Not all the participating students are dancers, however, as some have previous experience and some have had none at all. 

“Delta Gamma takes our dances seriously and I love that because I was a serious dancer my whole life,” said Oswald.

Oswald is one of the dancers on the Delta Gamma dance team. Many sororities on campus spend hours choreographing and perfecting their entry. Some sororities even host auditions to ensure their routine has the most focused and dedicated dancers in their organization.  

Each act compiles a collection of songs that a choreographer organizes and creates a choreographed dance to be performed.

“A lot of hard work goes into the final product that you see on stage Thursday night,” said Lilly Alldredge, a sophomore majoring in management information sciences and the choreographer for Kappa Delta. “We’ve been practicing, picking out costumes, editing the music, and choreographing all week.”

With the goal of winning the most homecoming events, each organization strives to put their best foot forward during the competition. 

“It’s great when everyone cares about it just as much as you do,” Oswald said. “Of course it’s fun when all the hard work pays off and you win too.”

Chi Omega took first place in the competition last year with Phi Mu taking second and Alpha Omicron Pi in third.  

“Our team has had a lot of fun with the theme for the dance this year,” said Alana Doyle, a junior majoring in public relations and the choreographer for Delta Gamma. “We are so excited to see what other groups come up with.”     

The theme for this year’s choreography competition is “artists” which entails that each performance must consist of songs by the same artist.  

Each organization can choose their own costumes, music and choreography, however each must be approved. Along with the sororities, other outside organizations will be participating in the show as well.

There will be five judges critiquing the competition.

The choreography contest will take place at Coleman Coliseum tonight at 6 p.m. Tickets can be ordered on the homecoming website for $10.