Eastern’s first Best Dance Crew competition was won by “Rhythm and X-Tacy,” one of three teams that competed Monday night along with featured professional dance crew, “Stick and Move.”

The winning dance crew’s five-minute show featured seven women and one man dancing in a classroom-designed set and was titled “Dance 101.”

Tiara Pillow, a sophomore special education major and member of “Rhythm and X-Tacy,” said she was very proud of the work that her team had done to get here, and the work that they did onstage.

“(Our team) did wonderful, and I think that everyone did good tonight,” said Pillow.

“Jolie Dance Troupe” won second place with its show about love. The team consists of eight women on stage dancing and featured one man acting in scene to set up the theme of the dance.

“I thought it was fantastic,” said Alicia Cook, a junior economics major and a member of the “Jolie Dance Troupe.” “I was amazed by the performance of the other group, and we’re all just here to have fun.”

The last dance crew, “Boyz of Poison”, won third place in the competition. This was the debut performance of “Boyz of Poison” and the team consisted of four male members.

Jonathon Kinkle of “Boyz of Poison,” a freshman communication major, said that the team had been practicing since winter break, and Boyz of Poison had also been showcasing its routine at local parties to raise awareness and hype for the event.

Also at the event was “Stick and Move,” a professional dance crew from Chicago that came down to Eastern to judge the event. “Stick and Move” performed for about 30 minutes after the competition, showcasing the team’s dance move on stage, involving much of the audience.

Darius White, a senior family and consumer sciences major and Cultural Arts Coordinator for the University Board, said that having “Stick and Move” at Eastern was beneficial for the event.

“Having ‘Stick and Move’ judge tonight was a great way to judge the event and keep it unbiased,” White said.

Extra chairs were needed to the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Ballroom to help seat the audience. White said that he was very pleased with the turn out and the number of people that came.

“It’s great to see students getting involved, and I hope that we can make this an annual UB event,” White said. “Next time I’d like for it to be at a bigger venue and for there to be more diverse dance crews.”

Senior history major, Lace Walton, was also very happy with the turn out and the dancing.

“I was really happy to see a lot of people come out. This should really happen again because it brings a diverse group of people together on campus,” said Walton.

Geoffery Zuhone can be reached at 581-2812 or gwzuhone@eiu.edu

Members of the dance group Rhythm and Xtacy perform Monday during the EIU Best Dance Crew Competition in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.(Seth Schroeder

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