Four Eastern dance groups will compete to take the top spot in Eastern’s Best Dance Crew Wednesday.

The second University Board Eastern’s Best Dance Crew will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Karla Centeno, the cultural arts coordinator for the University Board, said the groups will be competing for trophies and monetary prizes.

Centeno said the groups who will be competing are former winners Rhythm & X-tacy, Boyz of Poison, Jolie Dance Team and Pure Intensity.

Each team can have between three to 15 participants.

Centeno said the groups also benefit from the competition.

“The dancers get to express their dance styles and make a name for themselves on Eastern’s campus,” Centeno said.

Centeno said she has seen the practices of the groups and is excited to see the final product.

“I’m looking forward to watching the performances to see their hard work,” she said.

Centeno said the groups will have up to 8 minutes to impress the judges with their dancing skills.

Centeno said the groups’ score will partially be based on technique, which includes execution, level of difficulty and complexity.

Another area is performance, which includes attitude and audience appeal.

The uniqueness of their routine will also be a part of the score.

The wardrobe of the group, its appropriateness and theme will also be judged.

The score may also be reduced if the music a group picks is uncensored, if they go over 8 minutes or have an excessive number of people.

Centeno said she thinks the teams are excited to perform.

“They are really enthusiastic,” Centeno said. “I know I saw some talking about their friendly rivalry, so I’m excited to see what they will bring to the show.”

Design Dance Group from Chicago will also be performing.

The group will be opening and closing the show with performers.

One of the performers of Design Dance Group will also be judging the competing dance groups.

Centeno said the first-place winners will receive $300, second place will receive $200, third place will receive $100 and fourth place will win $50.

Centeno said the audience can look forward to seeing some good work from the groups.

“I feel like the competition amongst the crews will entertain the audience,” Centeno said. “The friendly competition vibe amongst the groups will make for a good show.”

Centeno said the audience can really show their support for a group during the show.

“It’s going to be very active because audience members can get glow sticks of a color that represents the team they are supporting,” Centeno said.

Centeno said she is looking forward to seeing what each group brings to the stage.

“It’ll be fun to watch them give their best and fight for the title,” Centeno said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.