The dancer's body becomes the drum, the feet stomp and the hands clap to produce the intricate, rhythmic experience of a step show competition.
ASU will host the third annual "Krimson and Kreme Klassic" Saturday at Gammage Auditorium and will welcome fraternities and sororities from around the country.
ASU sorority Sigma Gamma Rho will compete in the event that consists of black fraternities and sororities and is hosted by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
A total of seven fraternities and sororities will be competing for cash prizes totaling $7,000.
Sigma Gamma Rho's financial secretary and community service chair, Erika Thrower, will be one of four girls competing in the show.
"Our chapter from California couldn't make it, so we decided that our sorority needed to be represented," Thrower said.
Sigma Gamma Rho already was preparing for a show in November, so time really was not an issue, Thrower said.
"We are really prepared considering how much time we were permitted."
Stepping, which combines elements of military drills with contemporary jazz and hip-hop moves, is a longtime tradition derived from African tribes, according to Kappa Alpha Psi vice president Darian Hall.
"The basic principles to stepping are hand claps and coordination with your feet," Hall said.
He added that each sorority and fraternity competing has developed its own variation over time.
Thrower said she had trouble describing what stepping actually is because it really has no specific definition.
"Whenever people ask what stepping is, I always ask 'Have you ever seen 'Stomp'?'" Thrower said.
"Stomp" is a show involving a unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy. Its performers use motions and music to entertain audiences.
She added that usually people respond with "yes," and she explained that stepping is "kind of like that."
This Saturday's competition will showcase the best step teams on the West Coast.
"All of the teams competing have won shows before," Hall said. "Now we will have the best compete against the best."
Although Hall's fraternity will not be competing in this year's show, it has competed in many others.
"We won second place in a Tucson show last year," he said.
Hall added that Kappa Alpha Psi would not be a part of the show because "it is too much to host the show and compete in it at the same time."
A panel of judges will decide who should win the cash prizes.
"If we win, we will use the money toward nonprofit organizations," Thrower said.
Hall said more than 2,000 people attended last year's show and said he expects even more this year. He added that the excitement has a lot to do with the attendance.
"When a team first gets on stage, the music plays and draws the audience in," he said.
Hall added that captivating dance moves, moves that would attract any audience, follow the hypnotic music.
"This is a friendly and fun competition, and we are going to give a good show," Thrower said.
Reach the reporter at pamela.j.coffman@asu.edu.
