Pi Beta Phi sorority hosts Lip Sync fundraiser

Britney and Beyonce hits filled Tyler Haynes Commons Thursday night when Pi Beta Phi sorority hosted its annual Lip Sync event to raise funds for their charity, "Read, Lead, Achieve."

This year's theme was "Dance, Dance, Evolution." Each of the 16 groups danced to a mix of songs from a specific artist or genre of music to show how it has evolved over the years.

Dressed in pink leggings and black spandex, members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon stroked air guitars while they demonstrated the evolution of rock music. Delta Gamma performed to a "women in pop" mix. University Dancers moon-walked to a Michael Jackson theme and Lambda Chi danced to a Justin Timberlake mix-up.

"So many of my friends were in it, and it's great they can rep their sorority at such a fun event to raise money for their philanthropy," said Annette Hull, member of University Dancers. Hull and junior Kit Knapp choreographed their routine the night before in two and a half hours.

Other groups made a more creative twist on the theme. Alpha Phi Omega members slow-danced with each other during part of their "evolution of Napoleon Dynamite" performance. In their "evolution of social media" act, members from Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity did the worm to the Harlem shake and danced to a musical makeup of the "ain't nobody got time for that" video.

"The event helped to bring us closer," said Kieno Jones, member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Fifty members of Pi Phi performed in two groups, one comprising the youngest pledge class members and the other comprising the oldest members. Each group made their own choreography together. "This process is really a group effort, and many participants really enjoy this aspect," said Danielle O'Hara, Pi Phi's vice president of philanthropy.

The audience easily filled the 380 chairs set up in the Alice Haynes room. Everyone else sat on the floor or stood in the back. Several times during the event, Katie Lounsbury, Lip Sync chairwoman, had to remind attendees to make room for an aisle so people could enter and exit.

Lip Sync is one of the two main philanthropic events Pi Phi hosts during the year. The second event, Ballin' for Books, occurs each spring semester. In addition to these events, the sorority holds smaller profit shares and school supply drives during the rest of the year.

This year's event raised a total of $6,000, according to O'Hara. The sorority has set a fundraising goal of $8,500 for this school year. Last year, they raised $7,000 between events and profit shares.

In addition to promoting literacy by raising money for "Read, Lead, Achieve," Lip Sync also promoted bonding among all participants. 

"We try to encourage especially our new University Dancers to participate in order to bond with older members and to market the University Dancers to the student body," Hull said.

Pi Phi will hold a profit share Sept. 22 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Chipotle at Willow Lawn.

Contact reporter Eunice Brumskine at eunice.brumskine@richmond.edu