UK Greek Sing 2010

Back in the day.... fraternity crooners would strum ukuleles beneath sorority house windows singing for dates; hoping for the encouragement of "silk."

Before long the men began to compare their best songs and soon after singing competitions began to emerge. But that changed somewhere around the 80s.

Today's Greek Sing is a whole 'nuther thing.

Women, in particular, perform intricate choreographies built around a theme and featuring contemporary songs. The men seem to be coming from a different place. Being cool and humorous (and often in drag) seems to be the most important thing.

For example, two years ago the Sigma Chi's performed a routine most likely designed for women, and a certain kind of women at that. The only thing missing was a pole. The "dance" sufficiently offended the judges that the gentlemen of Sigma Chi were disqualified for 2008 and not allowed to perform in 2009. Their returning performance this year was met with anticipation. The Sigma Chi's opened with a clever bit involving the words to the song they were performing being written on both sides of their shirts. The men would jump and rotate to display the appropriate words as the song played.

Then they stripped down to their gym shorts and recreated the bump and grind that got them disqualified in 2008.

Below are a couple of more representative shots. The defending soroity champs from 2009, the "Thetas of Oz" opened their show in black and white.

Then, after four bar blackout, voila. The wicked Witch of the East is under the house and everything is in color - just the way Judy Garland would have wanted it.

This from UK:

Participating in Greek life in college is not just about parties, recruitment week or meeting on Monday nights. Community service and philanthropy are major aspects of taking part in a sorority or fraternity, and they can be the most rewarding. The sisters of Chi Omega know what it is like to work hard and feel rewarded for their community service efforts. They host the annual Greek Sing event, along with Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Kentucky.

This year’s event was held Saturday at Memorial Coliseum. The night featured creative and original acts featuring the talent of UK sororities and fraternities. Thousands of students, alumni, parents and members of the Lexington community nearly filled Memorial Coliseum. Last year the sisters of Delta Gamma took home the winning trophy plus $500 for their sorority's philanthropy.

All proceeds from the event are donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help grant the wishes of children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions.

Former "Cassidy Kid," Kaelyn Query, the Chi Omega Greek Sing chair, said the event raised a record $100,000 last year. "One of the greatest rewards is seeing the children's wishes granted and knowing that it was possible because of this event," Query said.

Previous wishes that Chi Omega helped grant include a trip to Disney World, providing a new computer for a young boy and helping another child to spend the day with the UK basketball team.

Anyone interested in donating money please contact Kaelyn Query at Kaelyn.Query@uky.edu.

If you would like to learn more, visit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Kentucky, here.