Last Saturday night, the wings of Ashurst Auditorium were filled with anxious dancers readying themselves for their performances. Some bobbed their heads to inaudible music, while others silently rehearsed the choreography of their routines with fellow teammates. They were competing in the New Student Organization’s (NSO) NAU’s Best Dance Crew competition, a battle of rhythm, skill and athleticism geared toward helping a great cause.

The NAU student-run dance crews who participated in the battle for ultimate hip-hop supremacy were the Badjacks, the Black Student Union (BSU) Step Team and the OGs. Modeled after the show America’s Best Dance Crew, the event consisted of each team performing one dance number, after which one group was eliminated, leaving the other two to duke it out in a dance off. All of the Best Dance Crew proceeds went toward improving the local Flagstaff animal shelter, The Second Chance Center for Animals.

Annsley Niemann, a freshman nursing major and President of NSO, said her organization hosted the event because they wanted to make it easier for freshmen to participate in on-campus activities.

“We want to make an impact because sometimes freshman don’t know there’s a lot of stuff for them to do on campus,” Neiman said. “We want to make it easier for them to be involved.”

The first group to take the stage was the Badjacks, a team that started three years ago and now boasts more than 60 members. They danced to a hip-hop routine set to the song “Outta Your Mind” by Lil Jon and LMFAO. Despite the team’s large number of members, only eight dancers participated in the competition.

Brittany Jones, a sophomore electronic media and film major, said the Badjacks use their performances to try and spread the art of dance throughout the city.

“We want to expand the dance community throughout NAU and Flagstaff,” Jones said. “Right now, it’s small and separated. This is a way of staying connected with our peers.”

Following the Badjacks’ performance, BSU Step took the stage. BSU Step’s dedication was made readily apparent by the hour-and-a-half practices they hold three times a week.

Gabe Jenkins, a senior secondary English education major and leader of BSU Step, said the group’s practices often stem from pure musical improvisation.

“Someone comes in with a beat, then from there, we collaborate,” Jenkins said. “The beats are made by a combination of sounds made from striking different places on the body.”

Jenkins said different claps produce the diverse sounds the crew uses in their routines.

“There’s the cheerleader clap, which makes a muffled sound; the palm clap, which is louder and sharper; clap on the pants; [and] softer hits off arms and legs,” Jenkins said. “It just depends on what sound we’re trying to get.”

The final dancers to grace the stage with their presence were the OGs, an all-senior group that tries to incorporate all genres of music into their dance routines. In the event playbill, the OGs stated they “invited people from all ethnicities and backgrounds to demonstrate that we could be fierce and work together.” They danced to a their own mix of songs, which started with Kanye West’s “Runaway” and ended with Far East Movement’s “Like a G6.”

Diona Rogers, a senior public relations major, said the overall tone of their dances changes over the course of the year.

“It really just depends on what kind of mood we’re in,” Rogers said. “Last semester we did more angry routines, and this semester they have been more relaxed.”

After the first round of dance numbers, the Badjacks were eliminated, after which BSU Step and OGs faced off in a heated freestyle battle to a remix of Pitbull’s “Move, Shake, Drop.” The dance-off tested the teams’ abilities to spontaneously create art out of pure improvisation. When the dancing dust had cleared and the audience votes had been tallied, the OGs emerged as the victors. They gave an encore performance to celebrate their victory and took home a check for $100 dollars.

The NAU’s Best Dance Crew competition was NSO’s biggest event of the semester, and the Second Chance Center for Animals will be reaping the fundraiser’s benefits for years to come.

“We’re really happy with how the event turned out,” Estes said. “I think we were successful in getting our name out there.”