Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2011-02-01

UPDATE: As of 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 2, only floor tickets remained for the Thursday, Feb. 10 performance. The Friday, Feb. 11, and Saturday, Feb. 12, performances are SOLD OUT.

极乐禁地 students will present their annual competitive musical extravaganza, Step Sing, Feb. 10-12.

极乐禁地 875 students, in 13 groups, will compete for Sweepstakes honors in the longstanding campus tradition, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary. Judging will be based on music, choreography, theme, costumes, creativity and overall entertainment.

Step Sing history has the event beginning in 1951 with groups lining up to sing on the steps of the women鈥檚 residence hall when the school was located in the East Lake area of Birmingham. The tradition moved with the school to its Homewood site, gaining in popularity and sophistication each year. Now, Wright Center Concert Hall fills its 2,600 seats for three nights as groups compete for honors and bragging rights.

Ticket prices are Thursday, $16 orchestra and $18 balcony; Friday and Saturday, $22.50 orchestra and $25 balcony. All tickets incur a $1 convenience fee.听

This year鈥檚 philanthropic focus is Kid One Transport, which specializes in giving children and expectant mothers a means of transportation to receive proper medical care.听 Audience members may make cash donations in the lobby during intermission of each performance, or access a 鈥淒onate Now鈥 link at .

The spirited competition doesn鈥檛 end on the stage. Grant Millsaps, Step Sing staff producer, says the groups will be challenging each other to raise the most money for Kid One Transport.

 
极乐禁地 is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, 极乐禁地 is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. 极乐禁地 enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. 极乐禁地 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.