Various organizations took the stage on Tuesday night, showcasing their talents during the For The Glory Talent Show as part of Homecoming week. The 15 contestants were judged on how well their performances and themes connected with this year’s Homecoming theme, “Embrace the Journey, Roar with Pride.”

The night’s judges included THON executive director Andrew Smith, president of Penn State Thespians Christie Fisher, Camp Kesum Central PA director Alexa Mellon, and CEO of the Penn State Alumni Association Paul Clifford.

Three top performing groups were chosen from the night, which will all perform at THON. Taking home the first place prize was Theta Chi and Volé. Rêve came finished up in second, while Phi Kappa Sigma and Orchesis came in third.

The night kicked off with a performance from Homecoming Court to a mashup of popular songs. The likes of Katie Jordan and Alex Shockley got the crowd warmed up with a dance routine. Following that opening performance, the various groups put in their own performances:

Sigma Nu and Tapestry Dance Company

These two groups put on a Hercules themed performance with some strong choreography, and the tap dancing came early and often. The Sigma Nu boys then took the stage with a dance to Juke Box Hero. Tapestry came back out with another impressively choreographed performance to “I Need A Hero,” keeping that Hercules theme alive and well.

Lion Ambassadors

The Lion Ambassadors hit the stage to perform an alien skit. A space ship landed on the campus of Penn State, and the aliens needed that Nittany Lion pride to power their powerless space ship. The performance was reminiscent of any campus tour, as the Ambassadors walked backward and referenced the size of the library. Dancing was spread throughout, as a couple of standout male performers pleased the crowd with some moves to Lipgloss. Eventually, they made their way to Beaver Stadium with a James Franklin impersonator and even played the “Circle of Life” remix.

Chi Phi and Omega Phi Alpha

This pairing kicked off the more individual performances of the night, as one member of Chi Phi and one member of Omega Phi Alpha performed a duet of V V Brown’s “Shark in the Water.” The two clearly the beachy theme down, coming out in island-themed attire and putting on a performance that the crowd really enjoyed.

SNAP, Penn State Lyrical Line, and Alpha Delta Phi

These groups brought some Disney Channel magic to the night, using High School Musical as their theme to a dance routine. The skit started out with a dance to the tune of “Start of Something,” everyone’s favorite Disney Channel song. The basketball players then took the court for “Getcha Head in the Game.” “Soarin Flyin” really brought the crowd in too, as the audience was teleported back to elementary school.

Theta Chi and Volé

Gatsby took the stage next in another dance routine. Some very impressive dancing took center stage here, and sparkling attire and that ‘20s swag looked fantastic along with “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.” One particular performer playing Gatsby had the crowd pumped up, as even his presence on stage elicited cheers.

DKE and Club Gymnastics

Another duet slowed down the tempo of the night, as a soothing and beautiful rendition of the famous song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” provided a nice change of pace. The performers were all smiles exiting the stage as the performance brought momentarily transported the audience out of State College.

Rêve

Up next came the Reve Dance Company with a Harry Potter themed performance. These clearly talented dancers put on an exciting routine, incorporating a remix of the Harry Potter theme song, as well as some of the most iconic scenes of the series. The dancers reenacted Harry’s standoff with Voldemort to the sound of Dumbledore’s speech regarding the death of Cedric Diggory.

Triangle and Society of Women Engineers

These two organizations put on a prehistorical comedy sketch for the crowd. Four people dressed as dinosaurs came on stage and started continually cracking puns in the lone comedy sketch of the night. Masterpieces such as “Do you know why you can’t hear a pterodactyl pee? Because the ‘p’ is silent,” were dropped on the crowd.

Whiplash and Kappa Sigma

Grease came to the stage in this dance performance. The two groups collaborated on a routine using recognizable songs from the 1978 hit movie like “Greased Lighting.” The guys from Kappa Sigma momentarily left the stage to allow Whiplash members to show their chops, which were readily apparent.

Phi Sigma Sigma and Zeta Psi

A member from each of these organization came together to perform a rendition of “A Whole New World.” This duet brought something different to the table, as Zeta Psi’s member came out with a violin, performing along with a Phi Sigma Sigma sister who provided the vocals. The breadth of musical talent was on full display in this performance.

Atlas

The THON special interest group did what they do best: get everyone hype for THON. The performance brought in various aspects of the dance marathon, from signing up for a special interest group all the way to the total reveal. The performers even put on their pink vests and danced — cans in hand — to “Shake It Off.” It’s never too early to get into the THON spirit.

Penn State Dance Alliance and Zeta Beta Tau

Superheroes made their way to the Eisenhower Auditorium on Tuesday night. The fellas from ZBT ripped off their outer layers to reveal different super hero logos, before breaking into this cool combination of the worm and the human centipede. PSDA provided some real flair on stage, pulling off impressive moves throughout the performance.

Phi Kappa Sigma and Orchesis

The upbeat dance performance featured a remix of the Spongebob theme song, among many other prominent songs from the series. Spongebob even performed a cartwheel across the stage before singing his famous Krusty Krab pizza song. The expert dance routine from Orchesis was capped off as one of the girls dressed as Gary the Snail and crawled across the stage.

Phi Mu, Phi Sigma Kappa, and Phi Sigma Rho

This four-piece crew performed The Lumineers’ hit “Ho Hey” in a impressive performance. The three-part harmonies were enough to give you the goosebumps, as the vocals were simply mesmerizing. The soft guitar certainly gave the vibe of a Lumineers song.

Whiplash

Whiplash took the stage to the words of JoePa expressing his utmost approval of Penn State and homecoming. The performance, which gave the judges some time to consider their options, showcased a dance to some of the most recognizable hip-hop songs in recent memory, including “Where Da Hood At?” and “Humble.” It was awesome, to say the very least.