Penn State Homecoming’s annual “For The Glory” talent show showcased 13 acts Wednesday night. This year’s judges consisted of THON 2022 Executive Director Kate Colgan, Performing Arts Council President Brian Krall, and Brian Patchcoski, assistant vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Students Affairs.

The first performance of the night was from The Coda Conduct, an all-gender competitive acapella group. Eleven members sang to “Move” by Little Mix.

Up next was Volé, the largest all-inclusive dance organization at Penn State, which boasts more than 200 members. The group performs all around campus, including at THON. Eight dancers performed to the song “New Dorp. New York” by SBTRKT.

The Pennharmonics performed third with 15 people on their roster. Fourteen of the performers focused mainly on the a cappella aspects of the song, while one sang lead.

The only full-male a capella group, The Statesmen, took the stage next. Four soloists alternated from the spotlight throughout the show. This performance really began the excitement for the crowd. Common themes in their performance were the Nittany Lion and the Alma Mater. Some of the most popular lines were “Penn State Forever” and “Hail to the Nittany Lion.”

After The Statesmen, Orchesis took the stage. Fifteen people danced to “Good Things Fall Apart” by Illenium and Jon Bellion. Orchesis’ dance consisted of jazz, ballet, and contemporary themes.

As one of the only hip-hop performers, Urban Dance Troupe excited the crowd with its dance of the night. The routine cycled through different songs like “NASTY” by DaBaby and “Panda” by Desiigner.

The Student Court brought in inspiration from TikTok for its performance. The group used popular choreography from trending songs on the app, such as “Low” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain and “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex.

Maya Gordienko, the solo gymast, was up next in the night. Before she could begin, however, a few technical difficulties ensued. Shawn Mendes and “Good Things Fall Apart” began to play, which were definitely not the songs she had chosen.

Once her song, “Becoming Insane” by Infected Mushroom, finally began, Gordienko took the stage with her hoop. Through tricks and flips with the hoop, she recieved gasps and amusing commentary from the audience.

Reve Dance Company followed with its dance choreography of many different songs. These songs ranged from “All The Time” by Zara Larsson, “Sunday Morning” by Matoma featuring Josie Dunne, and “Levitating” by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby. During the song called “Lose You” by Tiesto and ILIRA, the group used shakers as a part of the dance routine.

Before Penn State Dance Alliance (PSDA) could even take the stage, people in the crowd were screaming in approval at the top of their lungs. This was the group’s first performance in two years, and it did not disappoint. The staple of the performance, which also received the loudest crowd approval, was when the members began their kick line at the beat dropped in “Kill the Lights” by Alex Newell.

Rince Na Leon, an Irish dancing organization, was definitely a shocking switch from PSDA. However, its performance was insanely unique with the use of Irish dancing and the only sound coming from their tap shoes. In the best way possible, the dance sounded like the beginning of a war movie.

Atlas, a popular THON organization on campus, danced through the decades. Its performance featured the songs “You’re The One That I Want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys, “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John, “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, and “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls.

The final performance of the night was from Tapestry Dance Company who danced to a High School Musical mashup. The group began with a scene reenactment with Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez.

After the performers were done for the night, the judges needed to deliberate on who won the talent show.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Allen Street Jam, Whiplash Dance Team, closed the show. Its hip-hop dancers performed to a mashup of many songs, like “Whoopty” by CJ, “London Bridge” by Fergie, and “Godzilla” by Eminem featuring Juice WRLD.

After Whiplash’s performance and (plus some careful deliberation), Orchesis was crowned the show’s winner and punched a ticket to perform at THON 2022 in February. The panel didn’t announce placements for any other act, though, which certainly confused the audience.