After a round of auditions and many months of practice, the most elite of the MSMS Blu Knightz and Blu Diamondz combined to form MSMS’s first ever all-star step team to compete in the Frazer RA Christopher Lairy’s “4 the Cuture” step competition on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Nissan Auditorium. The “Allstars” won first place overall, scoring  at total 386 out of 400 points.

The idea of the Allstars first came about from Blu Diamondz Amyria Kimble and Niyah Troup. The two wanted the Blu Knightz and Diamondz to combine for a national qualifying step show that would’ve been held in mid-February. In December, a panel of four judges held auditions, choosing 12 members and four alternates. They also chose four captains: Cameron Thomas (senior co-captain), Robyn Flemming (senior co-captain), Joshua Murphy (junior co-captain) and Niyah Lockett (junior co-captain).

Their show followed the theme of Jordan Peele’s “Us.” The 13 members split into two sections, humans and their tethered. The tethered dressed in all red while the humans dressed in all black.

Senior co-captain Cameron Thomas worked hard to encourage and drill the team members during their long weeks of practices.

“So much work was put into the making of this show,” Thomas said. “I spent so much time making steps and formations, but I honestly couldn’t have gotten anything accomplished if the team wasn’t willing to work so hard. The captains were sure to keep the theme in mind when preparing for show. We wanted to make sure that the two different colors made the overall look more aesthetic.”

Junior co-captains Niyah Lockett and Josh Murphy were proud of their classmates for working hard and winning.

“Being a part of the first ever all-star step team at MSMS is rewarding in itself,” Lockett said. “Winning, though, took my gratification to a whole new level. It feels so amazing to see all of your hard work pay off.”

“We grinded so hard for a month and a half. We all wanted to win so badly and we did everything we could to make sure that happened,” Murphy said. ”Most people would assume that winning was my favorite part of the experience, but for me, the process of it all was the best part. Seeing how far everyone has come from the first practice to the last made everything so worth it. I’m more proud of each individual person and how far they’ve come.”

To Thomas, however, winning first place was a must.

“Because I knew how hard everyone worked and how much time we put into this team, there was no other choice but first place in my eyes,” Thomas said. “Coming in as a president of one of the teams, my goal for this school year was to make sure that everyone on campus has a new-found respect for stepping. I feel like we have earned that respect for step by winning MSMS a first place trophy in this non-academic and non-mainstream activity.”

Senior Linda Arnoldus attended the show and enjoyed the opportunity to get to watch her classmates’ performance and the chance to see them win.

“I was really impressed by all the teams’ performances. MSMS really showed out, and I’m so glad I went,” Arnoldus said. “I also got to learn a lot about step and the culture that it came from.”

The MSMS step teams will be competing separately in the “Mississippi Showdown” step show on Apr. 4 on MUW’s campus and together in the “Tennessee Youth and Greek” step show on Apr. 11 in Memphis, Tenn.