Name: Yusef Houamed
Year: Senior
Major: PPE
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Activities involved in at Penn: Co-Director of Strictly Funk, Co-Events Coordinator of City Step, Sigma Alpha Mu brother, Friars Senior Society, Osiris Performing Arts Senior Society, PPE board
How did you get involved with Strictly Funk, Penn’s hip-hop, jazz, and funk dance group?
During NSO of freshman year, a friend of mine told me about it and recommended that I go for it! Dancing was a hobby for me. There was a four-hour audition period, and I thought I could show up whenever, so I got there two hours into it, all confident and stuff. Turned out I was two hours late and the last person to audition. Luckily, I was invited back.
Tell me about your role in Funk.
Funk has been a big part of my life since two weeks into my time at Penn. Since then, I’ve gotten more involved. Now, I spend over 20 hours a week on Funk, along with my co-director Divanna Cedeño. Directing involves deciding the show theme, choreographing the big opening and closing acts with the whole company in them, picking additional choreographers, and helping them decide dance themes and music. I’m also involved how the show is marketed and the video that we play throughout the show.
Tell me about City Step, as an organization.
City Step is a community service group that incorporates dance. My current classroom is at the Kipp School. We teach the kids a dance and work on it with them throughout the semester. We recently performed at a 76ers game!
How did you get involved with City Step?
In High School, I did something like this as an after school program at a local middle school. When I found out about City Step, it seemed like it would also be a good fit! I started spring of sophomore year, after I performed in Battle of the Dance with Sammy.
What is Battle of the Dance?
It’s an event when pledge classes from various fraternities on campus come up with a dance and perform at the Roxxy downtown, and the proceeds go to City Step so that we can keep the program going. This year it’s on March 26th, by the way!
Favorite thing about City Step
Definitely getting to be with the kids in our classroom. We really are mentors to them, and we gain their respect. Seeing that assured me that I had joined the right organization.
Favorite thing about Strictly Funk
After my first show, realizing how talented the group was and hearing the cheers of the audience was amazing. Also I love seeing my friends from outside of Funk come to our shows. I’m so glad that that they look forward to it just like I do.
This Fall, you were named Big Man On Campus at Alpha Chi Omega’s event for Women Against Abuse. Tell me a little bit about that.
B. M. O. C. was so much fun! I had gone my sophomore year, and I was watching these guys dancing in swimsuits, and I was like, why am I here? I never felt like I fit the mold, but my friend asked me if I’d participate. I really appreciated being included in the efforts for the charity that it’s about. Being involved in increasing domestic violence awareness in any capacity is something I wanted to be a part of. I also got to meet so many new people throughout the whole process. To have done it and to have won was really special.