John R. Emens Auditorium can hold up to 3,400 people, and at Air Jam on Thursday night, Emens and Pruis Hall Director Bob Myers said there were more than 3,300 people in attendance.
Air Jam's audience was the largest ever, partly because of the move to Thursday night and addition of the royalty coronation ceremony. Last year, only 2,500 people attended the event.
While the crowd added to the excitement of the night, it also meant many students could not get in. At 10 minutes to 9 p.m., organizers started turning people away.
"We got here, and there was probably 200 people, and someone yelled from the box office, and they slammed the screen down," senior Andrew Greider said.
Myers said he planned to speak with the Alumni Center about reserve seating, advance sales and ticket prices for next year to fix the seating problem.
Students sat shoulder to shoulder on the lower level of Emens. The balcony, which was supposed to be reserved for participants only, was opened to ticket holders. The attendance surpassed Air Jam chairwoman Kelly Hedinger's expectations.
"The crowd was great tonight," Hedinger said. "They cheered for everything. I was a little nervous about the opening, but it was great, they were so enthusiastic."
The crowd included the hundreds of participants from campus organizations. There were three categories: greek, residence halls, and independent.
Outlet won the independent award, Kappa Delta won the greek award, Studebaker East Complex won the residence hall award, and Untitled won the crowd favorite.
Ian Nixon, Untitled member, said this was his second year in a row winning the crowd favorite. He used the choreography from last year when he performed with friends.
"It felt pretty awesome," Nixon said. "This is two years in a row we got the award. We do the show for the crowd, not the judges."
This was the first year the group Outlet, a hip-hop dance ensemble, performed in Air Jam, The group was created three years ago and is still undergoing the process of becoming a school-sponsored organization, member Arlisha Doctor said.
"I was about to fall off the balcony," Doctor said. "I thought they were going to judge it based on claps. I don't know how we did it. Now we're really going to be known on campus +â-óGé¼" everyone is going to want to be in Outlet."
Outlet member Katie Solfrank said she flipped out when they announced the winners.
"I dropped my mom's $300 camera on the ground," she said.
While some groups have been participating for years, others were involved for the first time. Scott Sieg, member of Trendz of Essence modeling group, said he was nervous, but enjoyed the crazy atmosphere on the balcony.
"It's chaotic if it's anything," Sieg said. "It adds to the feeling to see adrenaline pumping, and everyone is just as excited as you are."
Phi Gamma Delta music included "It's Raining Men" by Geri Halliwell, and the men all wore raincoats, except for sophomore Luke Williams who dressed up as a woman.
"At first I had doubts, and I was embarrassed going to Goodwill and Walmart to buy women's clothing, but it paid off when we got out there in front of the crowd," Williams said.
Senior Brandt Showalter came to attend his final Air Jam, and while he said it is always fun, he didn't know how much the theme, "In It to WIN IT" would be incorporated.
"From what I have seen in the past, it's really hard to incorporate theme into it," Showalter said. "If someone comes up with some way to incorporate it I will be pleasantly surprised."
Performers did everything to include the theme, from wearing school colors and holding playing cards to wearing playing cards as belts and performing dance-offs. Outlet Dance Crew even used card tables and dice as props to gamble while dancing.
Senior Craig Kuehnert worked with Hedinger throughout the planning and execution of the event, working the balcony with all the participants. He performed the last two years, and this is his final year to be involved. He said he thinks this show will positively impact future Air Jams.
"It's already difficult to get into this show," Kuehnert said. "This year makes it more difficult for next year when people will know it was a sold out show."
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