Underground dance was brought to Penn State's surface Saturday night.

It was standing-room only in HUB Heritage Hall for the second annual Rhythm Spotlight dance competition, hosted by Raw Aesthetic Movements (RAM Squad), an urban dance club on campus.

Ron "The Future" Jules (sophomore-recreation and park management) came out on top in the man-on-man dance-off. "I thought I'd do good, but not win," Jules said.

He beat Omar Rose (senior-art) in the final round, dancing to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Bad."

After their performances, the crowd of about 200 people was asked to cheer for each dancer, which helped the judges in their final decision.

Club President Jay-Bee Noronha said that during the competition last year, only hip-hop was played.

This year, a challenge was added: the style of music changed each round.

Mikey "MikeyP" Padgett, club treasurer and a competitor who made it to the semi-final round, said the competitors needed to be flexible because of the changing music each round. "Whoever comes out on top will be the best dancer all-around because [the competition] tests every aspect," Padgett said.

He said some of the styles played during the competition were mainstream hip-hop, R & B, funk, rock-n-roll and jazz. During a break between rounds, the Urban Dance Troupe, a female hip-hop dance team, performed two dances.

"This was a perfect time to showcase the girls' talents," Yvelle Lazare (junior-journalism) said.

Lazare said she started Urban Dance Troop at University Park last fall when she came here from Penn State Altoona because there weren't any hip-hop dance teams for women.

Noronha said the purpose of the club is to promote underground dance.

"A lot of people don't understand it, or even know where it came from," Noronha said.

Noronha said they chose the name "Raw Aesthetic Movements" because each dancer can choose a style that feels comfortable to them.

"All types of music and dance are respected equally here," he said.

Noronha said he got into urban dancing when he saw an old break-dancing music video in first grade. His first break-dancing experience was attending American Bandstand in Philadelphia in 2001. "I felt the whole vibe about the culture," he said.

Andy Mackey, the DJ for the competition, said he used to dance at clubs at home in Boston and missed the city's urban culture.

He added that at RAM Squad, there is no pressure to be the best.

"I enjoy the open-mindedness," Mackey said.

He said although he doubts urban dancing will be the focus of his life after college, it will always be a part of him.

"I love music and don't want to let that go," he said.

Padgett said he taught himself a few urban dance moves before he started dancing at clubs.

"Everyone starts from zero and works their way up," Padgett said.

RAM Squad holds open practice sessions three days a week in the White Building.

Doug Johnson (junior-architectural engineering) said he came out to his first RAM Squad meeting last week because he wanted to be more flexible and learn some dance moves.

"I've never done anything like [break-dancing] before," Johnson said.