Expression as Stepping
The class is required to attend and write about an event from the WU-mester thing Washburn University has going on throughout the semester. Through a somewhat crazy series of events I ended up attending Washburn University’s Third Annual Step Show. (This is good because most of the events and/or talks I have wanted to attend are all scheduled during my classes.) Now going into this I have to admit that I didn’t really know what stepping was. Well, actually let’s back that up. I had heard of it before because one of my friends in high school tried to start up a step group at the high school. At first it was allowed, and they even performed at one of our pep rallies, but then some people in administration shut the group down. But that’s another story.
Point being here: I thought it was just something that he and his friends wanted to do. I didn’t realize that it was, to some, an important aspect of African-American culture. To be fair, he may well have explained all this to me, but I don’t remember it. That was a long time ago though. All right, now I feel old. Let’s move on, shall we? What I learned tonight, from the information they provided before the show began, is that the stepping is a call back to traditional African dance and slave communication methods. In the latter half of the 1900s historically African-American sororities and fraternities popularized stepping which has grown into the world of competitive dance and showcases (though also competitive) of the stepping.
It’s a little difficult to explain the whole thing, but I’ll give it a shot. Sometimes there is an accompaniment by a music track and other times there isn’t. There can be singing, but it's a cappella. Sometimes they incorporate vocal sounds and/or chanting. There are specific movements and rhythmic clapping, stomping, stepping, and slapping parts of the body. And the energy is high paced, energetic, and contagious. It was an amazing experience, but I wish it would have lasted longer as there was a smaller number of teams this year. It’s worth seeing. If there’s (and there likely will be) another one next year, I would encourage you all to give it a try and see what you think.
In a fitting end to Black History Month, each competing sorority and fraternity talked (either in a video or during their routine) about influential African-American individuals who were involved in or honored by their particular Greek group. Rosa Parks was mentioned as well as at least one of the women who helped NASA with their mathematics problems, and the first African-American person to go to space. I can’t remember everything. It was a nice touch. The dancers’ enthusiasm is something I can’t forget. You can tell that stepping is a significant part of these peoples’ lives and form of expression. And that is a beautiful thing.
By the way, knowing what I do now makes me feel sadder at the way things turned out for my friend’s attempt at a step group/club in high school.
Point being here: I thought it was just something that he and his friends wanted to do. I didn’t realize that it was, to some, an important aspect of African-American culture. To be fair, he may well have explained all this to me, but I don’t remember it. That was a long time ago though. All right, now I feel old. Let’s move on, shall we? What I learned tonight, from the information they provided before the show began, is that the stepping is a call back to traditional African dance and slave communication methods. In the latter half of the 1900s historically African-American sororities and fraternities popularized stepping which has grown into the world of competitive dance and showcases (though also competitive) of the stepping.
It’s a little difficult to explain the whole thing, but I’ll give it a shot. Sometimes there is an accompaniment by a music track and other times there isn’t. There can be singing, but it's a cappella. Sometimes they incorporate vocal sounds and/or chanting. There are specific movements and rhythmic clapping, stomping, stepping, and slapping parts of the body. And the energy is high paced, energetic, and contagious. It was an amazing experience, but I wish it would have lasted longer as there was a smaller number of teams this year. It’s worth seeing. If there’s (and there likely will be) another one next year, I would encourage you all to give it a try and see what you think.
In a fitting end to Black History Month, each competing sorority and fraternity talked (either in a video or during their routine) about influential African-American individuals who were involved in or honored by their particular Greek group. Rosa Parks was mentioned as well as at least one of the women who helped NASA with their mathematics problems, and the first African-American person to go to space. I can’t remember everything. It was a nice touch. The dancers’ enthusiasm is something I can’t forget. You can tell that stepping is a significant part of these peoples’ lives and form of expression. And that is a beautiful thing.
By the way, knowing what I do now makes me feel sadder at the way things turned out for my friend’s attempt at a step group/club in high school.
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