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Learning to walk has been on my stepper bucket list for quite some time. Certainly, I had some on-the-spot lessons over the years from steppers and friends while out at a party or set. Some years ago, I took a walking workshop with “Tall Rick” Weatherspoon and Charnice Simmons. Until 2021, that has been it as far as walking lessons for me. Now, as I learn to walk, I “almost” jump at every chance to walk while out on the set.

A Short Story About Walking

One day in the spring, while at the 50 Yard Line, I was determined to walk if the right song came on. I was thinking, “How do I go about this? I’m sure that in the past I’ve turned down almost every gentleman in here that has ever asked me to walk.”

Game face on. I decided to find and ask someone. I have no problem asking a man to dance but asking him to walk is a whole other ball game. What happened next confirmed my hesitation and reservation.

I saw an old-school stepper who had asked me to walk before. As he walked by my table, I politely got his attention and said to him: “If a walking song comes on, can I walk with you? I am trying to practice while I learn.”

He looked at me surprisingly. “Well, when I am out with my lady, I don’t walk with anyone else.”

“Oh! I am sorry,” I said. “I did not realize you were here with someone.”

“Oh no I am not with anyone tonight, but I just wanted you to know that. We can walk when a song comes on,” he replied. Okay, okay. I’m ready and excited for the chance.

The Etiquette in the Story

A man and woman sitting with me at the table continued the conversation after the gentleman walked away. Without me asking, they shared some things with me about walking and etiquette.

  1. You can’t just go up to anyone and ask them to walk. You must be very careful with that.
  2. You can’t just walk with anyone either. Have you ever seen the guy who every time he walks puts his hand on the woman’s butt? You can’t miss him. I’ll show you who it is.
  3. Walking is intimate. There are couples on the set – husbands and wives. You don’t want to ask someone’s husband to walk.

So, uhhm, that night no walking song was played at the Fifty Yard Line, so I did not walk. Do you think I have asked anybody to walk since that? No, I have not. However, I do get to practice my walking on the set because somehow more men have started asking me to walk since I’ve started to learn. A special thank you to the gentlemen that ask me to walk now. Every dance goes a long way, and you’ve all been respectful so far, and that I appreciate most.

Reasons I Am Still on My Mission to Walk

Despite this episode, I am sticking with learning to walk and being persistent about it. I am stepping up my walking game for three reasons.

Reason 1. Contest Opportunity

In 2019, a gentleman asked me to enter a contest with him in Chicago, but for the Walkers category. “Thank you for asking,” I replied, “but I don’t walk.”

Everyone seated at the table looked at me in shock and disappointment. “Sonji, you can’t come to Chicago, and not know how to walk,” they told me.

Reason 2.The Romance

Recently, I watched for the first time, Chase and Wakeba’s winning performance in the 2014 WLSC Walkers Category. It has lit a new fire for my walking mission. I watched that video more than 20 times already. Now I understand what Qiana meant in her interview with me, “It’s a bedroom dance that can be erotic, and though I’m sure it’s fulfilling to the participants, peeping into someone’s bedroom is not what I wanna do.” Give me some of that, please. Well, I mean, at the right time and place.

Reason 3. I Need to Know for Debate

After 2021 WLSC, I discussed the contest results with a few people. On one call, someone said, “Drew and Keesha didn’t walk.” I loved every bit of their winning performance and wanted to defend it. The rules for the Master’s category require contestants to “walk for the first minute of their performance.”

I responded, “There are so many styles of walking that I see on the set in Chicago, I don’t know what to make of that statement. It looked like walking to me, but I don’t know enough about walking to agree or disagree with you.” I missed a good debate.

I am still walking. I’ll see you out on dat wood walkers!

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Sonji Stewart

Welcome! I am the writer Sonji Stewart. These are my travel stories about my Chicago Stepping experiences, traveling from city to city to dance. I hope my stories encourage you to join me in the adventure.

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