What I will remember about the 2022 World’s Largest Steppers Contest are the resurgence of dancers, the familiar pattern of winners but other emerging contestants, the coincidental opulent fashion on stage, and the buffering social media broadcasts.
More than 80 Contestant Couples on the Contest Program
Going by the contestants’ list Pete Frazier published after the Prelims, more than eighty couples performed in cities across the United States to claim their spot as contestants for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest. The last time I saw such a long list was in 2018. In 2022, eleven couples walked away with bragging rights of a trophy win and/or first place across six different categories – Beginners, 60 and Over, Walkers, Original Old School, New Skool, and Best of the Best (Man on Man).
We were almost down to five categories, but the Beginners Category was still on the contest program despite only two couples continuing from the Prelims. Categories have been eliminated before when there are not enough couples participating. In 2018 the Beginners Category was eliminated, and this may happen again in 2023 if turnout continues to be low. Does low turnout of beginner steppers indicate that the quality of instruction available for new steppers does not teach them well enough to perform at the WLSC level?
2022 Beginners, Walkers, and 60 and Over Winners
For the Beginners Category, we had new faces from Atlanta, and they came to win. Stuart Clarke & Candace Hayden came out with high energy and kept the crowd screaming through most of their performance. Bobby Taylor continues to dominate the Walkers category with a new partner, Sherry Gordon. He won the Walkers category last year also with his partner, Tabitha Hicks. For the 60 and Over, one of the crowd and judge favorites, Jacque Sanders claimed the only win in the category with his partner Sheila Braxton. After talking to a few people after the contest, it seems the consensus is that the judges made good decisions for most of the wins for these categories.
2022 Original Old School Winners
The Original Old School Category is one that most new contestants shy away from because there are fundamental “original” rules that can easily take someone out of the running for a win at the WLSC. The challenge is to stay within the guidelines of Old School and have strong footwork while New Skool allows leeway for more creative freedom, tricks and turns within the performance. Judges select a first, second, and third place for this category.
1st Royce Banks & Carrier McKay; 2nd Kevin Doc Dockery & Lisa Williams; 3rd Jamie Graham & Shani Johnson
These are familiar winning names for steppers who have been following the contest for the last decade. Within each winning couple, at least one person has placed in the WLSC before with a different partner. Someone that I see collecting her trophies across categories silently is Shani Johnson out of Atlanta who placed third in 2019 in the New Skool category with another partner, Herb Ihenacho. This year, it was a joy to watch her perform with partner Jamie Graham who matched her stage presence. She also competed in the Walkers category in 2022 with Masters and multiple-time WLSC winner, Maurice Turner. They had a stellar performance. Royce and Doc have placed or won in the WLSC several times before and this year won with partners I have not seen them compete with before. Doc’s fancy feetwerk makes him a strong contender for Old School and everybody is watching for him and the feet. I believe 2022 was Lisa Williams’ contest debut. I am not sure if Carrier McKay has competed before.
2022 New Skool Winners
For the New Skool category, there are three winners decided by the judges – first, second, and third.
1st Tyk Mann & Danitra Gardner; 2nd Nikee & Cristal Carman; 3rd Tori Jones & Genevieve Bober
Again, for every placement this year in New Skool, at least one of the contestants in each couple has placed before. Tyk Mann, Nikee and Tori Jones & Genevieve Bober have placed in previous WLSCs. Tyk and Nikee have placed multiple times in different categories before but both with different partners. It was great to see Nikee back on the contest stage after some time away. Nikee returned with a new partner – his wife Cristal – and they lit that contest stage on fire. Cristal’s split to the floor between Nikee’s legs is etched into my mind forever. Tori and Genevieve reclaimed third place together again after the same win in the same category in 2021. I believe they are a couple to watch in New Skool and I hope to see them back on stage next year vying for first. Danitra has competed before, and this is her first trophy and win in WLSC. We continue to see Tyk Mann win with different partners across the years and he is a crowd favorite that everyone looks out for. For many contestants, Tyk Mann is the one to beat in any category.
2022 Best of the Best – Man on Man
The Majestic Gents added the new Man on Man category to the contest roster in 2022 in honor of Ty Skippy who passed away in December 2021. This is one of the earliest styles or forms of Chicago Stepping that both men and more than a few women do well. This contest category was restricted to only men this year.
Drewry Alexander and Shawn Bandy, the youngest contestants in the category, took home the winning first place trophies. The crowd was on their feet for the entire performance and this was my favorite performance for the night. Drew continues to dominate in contest categories across his years competing at the WLSC and I can’t wait to see what he does next. It was great seeing Shawn Bandy back on stage. Many of us expected to see him compete for the Masters in 2021 but he did not enter the Prelims last year.
After the contest, many steppers said the Man on Man category had many talented men, but they could have picked a partner that better matched their style. If we shuffled around the same contest partners within the category, the outcome and performances may have been very different. Do you agree? We hope the Majestic Gents keeps this category for future contests and opens it up for women to participate.
Fancy, Unforgettable Fashion on Stage
In 2022 it seemed contestants were trying for new colors and even more opulent looks on the stage. What was funny to me was that as the night progressed, more and more couples showed up on stage in the same colors – purple, rose gold and pink, and black and yellow. If not in similar unusual colors, it was similar sparkle and bling. Many couples graced the stage looking like a million dollars. There was also a trend for feather dresses this year. At one point the DJ remarked that contestants came to sparkle this year. Ericka Jones and Selwyn Hodges and Royce Banks and Carrier McKay performed on stage at the same time in rose gold and pink colors and hues. Tyk Mann and Danitra Gardner and Tori Robinson and Genevieve Bober were also both on stage at the same time in black and yellow.
2022 produced a remarkable fashion show amongst the contestants and everyone looked spectacular. Many contestants sported custom tailoring. The most memorable outfits for me were Drewry Alexander and Shawn Bandy, Nikee and Crystal, and Kevin Doc Dockery and Lisa Williams – in that order.
Weak WIFI Produced Poor Social Media Broadcasts
Many steppers have enjoyed watching the contest via live streaming on Facebook in previous years. There seemed to be a problem with WIFI connectivity at the contest at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Steppers trying to view the live feed from Brian Forbes with INSIDE STEPPIN encountered buffering broadcasts and poor streaming. We are not sure what happened. This is the first time that weak WIFI was a persistent problem for streaming the WLSC. You may not be able to easily find a full broadcast of the 2022 WLSC right away. However, check contestants’ pages for footage. You may find good quality videos of individual couple performances posted by those who apparently recorded footage instead of attempting to live stream on social media. Noticeably, content online for the WLSC has become less readily available on social media platforms. Many of the prelim live streams from different cities are no longer readily accessible to the public. I have seen one publication of the complete 2022 winners’ list in my Facebook feed when usually several people post the winners list as they are announced at the contest.
The 2022 WLSC Chapter has closed and it’s time to start planning for 2023 – yes, a whole year in advance.
Anonymous
Far as wi-fi (next year) probably need to invest in a portable gate-way, set-up on the exterior of the building!!