Reading Time: 8 minutes In the stepping community, there are several organizations that dance and work for a cause. They help to care for and support our community in different ways. This was a chance for me to sit…
Reading Time: 4 minutes Before the review of WLSC, here is what I was looking forward to at the 2021 World’s Largest Steppers Contest: New steppers that fell in love with Stepping during the pandemic Seasoned steppers reignited and…
Reading Time: 7 minutes For 2021, the WLSC Beginners Contestants seem excited and ready. Ready to take the stage and ready to take it to the bank. I enjoyed putting this together and learning about these steppers’ journey so…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Conversations with the older generation of steppers always keep me laughing and happy in this dance. Their stories keep me glued and curious about what was happening before, what is happening now, and what might…
Reading Time: 3 minutes August 27, 2021, marked the five year anniversary of the official launch of livingthe8count.com. We could not have made it this far without your support. Every stepper I meet motivates me and so much has…
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not uncommon for me to meet a stepper in Chicago who tells me they have never traveled to another state to go to a stepper’s weekend event. Gerald posted on social media that he…
Reading Time: 4 minutes Sometimes it is necessary to see things from the other side of the coin. This time, Kevin Brewer, the host of the Steppin’ and Glampin’ weekend gives livingthe8count his own review. Kevin gives the low…
Reading Time: 6 minutes When she ran into one of her customers in Chicago, Laura was so happy to see, hug, and tell her customer thank you personally. She says, “I appreciate the steppers that have supported me. Without…
Reading Time: 5 minutes 2020 changed the lives of many people including Feo Duncan with FitWitFeo. Historians should recognize and record 2020 as not only the year of a major health crisis but as a year of cleverness and…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Part 2: Questions with Q Interview After reading Qiana “Q” Wilson’s Facebook posts about judging for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest, it only made sense to get her perspective on the contest. This was a…
Reading Time: 4 minutes A couple of years ago, I saw Qiana “Q” Wilson dance with Andre Blackwell in Atlanta at his New Year’s weekend event and I said, “Whoa!” There are not many ladies on the Chicago stepping…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Earlier this week, a newer stepper asked my opinion on whether or not they should enter the last chance prelims for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest for the very first time. He was considering waiting…
Reading Time: 6 minutes Summer is contest season for the Chicago Stepping community. July starts the prelims for our most popular contest, The World’s Largest Steppers Contest. August ends the preliminaries with the last last chance to qualify to…
Reading Time: 6 minutes The most exciting part about the COVID-19 pandemic is getting out of it. The quarantine was a well-needed reset for many people. I want to believe that post-pandemic, we’re going to see new fashion, new…
Reading Time: 5 minutes On my first trip to Chicago, I heard about The Steppers 411 email. I’ve relied on it ever since to keep me connected to events in Chicago while hundreds of miles away in Virginia. I…
Reading Time: 7 minutes For 4th of July weekend, I decided to check out Aki Carter’s Red, White, and Smoove Event in Columbus, Ohio. After seeing Aki in Chicago a few times, I felt he had firsthand experience of…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Part 2 What is the difference between playing at an out-of-town event and playing in Chicago? I think being a DJ from Chicago, it is my responsibility to take Chicago with me wherever I go….
Reading Time: 5 minutes Part 1 Born in Englewood, Chicago, Michael “DJ Black Cool” Thornton eventually moved to Calumet Park, the suburbs on the southside of Chicago. He didn’t know he was living only two blocks away from the…