The best part of Chicago Stepping to me is that it can be a lifelong hobby. No matter when you start stepping you can continue to learn and grow for decades. If you are someone who is fortunate to learn Chicago Stepping as a child you may step for forty-plus years like many of the legends on the set today. Anyone, of any age, can enjoy stepping and the community encourages us to keep on stepping. In Chicago at the World’s Largest Steppers Contest, the 60 and Over category showcased some of the competitive steppers still dancing after the age of retirement. Zee Thomas, who may get on the big stage one day to compete, shares her Stepping perspective on dancing through retirement.
I see Zee Thomas traveling from city to city on the steppers’ circuit everywhere I go. A true fashionista at heart with her heels and short dresses every time I see her, Zee exudes youthful, spunky energy on and off the dance floor. She is never sitting down. Zee enjoys her retirement as she dances and travels. She is the epitome of a stepper who shows many of the possibilities for steppers over 50 or in retirement to enjoy the Chicago Stepping community. In this interview, Zee shares candidly how Stepping integrates well for her to “live” in the new season of her life.
About Zee Thomas
Zee Thomas lives in Nashville, TN. She grew up in Newark, NJ, then lived in Brooklyn, NY, and then moved back to New Jersey. She has been stepping since 2016, but she first learned about stepping in 1992. One of her best friends who she once worked together with in DC, Deborah Watson in Chicago, said to her “You gotta learn this dance.” Deborah tried showing Zee how to step. Zee’s family and dance background are in Hand Dancing, Bop, Salsa, Latin Hustle, and House music. At that time, Zee was not interested.
Fast forward to when she moved to Nashville in 2010 to take care of her mom, she needed something to do. Zee googled Hand Dancing but found a meetup group for Chicago Style Stepping with Nashville Steppers. Sarah Teagle was teaching in the class. “I didn’t learn too much of anything in the class because it was moving fast.”
In 2014, while in Franklin, TN she saw Stepping at an outdoor gathering with a friend, Kimberly Golden. Kimberly was dancing with a guy named Clay. She said, “Wow!” Wanting to join in, she tapped Clay on the shoulder, and he took her by the hand. She started on her right foot and he said, “No, no. You have to start on your left.” It was so confusing to her, so she stopped immediately. Kimberly told Zee about Martha and she started Stepping lessons at her house twice a week. 123–456-78.
Zee and the CharRashon Experience
At some point, Zee felt she was missing something and she wasn’t going any further in the dance. Being a dancer in this community, she knew there was more to Stepping than 123-456-78. In 2015-2016, Shirley Nichols told her about the CharRashon Experience workshop hosted by Charnice Simmons in Chicago. Zee sent Charnice a current video of her dance thinking she was doing something. She told Zee that she needed to be deprogrammed. “I want you to stop taking lessons from anyone in Nashville, TN immediately,” Charnice said. Not being thin-skinned, Zee laughed, and now Charnice’s comments sparked her curiosity.
Instead of waiting for her workshop to start, Zee went to Chicago the next weekend for a private with Charnice. They spent 2-3 hours together. “I knew nothing about flow. I was so sore by the time I left Chicago.” After her private, Zee went to the Fifty Yard Line where she met Bri, Vicki, and the ladies in that group. She didn’t know what she was doing but she was dancing with someone, and everyone kept saying, “Hold your count!” Then it was off to Pete Frazier’s event which reminded Zee of a playa’s ball as she saw fur coats hitting the floor. “It’s something I’ve seen in the past and I didn’t think it existed. I’m used to seeing guys in suits, ties, and hats.”
Charnice told Zee, “I want you to observe different footwork, different people, and count. Try to pick up that count as you look at people dancing.” Zee remembered seeing Bobby Taylor and Megan from California. He had this smile on his face and they were floating on the dance floor. “What is that?” A lady sitting next to me said, “That’s walking.” Not only did she observe, but she asked questions. Charnice pointed out Lady Margaret at the Fifty, “She is squared up but she’s still doing her basics.” Those are the kind of things I learned from Charnice as I entered the stepping community.
What are some of your favorite songs to step to?
That is not difficult to answer. I love music with a beat that makes me get up and dance. Maysa has a good stepping sound. Songs by Jean Carne, and Patti LaBelle’s, Addicted to Love. I am going to ask Myron to put this in rotation. I love Old School but I love a combination of music.
What do you enjoy the most about being in the stepping community?
I am a socialite, but I do have a side of me where I like being by myself. However, when I go out, I like being able to socialize with all types of people. I know people from different arenas. I really like the togetherness in the stepping community. Every dance community has its drama so I am not surprised by any of that. I really appreciate that I didn’t have to hang up my heels or my clothes as far as going out. In a lot of places, you can’t go out anymore and dress up. At times, people come into an after-five party and still look like they just left the gym. In this stepping community, we stay stepper sharp and we are proud with it.
I love the camaraderie of people coming together. It’s like a big reunion with people hugging and glad to see each other and just having a good time. I meet new people all the time. And I’ve met a lot of folks through this community, and we are very good friends.
How has stepping changed your outlook on your retirement and life in general?
A girlfriend of mine from New York said to me, “This is your second season swag.” There is a time in your life when for certain things the season for those activities is over. So, you must have another plan. It’s not always over just because you don’t go to a nine-to-five job anymore. You’re not doing the same old thing that you did 30 years ago. You must sit down and reflect and that means you must also move. You must have a certain way of movement in your life. Movement in your life is a couple of things. Have a plan. Get up in the morning stretch. And be consistent with it. Then, you must have a life. If you don’t have a life, you will grow old faster.
Stepping helped me a lot because when I moved to Nashville I worried because this culture down here is not like Chicago’s and not like Atlanta’s. There is no nightlife to keep going out here all the time, and that’s why I travel a lot. But to know stepping is in my life keeps me young. I’m looking forward to something. A lot of folks my age and older contact me. They see me on Facebook or dancing on Instagram all dressed up and having a good time. They say, “I wish I could do that. You are living my life.” No. I am living MY life. You can live this life too.
I have introduced a lot of folks to stepping. If someone could get it right in this stepping community, they can really build a very good positive participation in the retirement age. Go to the retirement centers and introduce Stepping as an exercise. Encourage dancers to take a partner with them. You’d be surprised how that can help a lot.
If you won a prize to go to five stepping weekends in a single year, which five would they be and why?
It changes. When I first started out on this journey after my workshops and private, a few women that I respect in the community told me, “Zee you have to find your own style. “Because of my previous dance experience, I can follow very well. Stepping was still very intimidating because to follow you must know that 8-count first. You should understand foot placement. Now that I got this all together, I need to feel out these leads on the wood. I started traveling and attended 15 events in my first year to gain experience and build my confidence. There were certain events I really liked. Denim and Diamonds with Valerie and Henry in Minnesota and Walter Lane’s White Extravaganza Party in Florida.
Although it isn’t an event, I love the Fifty and my top favorite place was East of the Ryan. I would arrive in Chicago on Friday and call Charnice and say, “Get me to the East of the Ryan!” We would go to East of the Ryan and the guys there treated me very well. It was at The East of the Ryan where I was told, “Stop telling folks that you are new. You are not new. You are going to gain your confidence right now because you’re traveling.”
Some people at first glance think Chicago Stepping is a dance for old people. How true is that and why?
That’s not true. Dancing is good for the soul and if you’re alive and you have two feet, you can step – you can dance. That’s good for the soul. You could be 25 years old, 30 years old, or any age. Stepping is a dance that has a history. So, that’s not true.
When I was in Washington DC at one of my aunt’s houses and they said they were hand dancers. They said we know a friend that knows Chicago style stepping in the DMV Area. My cousin called them out and we started stepping. This young man was 30 years old. He wasn’t old. There are a lot of young people in the community. That’s why there is Old School and New School. Young people learn and they can do Old School and New School. Guess what? They are all Chicago Style Stepping.
With so much conversation about attracting younger steppers, where does the life of a retiree fit into Chicago Stepping?
A retiree must have confidence because of a retiree’s state of mind. Some of them think I can’t do that. I have arthritis. Some retirees just want to talk about being old all day long. It all depends on their mindset. Some want to talk about what they’re going to eat tomorrow or what doctor they are going to see the next day. I have a young mindset. I don’t have those kinds of thoughts and conversations. My mindset is I need to take my heels to the cobbler and get some leather under my sole so I can step. Or I’m looking at my next outfit. It depends on the mindset.
The stepping community is open to all. I saw Tabu and Kim Bowie dancing on Friday at the WLSC Pre-Party. At the pre-party, they were getting down with Man on Man. I looked at them and went to Kim and Tabu and said, “Man y’all gonna be 100 years old doing this.” And Kim said, “That’s right.” I said, “You know why? Because It keeps you young.” They said, “You are right. See, it keeps us young. We’re just doing it all with everyone as long as it lasts.” I look at these old timers and legends who have been stepping 45-47 years. Some tell me they have been dancing since the 8th grade. That amazes me. It doesn’t have an age limit, it’s unlimited.
Advice from Zee Thomas for Steppers
I am not scared to dance with anybody now. I was dancing with this stepper, Kuntry Boi. When I looked at that video I said that if it was not for my new confidence I could have never done that. We were on beat, and I remember having such a good time.
Ask Men to Dance
Andre “Dre” Blackwell said to me once, “Take your time.” I just get butterflies in my stomach and a lot of newbies say the same thing. I wouldn’t ask a man to dance with me because I come from that era where you just don’t do that. At the first WLSC Pre-Party I attended, Dre saw me sitting down. He said, “Go ask someone to dance. You gonna be sitting there all night?” I didn’t want him to come back and see me sitting there so I walked around and asked someone to dance. I really gained confidence when I went to an event in Florida. These two older women showed me how to find a man to dance with and how to have the confidence to ask him to dance. The bottom line is when your confidence is in order, you can do anything, and you can follow anybody.
Build Confidence
I used to be scared to ask or talk to Tyk Man. He taught me and made me sing my 3 in front of the whole class. And he wasn’t moving until I was there singing my 3. Then the whole class was singing it because I almost caught an attitude. He didn’t care. I sang my 3. When I would dance, I saw and heard myself singing my 3. This was during my journey. All of this stuff together means a lot because this is the stuff that I share with newbies. I said to take all the good and the bad with you. Stop taking all these workshops and all these classes, private lessons. Get out there on the wood because when you get out there you’re going to feel different turns. Everything that you learn is going to build your confidence throughout. That’s the bottom line – confidence.
60 and Over World’s Largest Contestants
At the 2022 WLSC, couples in the 60 and Over category came out and showed out for trophies and prizes. To qualify for this category, both contestants for each couple must be at least 60 years young. Eleven couples made it to the WLSC prelims based on the contest program. Below are photos of some of the 60 and Over competitors that I found on Facebook. And, here is the winning performance from Jacques Sanders and Sheila E who performed on stage with Miles Williams and Kim Davis. Congratulations to all the contestants in this category that showed us that age ain’t nothing but a number. Life after 60 never looked so great!
Photography source: Delores King (Facebook) and Inside Steppin WLSC Broadcast Footage
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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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