Tony Dow. Rooted and Reputed in Chicago Style Steppin’

Tony Dow was from a family from the low end of southside Chicago – 26th, 31st, 35th, 39th, 47th then 51st street. They eventually migrated out to the 100’s to the neighborhood of the famous Basement where he taught a lot of people. He moved from Chicago in 2008 and resides in California. From a great family bloodline of royalty when it comes to family heritage in Chicago – both his mother’s and his father’s families – Tony grew up rooted in music and dancing. “I am not bragging. These are facts.” 

His grandmother was a professional dancer who moved in the circles of Quincy Jones and Ray Charles. An extraordinary person and professional dancer, she was hired to teach Lionel Hampton’s wife to ballroom. Tony’s many older cousins were all steppers. This was early steppin’ that came from the bop era. His parents, uncles, and aunts used to bop in the 1950s and 60’s. In the early 70’s he watched his cousins practice for the weekend basement events to songs like “You Gotta Be the One” by the Chi-lites. “I was fascinated. From a musical family, I played into all of this. I was 8 years old, and I was in heaven.”

Chicago Stepping. A Rites of Passage

In the mid-’70s, Steppin’ was a part of the rites of passage in Chicago – the indoctrination to being who we were. Families played cards on the weekends, fried fish drank, and smoked cool cigars. It was the culture to listen to good old school music whether it was on WVON – the one radio station – or by other means. This was rich to the upbringing and culture because it was so rare. Everything was not as plentiful as it is now – with all the radio stations. Everything was tapered down so we really appreciated what was in front of us.

The culture of Steppin’ comes from the dirt and the ground of Chicago. It was all a part of our upbringing. We were very young – teenagers. It was in all the high schools. We loved to dress. Some of us had perms and fros. We were excited about getting ourselves together for these basement sets on the weekends or whatever it was. You just had to love it because you had no choice. It was the way we did what we do.

Feeling a Responsibility for Chicago Stepping

I always felt a deep and grand, colossal responsibility because it was handed to me in a way that altered who I am. It saved me from a lot of negative things and influenced a lot of positive things. If a father is a carpenter, he works and builds with his hands. He teaches his son to do this and it’s a respect that is handed down on a level that his son can appreciate and respect. His son, in turn, hands it down and passes it on to others – his children.” This is how I feel about the steppin’ community and what it brought to me. 

Steppin’ was positive and ideal in Chicago, a place where there were gangs, hustling, and a lot of stuff. A lot of the people on the straight and narrow missed this whole culture because they were going to school or planning to go to work early. This dance came from a lot of people who were in the streets – who were just living their lives as young black people with not a lot of thought about our future. Steppin’ became what it became aside from that. In the ’80s when we were older with access to transportation and able to get around, the dance became married to the older level of people who were already steppin’ and going to the taverns and lounges. By the ’90s House music kind of took away from the dance being handed down. I looked around and there weren’t a lot of new people coming into the dance. The dance became what it was and was just kind of cut off. 

Tony Dow Comes From Old School Roots

I came from the old school – the roots of it – but I had a lot of energy. My dance was more exciting. We were all attracted to each other as younger people. I started teaching at a different level to different people. The people who came before me – the little Mikes, the Taboos, and the George Macs – changed the dance from boppin to something very energetic and at a high level of talent. It attracted a lot of us. I was able to teach some of the younger people who were very influential to the masses and very influential in what is happening today. Feeling a great deal of responsibility, I became a person who is very instrumental in what goes on today.

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