Eight Days of Stepping in Chicago to Celebrate My Birthday
I have celebrated my birthday in Chicago for the past five years. 2024 is my first time writing about my birthday celebration on the blog instead of on social media. Every May I spend one…
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The Atlanta Community of Champions, Secrets, and Contest Contrariness
It’s been a year and a half since I moved to the Atlanta Metropolitan area. Let me tell you, it has opened my eyes to some amazing aspects of this Stepping community! It’s like seeing…
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Spotlight on Women’s History Month. Influential Women In My Stepping Journey
This week, I highlight for Women’s History Month, individuals in the stepping community who to me exemplify the influence and power of a woman. During thirteen years of learning Chicago Stepping, I have met some…
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A Stepping Legend Who Will Always Be With Us. Ty Skippy
On the weekend videos, photos, memories, and comments on social media expressed condolences and recalled countless dance memories. One of the greatest steppers of all time passed away on December 26. Rest in Peace Stepping…
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Cynthia Bean of The Steppers 411 Celebrates 22 Years
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…
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Markie Bee. Remembering The First Steppers Paparazzi
I have never met Markie Bee in person but I have seen his work. On my first visit to Chicago, I saw Markie Bee but did not meet him personally. I have watched him in…
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Cheryl “Sugarfoot” Powe on What Can Happen With the Right Mind, Right People, Right Vision.
Cheryl “Sugarfoot” Powe is from Chicago. She resides in Atlanta now which she considers her second home and lived in Atlanta for 20 years. Several family members introduced Cheryl to steppin’ at a very young age – ~10 years old. They would turn on the music and say “Come dance with me.”
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DJ Sam Chatman Shares What Happens When You Follow the Music
Who is DJ Sam Chatman? A lot of out of town steppers I have talked to do not know a lot about Sam Chatman. I believe the best way to celebrate DJ Sam Chatman’s birthday today, is to share what I know about him.
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Tony Dow. Rooted and Reputed in Chicago Style Steppin’
When a family has a rich legacy in music and dance, and a respect for art, the younger generation is born into a duty and responsibility of teaching and paying it forward whether or not they know it. What someone chooses to do with this duty is determined by his/her affect, character and sensibility. Meet Tony Dow.
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5 Things Westside Mike Said Made Me Say “Oh!”
I made a promise to myself to visit Chicago this year on a week when there was no World’s Largest or major event going on in the city. So said, so done. I spent five days in Chicago in the middle of March and there is so much to say about that time. During my trip, I had a chance to sit and talk with Michael “West Side Mike” Bush.
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Creativity. Dre Says There Is Always Something New to Learn
In one of the first workshops I attended, while watching me do the basic eight count my instructor asked me “what is with all the hip movement?” I said I used to do salsa so that is probably why I do that. She said, “Kill that! This is steppin’ not salsa.” Early on I struggled with doing too much too early and being over eager to make a different statement than what people wanted to see. Even now, six years later, I still feel I struggle with treading a thin line to make the dance my own. If you can relate, this article may be for you as well. It was refreshing to hear the point of view of someone who changed the game in Chicago Style Steppin’ regardless of what anyone else said or told him to do – Andre Blackwell.
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60 Minutes with LC “The Technician” Henderson
When someone that really owns his OCD tendencies proudly, LC Henderson, and an analyst, me, get together to talk about Chicago Style Steppin’, there can be magic and revelation in the numbers. Well, it was for me when I had a chance to sit with LC in Atlanta, pick at his brain and open my mind to a new way to look at the building blocks of this dance. If you are inquisitive about the logic behind the 8 count, LC is the one with the answers. I had to share this experience because it has helped me immensely to understand what it will take for me to graduate myself from a beginner to an intermediate stepper.
