Fueling Your Creativity. Hear It From Andre Blackwell
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Fueling Your Creativity. Hear It From Andre Blackwell

BySonji

Reading Time: 3 minutes 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.

The Rise Of A New “DMV” Steppers Community
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The Rise Of A New “DMV” Steppers Community

BySonji

Reading Time: 3 minutes This week the nation seemed perplexed and silent even at the outlook of the next 4 years ahead of the United States, but when I remove myself from the grand scheme of things and take it back to my neck of the woods, I am exhilarated at the promise and potential for positive changes and progress in the year ahead in my local stepping community.

This Month’s Feature Stepping Instructor Chaundra Satchell

This Month’s Feature Stepping Instructor Chaundra Satchell

BySonji

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chaundra “Shooz” Satchell is from Chicago and now lives in Hampton, Virginia. Although she grew up between Gary and Chicago surrounded by Chicago Style Steppin’, she learned to step right here in Virginia at Langley Air Force Base with Timothy Wilson. But, her steppin’ granddad is LC Henderson. Chaundra has been steppin’ for almost ten years, instructing for about six years and she is the President of Virginia Steppers Education Fund. She is known as a very direct instructor but I can feel her passion for the dance so charge her Debbie Allen persona in class to her heart not her head. You can tell by her actions and history in the community that she wants this dance to flourish for years to come, but earnestly believes this dance won’t flourish without the young people – especially the men. Chaundra admits she would compete at the World’s Largest Stepper Contest one day but she cannot find a partner locally. So, her question is, “Men, what is the magic to keep you in this dance? Help a sister out!”

Etiquette #3 Gentlemen Please “Have My Back”
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Etiquette #3 Gentlemen Please “Have My Back”

BySonji

Reading Time: 2 minutes In your first Chicago style steppin’ class you should probably heard the phrase “stay in your lane.” It is one of the primary codes in this dance. Men, you lead and keep me in our lane so I count on you to be my eyes in all directions on the dance floor. This is where my third etiquette comes in – Please “Have My Back.”

Chicago Stepping. Who Goin’ Check Me Boo?
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Chicago Stepping. Who Goin’ Check Me Boo?

BySonji

Reading Time: 3 minutes I may roll up like a boss on the dance floor but that’s because if I dance with a gentleman I want him to know, “I am ready for whatever you want to try.” Who goin’ check me and give me something I don’t know? This year when I danced with Maurice “Reese” Thomas for the first time at Stepaganza in St. Louis … it was check, check and check.

This Month’s Feature Stepping Instructor: Reggie Handy

This Month’s Feature Stepping Instructor: Reggie Handy

BySonji

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reggie Handy is from Waukegan, Illinois and now lives in Edgewood, Maryland. He grew up skating and watching his aunts and uncles bop. He was caught up in the street life and hip-hop scene, and when his nieces and nephews were old enough to show up at the same clubs he thought he’d better find something else to do and somewhere else to go. Reggie made it to his first class in steppin’ in 2006 to officially learn about an eight count, and here he is ten almost eleven years later.

60 Minutes with LC “The Technician” Henderson

60 Minutes with LC “The Technician” Henderson

BySonji

Reading Time: 3 minutes 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.

This Month’s Feature Stepping Instructor: Tonya Foreman

This Month’s Feature Stepping Instructor: Tonya Foreman

BySonji

Reading Time: < 1 minute Tonya Foreman is an instructor in Eastern North Carolina. She has been in the health and fitness industry for 26 years and enjoys different genres of music and dance. She is the owner of the Mochas Dance Studio in Greenville, NC. Tonya considers stepping as her passion and believes that music brings people together and promotes understanding.

Etiquette #1 “Please… Respect My Level”
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Etiquette #1 “Please… Respect My Level”

BySonji

Reading Time: < 1 minute Well, this lady has spoken. Gentlemen, the ladies in the community have a few expectations of you on the dance floor. I appreciate and admire the social graces and etiquette of steppin’ that are lost everywhere else. It is one of the reasons you will hardly see me in a club anymore over a stepper’s set or event. To some men social graces come naturally but sometimes gentlemen I just want to remind you of some of the simple things that make all the difference to the ladies.