History of African-American Stepping
"Stepping," a cornucopia of dance styles, military disciplines and African beats, is also called African-American step dance. With roots in both South Africa and pre-Civil War America, stepping has a rich history, and it continues to find new audiences.
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Definition
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African-American step dance is an intricate combination of military-style drills, African boot dance and African-American R&B group dance moves. The name "stepping" was originated when dancers tried to imitate the steps of 1960s R&B groups such as the Four Tops and the Temptations. Using call-and-response chants, syncopated clapping and props, step dance uses the intense sound of collective stomps to gain the audience's attention. Stepping can be performed solo, but most often, it is performed in groups.
African-American Culture
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Stepping is uniquely African-American. In the late 1700's, African-American slaves began laying the foundations for stepping when they were forced to develop nonverbal methods of communicating with each other. They also used this developing style of dance to celebrate some of the African dances that were not allowed on slave plantations. In the 1950s, African-American WWII veterans helped incorporate military drills into stepping, and these roots--along with urban influences and hip-hop culture--have helped shape stepping into what it is today.
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African Boot Dance
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African boot dance, also called the gumboot dance, was developed in South Africa by African miners in the late 1800s. The dance was originally used as a form of communication inside dark and perilous mines. Miners were often chained to their stations and forbidden to speak to each other, so they created the gumboot dance as a form of alternative communication.
The rhythmic stomping of the African gumboot dance greatly influenced stepping. As gumboot dance became an art form in South Africa, African-Americans, interested in knowing more about their African roots, adopted some of the gumboot movements into step dancing. Modern step dancers often wear heavy boots when performing.
Fraternities
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According to Auburn University Phi Beta Sigma website, Omega Psi Phi and Phi Beta Sigma were the first fraternities to use stepping. At first, stepping was done for entertainment, but as time went on, these organizations used "step shows" and events featuring African-American stepping as fundraisers. Soon, other African-American and Latin-American fraternities began stepping, and eventually, African-American sororities such as Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha began stepping, too.
Mainstream Stepping
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Stepping has gone mainstream in recent years. Shown in films and performed for national audiences, stepping has evolved from something a group of friends did for entertainment. Talent shows on national television have featured step dance group on their programs, and international companies have used step teams in their commercials.
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References
- Photo Credit Step by step image by Ilija Mitrevski from Fotolia.com
