Branches Book

BRANCHES

Teyana Brown

STEPPING INTO A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

When I was a little girl, my parents used to always tell me that I could dance before I could even walk. I would dance in grocery stores, in malls, at restaurants, etc. All I needed was space and music and I would put on a performance for everyone to see. I’ve participated in many dance recitals and programs from kindergarten to eight grade. Most of the recitals I was willing to participate in, while others, I was forced to do. But either way, I still enjoyed every minute of it. Sadly, it all came to a pause once I started high school. The workload I had for all of my classes became overwhelming, so I was no longer able to continue dancing while also trying to manage my schoolwork. However, anytime I didn’t have a lot of work to complete, I would practice old dance routines in my room. Doing that allowed me to relax and do something I enjoyed very much. The styles of dance I usually do are hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, and sometimes ballet. But there’s one dance style that I never tried, but always found very fascinating. That dance style is stepping. I’ve attended many that ended with a performance of people step- dancing. Every time I watched it, I always wanted to learn and be a part of a team that steps. The first dream job I had was to be a professional choreographer, so I could form my perfect team and perform for the whole world. As I got older, my dream job changed, but my passion for step- dancing was still there. In the future, I feel that I will eventually get the opportunity to learn how to step-dance, but first, I want to use this research to begin my experience by sharing my learning about Stepping. Stepping or step-dancing is an important part of African American cultural heritage. Stepping is a style of dance that uses the body as an instrument to produce rhythm and sounds through a mixture of hand claps, footsteps, and spoken word. 1 It originated from the African foot dance called the Welly “Gumboot” dance. Gumboot was mainly used by miners in South Africa as a substitute for drumming because it was banned by the authorities. 2 This style of dance was used as a form of self-expression for workers who

1 Taproot foundation, "What Is Stepping?," Step Afrika, accessed December 15, 2016, http://www.stepafrika.org/company/what-is-stepping/.

2 Taproot foundation, "What Is Stepping?," Step Afrika.

20