[12/30/2008 SteppersUSA
Daily News]
That Was The Year 2008
By Markie Bee
WLSC DVD On Sale at WLSContest.Com -
Click Here Order Tickets for New Years Party on line
Click Here or
Here Email Address for Pluggers:pluggers@steppersusa.com Contact Markie Bee:
webmaster@steppersusa.com For those out there who remember the 1970's television program, "That
Was The Year That Was", it was a program that provided a sometimes
satirical view of the year gone by. It really doesn't have anything to
do with the past year, but it seems to roll into my mind at the end of
each year. I'm not sure many people remember the show. In January in the
first article of the new year
I made a bold statement.
I said "In 2008 a dancer will rise from the ranks in a city other than
Chicago and catch national attention." Also on the first, the first
Chicago's Largest Steppers Contest was held at the Lexington House
during a blizzard and sub-zero temperatures. On the 10th of January
rumors started circulating about the
Majestic Gents
discontinuing their partnership with V-103 in favor of Soul-106. The
rumors turned out to be true. On the 14th I posted the first episode of
Real Talk on Moe's Learn2Step.Com website. To this day the feature is
extremely popular. On the 17th the "Steppin' To Kings Dream"
extravaganza kicked off in LA. In February,
"Celebrating Our Heritage Extravaganza" in Atlanta was the mega party of
the month and at the end of the month the
controversy in Los Angeles
was profiled in the ChiSteppers site. In March Phoenix played host to
the 2nd Annual Desert Steppers
Ball. I also asked the question,
Is Stepping recession
proof? Later in the year we would get the answer. In April we saw
the First annual Mid-South Steppers Ball in Memphis TN (I haven't heard
if there will be a second this year yet). Also in April was the
announcement on the formation of the Chicago Steppers Convention to be
held in Chicago over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. At the end of
April I started to really harp on the steppers community about
certification of
instructors in a multi-part article. May saw the Majestic Gents
Annual Steppers Convention in Florida that got rained on big time. There
were also events in Raleigh N.C., Montgomery, AL,
New Orleans and Baton Rouge Louisiana as well as Houston and Dallas, TX
signaling a rise of Chicago style stepping in the deep south. In May
SteppersUSA also started the steppers classifieds section of the site. I
also made the suggestion in May that Chicago Style Stepping be named the
"official dance" of the city
of Chicago. No progress on that front. Our readers chimed in on my
crusade for instructor certification with their additions to my list
"Why we need certification".
The Steppin' Forward
Documentary movie was announced at the end of May, but we haven't
heard any more about it since. June saw the
Fourth Annual White Party Weekend in Detroit MI as well as the
1GSteppers First Annual Juneteenth Steppers Ball in Dallas Texas,
and the
1st Annual Seven Cities Steppers Festival Weekend in Newport News,
VA. There was the announcement of the ill fated Steppin' Across
America Contest in the beginning of June. The promises of big money
prizes apparently wasn't enough to get the number of contestants to come
out to make it worthwhile. And who knew my call in June for
Stepping at the White House
could possibly come true? A jury acquitted R&B star R. Kelly of child
pornography charges in June. We also saw the club D'Elegance and Orbies
Contest's go head to head. I liked Orbies but the place was sweltering
hot with so many people in the place. June was also the month that the
promise was made that Club D'Elegance wouldn't betray the steppers
community any longer and it would be known as a steppers club from that
point on. History tells the story. By the end of June, the gas prices
were affecting everyone including our Community. The first Annual
Metropolitan Steppers Steppers Ball & Workshops Weekend kicked off July
that was full of contest finals, (Both 3-G's and Orbies) as well as the
Gentlemen of Ballroom Second Cleveland Steppers' Ball in Cleveland,
OH, and the
cancellation of Steppin' Across America. There was also the first
WLSC semi final held in Baton Rouge, LA. In July I announced SteppersUSA
sends more people to steppers sites than Google making this site the hub
of steppers activities on the web. In August, it was the
4th Annual Steppin in Shades of Brown event in Oakland CA, and
Atlanta's 9th Annual Black + White Steppers Ball, and the Milwaukee's
Largest were the major
events.
In August our daily steppers newsletter saw it's 365th issue milestone
(today's issue is number 508)... Yea, I'm counting! SteppersUSA's
Steppers
Killer Tips feature and our new and improved
syndicated feeds also started in August. In September it was the
18th World's Largest Longest Steppers Contest that was
the headline event. I took several thousand photos at that one and the
DVD will come out (finally) on January 15th. I rehashed My
State of Stepping
Article in September comparing the original article to the facts in
2008. In September we saw the birth of the
readers favorites of steppers music section. In September visits to
SteppersUSA.Com Broke all records after the WLSC. In October, the big
event was the Best of Both worlds Dance Extravaganza, in Ellicott City,
MD. It was fun seeing people from different dance backgrounds come
together and party. October also saw the debut of the Step and Think
Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Program lead by Monique Salter. In October
I also called for a
National Steppers Day. I'd really like to see that one happen! In
October we saw some great
steppers music remakes by Seal and Kimmeth “KEYZ”. We also saw K-Jon
shoot to the number 1 position on the Billboard chart for the first
time. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention people came out in record
numbers across the country to early vote for president. November was a
historic month both for the steppers community and for the country at
large. Chicago saw the first steppers convention where three major
promoters worked together and made history. Oh yea, we also elected the
first African American President in US history! Also in November, Mel
Devonne posted a video on You Tube called. "KOS Keep on Steppin' trailer
1" he said it was a trailer for a movie he would be releasing. In
December, I celebrated the one year anniversary of the
History of Stepping Project.
DBJ Productions celebrated their 5th Anniversary. I know I skipped over
quite a few anniversaries through the year, but this column is long
enough already. Finally, in memoriam the losses to the steppers
community in 2008 were immense: George Macaroni, DJ Freddie Mack, and
Renda McDade will always be remembered.
Barbara Mason - Yes I'm Ready (PAUL
SIMPSON DA PRODUCERS MIX)
If you or anyone you know has any photos, footage or information about
or from any Steppers contests for the
History of Stepping Project,
I'd love to add it to what we have. It's Your History! OR If you have a personal recollection concerning stepping or if you care to help
with the
in any manner, please
Send us an email.
SteppersUSA.Com sells Steppin' DVDs from across the Steppers Community.
Click Here to view the listing
or
send us an email
if you would like to include your DVDs on SteppersUSA.Com
The SteppersUSA Daily News and SteppersUSA.Com are both
daily
publications which update continually. We accept and publish Steppers
classes and workshops, Daily events, weekly events, monthly events,
special events, steppers news, requests for information which we can't
answer but our visitors may have an answer to. All of this makes us the
most complete listing of Steppers information available anywhere. Send
your submissions and pluggers or flyers to us at
webmaster@steppersusa.com TODAY!
Please copy the message below and send it on to as many steppers as
you can please!
This is an open message to ALL steppers. Please share it
with as many people as possible.
As many of you may already know I started a new web
site for the benefit of the greater steppers community. It's called
History of Stepping Project. I wish to encourage you to add your
knowledge to the timeline. If you know anything about stepping, please
share this with the public on this site. We are looking for all
information related to stepping from it's beginnings to the present. The
information literally includes everything from clubs and bars which held
steppers sets and parties to contests and the participants and results,
to when different steppers organizations and classes started, who the
instructors were and are; Musical bands, and artists, DJ's, radio and
television personalities, Movies, videos, and photos… literally
everything stepping.
Creating an accurate historic timeline will go a long
way toward helping the community take the next step in its logical
progression as it continues to grow nationwide and will become a
valuable resource for all in the future.
Your input, your knowledge and your effort have made the dance what it
is today. Don't you feel your place (and your organization's) in the
timeline is well deserved? I do!
Please send an email to your members or readers inviting them to
participate. Place a link on your web site also please. All support is
appreciated!
The effort requires more than just posting the
information. The need for fact checkers, people willing to do some
research exists in this important ongoing project. Just a few minutes a
week can make a difference.
For those out there who remember the 1970's television program, "That
Was The Year That Was", it was a program that provided a sometimes
satirical view of the year gone by. It really doesn't have anything to
do with the past year, but it seems to roll into my mind at the end of
each year. I'm not sure many people remember the show. In January in the
first article of the new year
signaling a rise of Chicago style stepping in the deep south. In May
SteppersUSA also started the steppers classifieds section of the site. I
also made the suggestion in May that Chicago Style Stepping be named the
events.
In August our daily steppers newsletter saw it's 365th issue milestone
(today's issue is number 508)... Yea, I'm counting! SteppersUSA's
