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[4/21/2008 SteppersUSA News]
Catching the Beat
By Markie Bee
"Steppin'
(stepping)-- a social dance done in time to music that occurs on a
steady recognizable 'downbeat'. The
ability to take steps to the downbeat and still come back in time with
your partner is widely accepted as steppin. The smooth gracefulness of
the dance is also a characteristic of the dance. The dance includes a
lead and follow position and thus to be well executed requires physical
interaction between the individuals. Various turn patterns, footwork and
pulls are all inclusive elements of the dance." That's the quote on the
NSAAB's website as
well as many other definitions of Stepping on
the
History of Stepping Project
website.
One of the most difficult concepts to grasp in this and virtually every
form of dance there is learning how to "catch the beat" of the music.
How many times have you heard people say, "They are wonderful dancers,
too bad they're off beat."
I see several different classes every week, and I watch individuals
struggle to understand where the beat in the music is. They learn to
snap their fingers to the downbeat. Then they start on "the count" and
it doesn't matter "which count" (six
count or
eight count) they are using, the count starts with the first
measure. According to the dictionary, the downbeat is the first beat of
a measure (in the music).
It's been said here and virtually everywhere else, the count is supposed
to be a tool to help you associate your moves with the beat and to the
rhythm of the music. Some dancers understand the concept very naturally
and don't really need to learn to base their dance on the count.
In other words, they hear the downbeat and just need to learn (men
as leaders) to anticipate where they need to be and which foot is
supposed to be where on the downbeat (both male lead and
female follow). Of course the female isn't supposed to anticipate
(the next move) but in reality her moves are (supposed to be) very
predictable because she is supposed to dance to a definable pattern (the
basics) in a
lane.
One of the "revolutionary" changes to the dance was introduced by Tykmyn
a few years ago when he started to turn his partner "on the beat",
any downbeat. This made the dance "more difficult for those who
dance according to a count because they were indoctrinated to use a
limited set of moves (which lead to statements like "dancing to a count
looks robotic".
More tomorrow
Recent : Seismic Waves Read More After Shock Saturday Read More
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
History of Stepping Project in any manner, please
Send us an email.
Multiple Definitions Added
Definitions Page
2006 3-G's Contest results added
Timeline Updated
Steppers Compete 2003
Timeline Updated
The Dungeon in Chicago in the 1970's
See the Personal Recollections Page
Gousters appear on the Chicago
Scene
Read a Personal Recollection Here
New York Steppers Completed the first level of NSAAB training
certification a total of 7 instructors
Added to timeline
Take the March Poll
Which City Has
The Most Active Steppers Community Outside Of Chicago?
Take a look at our You
Tube Steppers Video page and rate some videos (Six
pages now) 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!
Shorty Smooth interviews the Jr. Stepper
Added to You Tube: April 14, 2008
Buy It Now On SteppersUSA
For
those of you who promote and submit events to SteppersUSA you may have
noticed we've added some new features. Some are for security purposes
like the captcha coding. Other changes are to make the
Events Submission
Form a bit more uniform and hopefully a bit easier to use. An
important addition is a three choice question where you choose... If you
sell advance tickets, can they be ordered on line? The choices are a
simple yes, no or Contact me about customers ordering tickets directly
from SteppersUSA. This FREE service by SteppersUSA
can help you increase
your advance ticket sales all from one place. Think about it. Thousands
come to this site every day looking at events and making plans. It's
convenient for the customer and you make money! Don't have a FREE Pay
Pal business account? Not a problem!
Just click Here! Even if you already have a website it only makes
sense to add a Pay Pal Button to SteppersUSA to increase the possibility
of a sale. Customers can use any credit card including Visa, Master
Card, Discover, American Express, or their Pay Pal account or directly
debit their bank account. It's safe, secure, and easy. SteppersUSA will
not ask for any personal or financial information or access to your Pay
Pal account. We will only ask for information related to your button. As
I said before SteppersUSA will not charge for this convenient service.
Both you and your customers have everything to gain! Do you have
suggestions to make SteppersUSA even better? Please Send us an email.
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
The 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.
Thank You for your time!
Markie Bee
The History of Stepping Project
Create & buy custom products at Zazzle
Monday April 21, 2008
Steppin' in the Suburbs
Martini Room in downtown Elgin
161 E Chicago St. Elgin IL
Start Time: 8:00PM - 12:00AM
Door: $5
Attire: casual
847-840-1321 teriannj@sbcglobal.net
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