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[1/3/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
2010 Potential
By Markie Bee
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As individuals, many of us set goals within our lives both inside and outside of our Chicago style steppers communities. They say unrealized potential is wasted potential (and I have no idea who "they" are).
One of the stated goals of SteppersUSA has been the perpetuation and growth of Chicago style stepping across the country. As editor of the site I manage to have conversations (in person, on the phone and via email) with many steppers. Some are the "movers and shakers" of the genre while others are not.
Many of the people I have these conversations with are what Chicagoans call "out-of-towners" and as the dance grows across the country, many of these people are expressing a lot of frustration with what they perceive to be a "disconnect" between what the "defacto leadership" says and does or intransigence concerning the status of the dance elsewhere (and also in Chicago).
Before I describe any more, let's look at the past in Chicago to start with. There have always been schisms, in-fighting, and power-plays within the ranks of the Chicago steppers community. As I discussed recently with a few Chicagoans about the way 




 

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the "elite" (and not so "elite") have acted through the years… when individuals had disagreements or when one person did something another didn't like, they would huddle up in a corner with their clique of like minded friends and talk about the other individuals and how they were "wrong".
In many ways that hasn't changed… people still group up with like minded individuals (some still call them cliques) and talk about each other but the method of communication has been expanded with the advent of the web, discussion boards, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning.
The same technology that is without a doubt responsible for a big share of the growth of the art form also creates a perfect storm for expanding a disagreement between a small group to global proportions in milliseconds. The World's largest results and cell phone video's were posted within moments of the judges decisions. (Granted a good part of the disagreements about the WLSC results came from a lack of understanding the history of the dance and the contest WAS cause for misunderstandings).
Now to continue after the history aside… today people from around the country are more engaged and connected than ever before. They see what has been happening both nationally and locally but they seem chained to only acting to gain the favor of the most public and powerful few in Chicago instead of doing what is really necessary for the good of the dance in THEIR cities.
If there's too much politics, you just have to remember the saying, "All politics is local". While its true in many cases Chicago style steppers in other cities don't have the same amount of "on the floor experience" as steppers from Chicago, it doesn't really mean anything more than it will take them longer to get to the point where they can step every night like they do in the windy city.
The simple solution is to get more people on the floor and explode the growth of the dance in your city. If someone can teach the basic pattern people will be on their way to doing the basics. It doesn't take 20 years experience to teach the basic pattern (but beyond that you need a REAL stepper to teach you how to dance the dance).
So develop REAL steppers who can teach the dance!
From just about every indication the number of steppers in cities other than Chicago is equal to the number of steppers in Chicago (at least from demographic information of online unique visitors to the websites I administer) and I would imagine before 2011 the scales will tip if current trends continue. I actually expect the trend to accelerate (Chicago style stepping is a growth niche market) due to many factors.
As the people outside begin to realize their potential as steppers they will become less dependent on the people in Chicago as they realize they don't need anyone's blessing (or attendance) to hold an event in their own city.
In other words I expect to see more steppers spread their wings and fly on their own.
Its fine to be a "protective parent" as I'm sure many steppers in Chicago feel they are and if things seem to be getting out of "Chicago control" they can blame themselves for not coming together and doing the things needed in the past and the future (certification and unification). That’s OK because people in the other cities will take the baton from your hand much like you did from the boppers in the past to bring it to this point. The dance will continue to grow well beyond the city of Chicago.
SteppersUSA will be there to encourage that growth and speak on it as the opportunity lends itself.  

 

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