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[2/3/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
Steppers Class Muse-A-Tude
By Markie Bee
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Today's Steppers Beat column is sponsored by: WORD OF MOUTH ENTERTAINMENT, LLC. THE QUAD CITY STEPAGANZA Memorial Day Weekend 3rd Annual Fashion Show and Benefit May 27-31st, 2010
An Evening at Class
In the last six or seven years I think I've managed to attend an average of about 2 steppers classes a week. During that period at some points (in time) I was at a class every day of the week, while others I didn't have to go to any. I didn't go to any of these classes as a student I went as a photographer but it doesn't mean I didn't learn anything because I always do pick up on something (when I choose to pay attention).
When I look at the hundreds of thousands of photos I take at those various classes I have to marvel at the level of improvisation the different instructors have to employ to get the point across to students.
After I shot some video clips last night, I stayed at the class I was at last night to take some shots of the instruction. People were going over their basics, learning to count to the beat of the music and making their best attempt to 

 

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translate all of that to moving their feet to the count and beat.
They were in two groups one group was the guys lead by an assistant to the instructor and the instructor was leading the ladies through their drills. The class was at the point where it was time to learn the start off (some call it the opening) where the students coupled up and attempted to put what they had learned so far together into a recognizable dance move.
Some students have their first real moment of real understanding at this point while others are still not seeing why or how the basic pattern is the way it is. That's where the real challenge for the instructors begins. How many ways can it be explained? That half turn is what you do - remember you've been practicing that half turn and managed to stay on beat in your drills.
Of course when they rock back and into the release with the beat some of the students are off to the races and completely forget the count and the beat and just about everything else they have learned so far. They try it again and again as the instructor explains the same move nine different ways to twenty different people.
As I shoot and listen I seem to remember at some point in the past an instructor telling a student, "this is how the man establishes the lead and puts you into your lane. He's putting you on the highway and all you have to do is drive between the white lines by staying on your basics."
Letters to the Editors Department
Got an interesting email on Facebook concerning the weekend's column titled "She's Got a Point" and I wanted to share the conversation…
Hi Markie - I think Lana (and you) have a good point, but it seems contradictory to what I've experienced on the set. We steppers tend to get annoyed when non-steppers are trying to dance and violating the lane rules etc... I wonder what the balance is between promoting the dance and keeping the "rules" in tact? The salsa community seems to have made it work. I'm not sure what the magic answer is. Maybe if the community was growing, we'd have sets in larger venues and then lanes wouldn't be an issue? Just musing...
Thanks for your daily column! I enjoy it!
Here was my response… While you're right even teaching new steppers on the social dance floor is a violation of proper dance etiquette... steppers need to understand for this dance to grow (especially in cities other than Chicago) they have to loose the attitude. The community is growing in places other than Chicago (at a much faster rate) and I feel the whole Chicago "tude" needs to change to being more accepting of change in general toward "outsiders" (and in many cases each other).
The rules of the dance will remain unchanged but until the rest of us in Chicago get on the same page (like other dance communities have) there will continue to be animosity and eventually we will slip into the realm of irrelevance nationally. Great "Muse"!
As an addition to my response I have to add that I hate to see people trying to instruct on the floor on the set because it detracts from the real fun of going out to dance but at the same time if someone is really new to the dance (as it might be their first time with this dance and never seen a stepping class) I can understand. As more people learn the dance, we grow into larger places and if we don't (grow or have the smarts to move to a place that can provide more space for more people) we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
 

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