[8/4/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
Contest Instructors and the Public
By Markie Bee
National Chicago Style Steppers Day
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The World's Largest Original Old Skool roster of contestants from Chicago completed last night at Mr. G's as nine couples appeared for the last semi-final in Chicago for that category. Once again the room was packed as DJ Cross was in the box.
The scores and overall rankings by score are posted on the official Worlds Largest Steppers Competition website WLSContest.Com. The photos from the dance party before the competition are also posted on the site.
There are still plenty of good VIP tables available for the competition. If you know ten people who intend on getting VIP tickets for the good seats it might be an idea to pool together and get a table. This gives you a choice of seating arrangements which may not be available as the contest date draws closer.
Ten days until National Chicago Style Steppers Day (NCSSD) and there isn't a day that goes by that people are asking me about instruction. These are people who want to learn the dance and want to participate in the NCSSD events across the country. Many of the cities are offering workshops (many free) it's up to the instructors to get the word out to the public. One problem as I see it is the

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majority of instructors do a great job of promoting to the existing steppers community but do a terrible job of promoting to the much larger potential customer pool that the general public presents.
One way to increase your exposure to both markets is making sure you're listed with current information in the SteppersUSA listing of Chicago style steppers classes across the country. These listings are free and you can get basic information about your class, location, class time and what you charge. I will not post it like an ad with more information like sales pitches unless you purchase an ad (which is a good idea if you want to grow your business by giving it more exposure).
I mentioned in a previous column there should be more events similar to the National Steppers Society monthly "Steppin' under the Picasso" and also "Stepping in Central Park" which was done for a second year. This is a great way to get more people interested in our dance and it just takes a little communication with your local municipality to set it up. It can work in any city, you just need some people who want to step, some music (I think some DJ's would like the exposure) and a public civic area to step. I feel in Chicago we take these things for granted for the most part because the event has been going on for such a long time, but in other areas it could have some major impact. Let me know if you are interested in doing something like this in your city and I'll do what I can to help promote the idea. I'm fairly sure Ken Watkins (the organizer of "Steppin' under the Picasso") would probably be willing to share his experience and information on how to set up this type of event. when you see those who have developed their dance to a higher level.
I just finished the two DVD set from the J.E.P. Productions Hotter than July steppers contest and the total editing time was less than eight hours. I'm also working on an instructional DVD for a client and I've already invested more than three times the amount of time in editing and creating the DVD and it's not done yet (but is still on schedule).
The J.E.P. Productions Hotter than July steppers contest is now on sale and can be ordered online here. Or Right Here!

What are you doing on August 14th? Please let me know!

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