[8/7/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
Everyone Say Cheese!
By Markie Bee
National Chicago Style Steppers Day
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Before I start... Next Saturday is the day! All steppers are requested to make their way to the dance floor for the first ever National Chicago Style Steppers Day event across the country. It's time to "get it in"!
Unlike most, when I go to a set or a party or an event I am there either by request or arrangement specifically to take photos of people on the dance floor for my clients and advertisers. When someone asks me not to take their photo, I do my best to honor their request but that's not stopping any of the other people in the room from getting that shot the "subject" doesn't want taken.
You know when you see me "on the set" I'm there to chronicle the dance in my small way (although at one point I could have made some good money shooting for the "Cheaters" TV show). I'm not there to photograph you in a compromising situation.
It's an age of photos and videos and there's no escaping the fact. Overhead, the mapping satellite can zoom in with such detail you can identify your car in the driveway. Many people now have personal surveillance systems in their homes and you know the camera's eye never blinks.
Your boss may have video of you on the job and you know virtually every business has had cameras trained on your every move while you are inside and in many cases outside their establishments.
Traffic cameras not only get your car, but also your license plates and who is in the car. In Chicago and many other large cities, you can't go anywhere without being on camera by the police, security or someone with a cell phone and a Facebook account.

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You can go to any department store these days and for very little money purchase a small camera that has a ten or twelve megapixel chip on it. Personal high definition video cameras are comparatively inexpensive (when I say comparatively I mean just a few years ago a "cheap" HD camera was $3,500) and you get one today for less than $200.
The point is everyone is under the lens or behind the lens and its part of life these days. Perhaps the Facebook "founder" Mark Zuckerberg is right when he talks about the lost expectations of privacy.
I don't think it has so much to do with the ramifications from 911 other than it gives the government an excuse to snoop even more than they already did but the way people communicate has changed dramatically.
People don't write nearly as much as they used to, they post photos and videos (perhaps to compensate for a lack of written language skills) but they say a picture is worth a thousand words and I have said if a picture is worth a thousand then a video is worth a million.
When you're in the public domain anything goes so all I can say is "look before you leap" and "smile you're on candid camera"!
The Steppers Weekend Roundup Saturday Edition
In short order, the headline event of the weekend is MSBU's steppers contest in Milwaukee on Saturday night where people vie for cash prizes and spots in the World's Largest. Another event to note is the Dancettes are having their seventeenth annual Yacht club party in Chicago. You can get details for these and all other events toward the bottom of the page. If you want more events for other dates just point your browser to the steppers perpetual events calendar page.
Our friends in Oakland not too long ago posted a gift in the SteppersUSA Facebook page... one of the best gifts you can give a stepper... the gift of steppers music made just for steppers. The song is by Jazz Saxophonist Ric Alexander and its co written by D'Wayne Wiggins from Tony Toni Ton'e, (who coincidentally, will be in Chicago this weekend with his brother Rafael Saadiq) and the name of the song is "Keep It Simple Steppers" (KISS). The song is real smooth. You can hear the song if you're reading this. Tell me what you think. Oh by the way, the CD is available on Amazon, iTunes and CDBay. Thanks Oakland for the gift!
I think it's great that over the last couple of years there are artist's that have come to learn and understand that "Steppers beat" that's so distinctive about our music. It has to be danceable by the stepping community for us to have interest and many artists are realizing the potential in our growing market. I've said it many times dance is an expression of emotion and so is music and when they match it's a beautiful thing!
The Steppers Weekend Roundup Friday Edition
It's not a big steppers special event type weekend but there are plenty of first Friday sets happening across the country tonight. Here in Chicago the Lollapalooza concert event is going to clog up traffic in the downtown area around Grant park as the crows will start early in the morning and not leave till late at night (Great! I have to drive right by there to get to the JEP First Friday event tonight). I just don't want to be in the area when Lady Gaga is performing. In any case you can see all of today's steppers events farther down the page and if you want to see the rest of the weekend's events you'll have to visit the Steppers Perpetual Calendar page.
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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