Stepping in the United States
A Stomping Craze of Historical Proportions
Explore the history of stepping in the United States from its little known origins to its recent prevalence in society and the media.
If you have ever seen School Daze or more recently Stomp the Yard and you have never been exposed to Black sororities or fraternities, you may be asking yourself, What on earth is this craze called stepping? First of all, stepping is not a craze. It is an original art form created by African-American college students.
Stepping's Origins
To understand stepping, you have to understand “Boot Dance”. “Boot Dance” developed in the pitch-black coalmines where slaves were forced to work. Work boots were issued to deal with the rocky terrain slaves were expected to work in. Forced to work in the darkness Monday through Saturday from sun up to sun down, the slaves’ only time to see the light of day was on Sunday. On Sunday, they rejoiced, exercised and danced in their work boots. They would draw crowds from admiring people of all races as “boot dancing” gave them an opportunity to echo the African drums of their home lands by stomping and clapping in a percussive manner similar to the boot dancing still seen in parts of South Africa.
In 1906 and 1908, Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first all black fraternity and sorority were formed respectively. Soon after, six more of these predominantly black letter organizations were formed. These organizations saw white sororities and fraternities singing and chanting on campuses, so they decided to step it up a notch (Pardon the pun.) by adding elements of boot dance in their chanting. In the 1920’s when the largest eight black Greek-letter organizations started to meet at the Inter-Fraternity Conferences, stepping turned into a casual competition of call and response to impress the audiences during intermissions. They would sing about everything from how good they looked to their vast knowledge of African-American history building confidence and pride during the process.
Stepping's Progression
In the 1950s and 1960s, music and war affected stepping. In the 1950s and 60s, fraternities started singing and dancing to mimic the styles of R & B groups like the Temptations and Four Tops. The fraternities with the best song and dance steps got the most recruits. This is how it has come to be known as “stepping” today. World War II is equally influential in the evolution of stepping. As new members were recruited and granted membership into these exclusive organizations, they had to perform a step to signify “crossing the burning sands”. Crossing the burning sands meant official membership in the organization. Soldier fraternity members came back to America and incorporated elements of drill routines such as military marching and line formation into their steps for crossing over rituals. Influences from the military still exist in stepping to this day.
Stepping Today
Today’s stepping combines many dance elements from the past and uses complex maneuvers between participants. giving each organization its own unique style. You can see people stepping in all types of attire from military fatigues to high-heels and tuxedos. Steppers may also use any type of hand-held instrument such as a stick, cane, bat or sword to help compliment beats and maneuvers. Stepping is still a significant part of the pledge process for most African-American sororities and fraternities, particularly the largest eight Black Pan-Hellenic organizations, but many Latino organizations have come to embrace it as an integral part of its pledge process. Since branches of the eight powerful Greek letter organizations exist world wide, you can find step shows and competitions in places as far as Africa and Europe.
The Future of Step
The potential for stepping to grow is unlimited. It has already spread from colleges to cheerleading squads, schools, churches, and community groups. Its influence can be seen in the dance numbers at the Oscars and Grammys as well as in the routines of popular music videos. Stepping has been featured in movies like School Daze (1988), Road Trip (2000), Stomp the Yard (2007) and Drumline (2002) , and in television shows including A Different World, Seinfeld and Cheers. Evidence of steppings’ history can be found in the libraries and hallways of any Historically Black College or University. As stepping continues to grow, this art form that has come out of the anguish and toil of the coalmines will remain a treasured emotional and physical expression near and dear to the hearts of its many performers.
