Stepping has been a part of my life since I can remember. But to my surprise, when I asked students about the art, most gave me blank stares. If you're one of those people here's your chance to watch and learn.
Step is built on the thing that makes your head bob to all of the Neptunes' songs. It's what makes you show off your best moves on the dance floor. It's what makes you snap your fingers and tap your toes to the rhythm of your favorite song. Those beats are what make step.
Stepping originated from Africa traditions, performed as a rite of passage. It evolved as slaves were forced to work in coal mines. The terrain was rocky, so each slave was given a pair of boots to wear while they were working. Units of slaves would compete on Sundays in what is known today as the African Boot Dance. The dance served as a chance to re-sound the battle cries of ancient drums and percussive foot-stomping, hand-clapping served as the beat of the drums, and rhythmic dance movements mimicked the fight and the passion of the songs.
With origins in the cultural dance traditions of Africa, step in America has grown into an intense system of rhythmic chanting and stomping in which dancers mark time by listening to the sounds of each other's voices and feet. Over the past few decades, step has been developing on black college campuses across America, where students gather and dance to promote pride in their African heritage.
The eighth annual Pharaoh's Step Classic, which is hosted by the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, will begin at 3 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the show. Alpha Phi Alpha boasts a surprise host and a live performance from a special guest. Six step teams will be performing, most traveling from Texas and California, and two teams from ASU will get home-court advantage. Each step team represents its respective fraternity or sorority, with students of the Camelback High School Step Team opening the show.
"We do a lot of mentoring at Camelback High School, so we try to give them the opportunity to open the Alpha step shows," says Prince Otieno, vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha.
The nine predominantly African-American fraternities and sororities that belong to the National Pan Hellenic Council historically have adopted stepping. In recent years, other Greek letter organizations have begun to practice step and participate in step shows. This year the Latina sorority, Kappa Delta Chi, will compete for the $3,000 grand prize.
Pharaoh's Step Classic at Orpheum Theatre. 3 p.m. Saturday. $12, $15.
According to fraternity Web sites, stepping was first introduced to Greek letter organizations by members of the Phi Beta Sigma and Omega Psi Phi fraternities in the early 1920s. It consisted mostly of singing and dancing, called "serenading," and eventually evolved into step.
Various elements of military marching and line formations were implemented after the return of African-American soldiers from World War II.
Step has evolved greatly over the years. What began as a combination of dancing and singing on black college campuses now has grown into mimicking popular songs through the use of fire, glow-in-the-dark sticks and canes.
"Everybody keeps trying to raise the bar," Otieno says.
The Pharaoh's Step Classic is the longest-running step show at ASU. It started in 1995 at ASU's own Neeb Hall. This was a free event and usually only a few teams participated. As the show became more popular, it moved to the South Mountain High School auditorium. Eventually the show outgrew that venue as well, and in 2002 it moved to the Orpheum Theatre. This year, Alpha Phi Alpha expects a turnout of 1,300 people.
"The brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha had a vision of bringing a step show to the most amounts of people to further enrich their culture," says Alpha Phi Alpha member Justin Kelley.
The fraternity has turned this week into an Alpha Week, complete with forums, barbecues and parties. For more information, visit www.mueta1906.com.
Reach the reporter at ceante.harris@asu.edu.
