A Reflection Project 300 Arrives! Back
Aug 7, 2011
By Tracey Bivens
It started out as a conversation on the phone over a year ago between Sherry Gordon and myself about building the steppin community. It’s a conversation that I’m sure many women and MEN have had in various communities around the country but we took our conversation to the table and put it into a plan of action. I remember last August, we had the idea and it was time to present it to the community of established steppers that we already had because we knew we were going to need help. Thus, The Detroit Steppers Network was born. People showed up to the initial meeting not knowing what to expect but they came and it was on and poppin’ after that. It was an arduous task…these last 11 months…of meeting after meeting, instructors ‘session after session, outing after outing along with the fundraisers but The Detroit Steppers Network persevered. Of course you have varying levels of participation but that’s with everything and it didn’t matter because people stepped up to the plate. Speaking for myself, I wanted to see the instructors come together, the general steppin community come together, the DJs coming together and more importantly…I wanted everybody working as "one band…one sound!” (Laughter) and we did!
The August 6 workshop was exactly what it was supposed to be. Men and women came out that we had never seen before and took an interest in our dance. They stayed for three hours and enjoyed themselves through the beginners, intermediate and walkers levels of workshops that were offered. Supporters also attended such as Dave Maxx aka "The Dance Doctor” and his friends from Chicago and Gary, Indiana as well as Toledo, Cleveland, Lansing, Cincinnati, and Flint. I think many would say that seeing the 6 count instructors and 8 count instructors teaching and counting the same way was the highlight of the day.
The gala which took place later that night had a LOT of NEW people in attendance that were not at the workshop but came out to see what all of the fuss had been about in regards to Project 300. I think having DJ Rodney Mack, DJ K-Mix, DJ Paul Ross "The Boss” and Steppin E "Emile” offered guests what they were looking for as all four of these DJs actually have different playing styles but they are all steppin DJs. The Detroit Steppers Network worked tirelessly on the door, preparing food, walking around greeting people and making sure everyone had dances. Who could ask for more? Hiccups are inevitable but not made to be memorable. I Love Steppin’s Jeff Clark has his camera in tow along with Deborah "Partypeople” Dixon’s videos and will be posting pictures for all to see on their respective website and Facebook pages. There was even an impromptu after party being given to accommodate the out of towners who wanted to party beyond 2:00am hosted by Lynne "Ms. Cheesecake” Batten at a nearby club.
EVERYBODY in the DSN and the steppin citizens of Detroit deserved praise for their hard work and efforts in making this event a successful one but I want to personally thank Jackie "Shortcake” Jones and Karen Ware for following the instructional team around the city passing out fliers, taking pictures, having conversations with strangers and going above and beyond what was expected of them. I would also like to acknowledge Steppersusa.com’s, Markie Bee and Dave Maxx for their constant encouragement during this entire process by giving the national steppin community exposure to what Detroit was involved with.
And now the question that is on everybody’s mind. Did the numbers in attendance match 300? Well…let me answer the question this way. One thousand workshop fliers were created and distributed along with personal conversations about how steppin is a great dance for entertainment and cardio. People in Detroit were exposed to steppin in places where steppers don’t normally go for the last ten months. Hundreds of Detroiters were added to the various steppin Facebook pages that we have in existence right now. A cable network is now contemplating giving the steppers a onetime shot at a dance show exhibiting steppin and the Detroit Steppers Network has been invited to perform at the African World Festival which is Detroit’s largest ethnic festival with an expected 80,000 attendees every year. So my answer is yes…Project 300 met its goal and will continue to be a success!
