Ballrooming vs Steppin: Oh Really? Back

Aug 3, 2010

By Tracey Bivens (Imasteppa)

Ballrooming vs Steppin: Oh Really?

Well…I guess by now you’ve seen the Dancing Shoes trailer that Detroit R&B artist, K-Jon, has featured on You Tube. The trailer features various actor/dancers from both the Detroit and Chicago communities and the characters are seemingly ready to embark upon warfare to defend both dances in their respective cities. The trailer shows snippets of dancing/steppin, guns, people getting beaten up, singing, etc. I’m wondering if this movie is going to set the tone for the future climate of dancing in Detroit.

I find myself having to constantly explain to people that I am extremely proud of the contributions that Detroit has made to the dance community. I learned how to ballroom dance first, then cam bop, the Latin Hustle, the Social aka (The Greystone), line hustles, etc. There is no question that our city is rich with history and talent in that regard. We are the paradigm of dance.

When steppin came about in the late 90’s, it was found that there was an avenue to manipulate that dance through a serious of intricate combinations. In ballroom dancing, there was NEVER an opportunity for two women to dance with a guy and not do the same 1, 2, 3, step back, move over and over again for three minutes. Steppin came along and offered VARIETY, trios and quads, state to state networking, and a "special blend” of music.

Slowly but surely, the handful of us that started steppin concentrated on that dance above the others because again…steppin offered more variety. If you witness a "quick trio” for the first time…it is very exciting and addictive. You didn’t quite see that in the ballroom dance. Soon, classes in steppin began, there were workshops sponsored by out of towners, steppin parties popped up more frequently, etc. Steppin hit Detroit full throttle.

Along the way, some ballroomers refused to have anything to do with the steppin sets. They looked at steppers as though we had declared mutiny on the ballrooming community. Some ballroomers chose to learn just enough to fake it and then there were some that simply continued to ballroom dance. I remember at least a dozen men and women from the old school era that ONLY step now but swore on a stack of Bibles that they would never learn how to step. Peer pressure is a motha ain’t it?

Currently, the temperament of the Detroit "dance community” seems mixed. There’s the group that primarily focuses on steppin 95% of the time and they will only attend steppers sets. There’s the group of versatile dancers that will go to all dance parties and be happy. Then there is a group of ballroomers that love to downgrade steppin every opportunity they get from calling it "country” to "Chicago s&^t” etc. and they will stick with the ballroom parties. Some would argue that this is because they can’t execute the dance well and are "hating”. Some people have suggested that it’s because these ballroomers used to get mad props for ballrooming and Latin Hustling back in the day but in steppin’ they don’t and can’t handle it. Who’s to say?

How do we fix this? Exclusivity. Options

Exclusivity gives me the right to go to a dance party that plays the kind of music I want to hear, dance with the people I want to dance with, and feed off of the atmosphere that surrounds me. Options give me the choice of going to Ballroom Party A and Steppers Set B without someone speaking negatively about me and calling me a "sell out.” If you don’t like steppin-don’t go to the sets and keep on doing your thing. If you don’t like ballrooming-don’t go to the parties and keep on doing YOUR thing. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Don’t try and make each another conform.

Ultimately I think Dancing Shoes is going to show the dance communities coexisting amongst one another. At least I hope that’s how it’s going to end. Steppin in Detroit is not a fad and Ballroom dancing in Detroit is not going to disappear. The only thing that we should try to make disappear is our distaste for people having the right to make choices.