Thirteen-year-old Sparkyl Williams plopped to the ground with exhaustion after stepping off the stage in Southeast High School’s auditorium Saturday night. “Oh, my feet hurt. I’m out of breath,” she panted excitedly. After a nearly 12-minute routine of stepping and hip-hop dancing, Sparkyl’s feet certainly deserved a rest. Step dancers use all their bodies as instruments to produce rhythms and sounds through footsteps, clapping and words.
Six teams competed, coming from as far south as Alton and north as Rockford, organizers said.
The competition capped off a daylong series of “edutainment” that highlighted stepping and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Kimberly Moore of the Network Group, which produces and promotes entertainment that combines health education with artistic expression, spearheaded the event to highlight the heritage of stepping in black fraternities and sororities.
Moore was spurred to action after Kerasotes Theaters made the decision not to open “Stomp the Yard,” an inspirational film involving stepping among black fraternity members, in local theaters after a Christmas Day 2006 shooting at Parkway Pointe.
Kerasotes brought the movie here two days after its national opening after people protested.
One of the major sponsors Saturday was Brothers and Sisters United Against HIV/AIDS, or BASUAH, a state initiative to promote awareness in the black community.
“The dance competition is wonderful and it’s a great opportunity for our kids to come together and hone their craft and then perform, but the opportunity to provide the HIV prevention message, especially to this audience, was something that was just extraordinary,” said Doris Turner, chief of the Center for Minority Health Services with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Activities began Saturday morning with free stepping workshops led by actor, choreographer and video dance instructor Darrin Henson at the Crowne Plaza hotel. BASUAH representatives were on-hand to conduct HIV testing and lead discussions about how to promote prevention.
At 6 p.m., the dance competition kicked off with performances by local R&B artists and a fast-paced hip-hop routine by dancers with TurnOut Movement Arts Studio of Springfield.
Henson and St. Louis comedian Eric Rivers hosted the dance-off, whose judges included assistant Springfield police chief Rob Williams, WXAJ-FM 99.7’s (“Kiss-FM”) DJ Captain and representatives of black sororities and fraternities. Participants were judged on originality, precision, level of difficulty and appearance.
More than 300 turned out to watch the performances, which were followed by an 18 and older after-party at the Crowne Plaza.
The A-Town Steppers of Alton High School took home the $1,000 top prize after they brought the house down with their routine, which includes flips, canes and members stepping while blindfolded. The Alpha Phi Alpha group from Millikin University in Decatur won the $500 second-place prize.
Although they didn’t win, members of Dreamz and Illuzunz said it was a thrill to perform in front of Henson and other talented dancers.
This article was provided by: SJ-R
Written by: Amanda Reavy
