Step dance, commonly known as “stepping,” is a dance style that focuses on the whole body. The dance has African roots, and was later popularized by the National Pan-Hellenic Council. It is a form of percussive dance where the body – mixing footwork and hand claps – is used to create rhythms, as if it were an instrument.
Step Afrika! is the first touring company to study this art form and perform it for a wide audience.
The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts hosted Step Afrika on April 25. Founded in 1994 and based in Washington D.C., they are one of the top 10 African American dance companies in the United States. “Step Afrika! Promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understandings.”
“It’s a show that’s highly energetic,” Mfoniso Akpan, the Artistic Director of Step Afrika! told the Bronx Times.
“It showcases the art form of stepping, which the company is well versed in, and we are the first professional company to be touring and studying this art form. So the show really showcases the best steppers and artists who have been performing these choreographic beats for a very long time.”
The show featured dancers doing step moves to traditional African drumming. Eat, step and clap is done to the beat of the drum, mesmerizing guests with their intricate moves. Step Afrika is interactive, inviting guests to clap along to every beat and cheer along.
Notable moments include a competition between men and women dancers, with the audience being the judge, and a video of Step Afrika’s origins in South Africa, dating back from the 1990s and 2000s. The show concluded with a standing ovation from the audience, displaying their joy from an energetic performance.
“It is a percussive show where you will hear us making music as well as seeing us do different dances as far as Afro Beats to traditional Zulu, South African style, some contemporary, and a little taste of individuality,” said Pelham Warner Jr, a dancer with Step Afrika! “Which comes [from] urban cultural styles that consists of people’s different areas; where they come from.”
Step Afrika! Holds many accolades, including a Guinness World Record title holder for largest stepping dance; Mayor Arts Awards for outstanding contribution to arts education, innovation in the arts, excellence in an artistic discipline; inducted into the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA); headlining former President Barack Obama’s Black History Month Reception; And performing at the White House’s first ever Juneteenth celebration.
The company also had an interactive stepping exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.
Step Afrika! Will host future performances this month and the next in Ontario, Colorado, and Washington State, and will return to New York City in June.
