Using their bodies as instruments, members of the Step Afrika! team stomped, clapped and chanted, creating rhythms and sounds as they went.
Step Afrika!, one of the top ten is professional African American dance companies in the United States, performed Oct. 2 at Pruis Hall. The company is dedicated to the tradition of stepping with a mission to preserve, expand and show the history of the dance form, as stated on stepafrika.org.
“Our definition of stepping is a highly energetic, polyrhythmic, percussive dance form,” Step Afrika! dancer Brittny Smith said. “This form of dance was created by African American college students.”
Stepping was formed from African-based traditions and communities that used movement, words and sounds as a way of communication.
Beginning in the early 1900s, stepping was practiced and introduced in the United States by African American fraternities and sororities.
Step Afrika! was founded in 1994 and began as an exchange program in South Africa and has expanded by touring nationally and internationally. The group today consists of dancers from across the nation who blend percussive dance styles and African American art and dance forms.
“I think it's really incredible to be able to dance at the level that they do and still teach and interact with the audience,” junior Lee Bard said.
Step Afrika! dancers performed with audience participation throughout the night. Ten students from the audience were chosen from the crowd and brought on stage, where they danced alongside Step Afrika!
Freshman Brittany Mayfield, one of the 10 chosen, said going up on stage was a fun time she didn't think she'd be able to experience again.
“Just watching Step Afrika! and the emotion they had really has impacted me to want to explore different organizations and dance groups," she said.
Step Afrika! performed solo, competitive and group dances. Dancers transformed multiple times throughout the performance to tell different stories of the African cultures through changes of wardrobe, choreography and sound.
“Step Afrika! definitely brought it,” junior Veronica Daye said. “They came and they brought it and I loved it.”
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