Stepping is a type of percussive dance, rooted in African American culture. According to Britannica, it emerged as we know it today in the 20th century, but the origins of stepping go back to African American dances in the 19th century, and also have roots in West African traditions. Stepping involves using your whole body as an instrument, through clapping, vocalizations, movements, and body slapping. “I joined a sorority in college, the Divine 9. I’m a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Ms. Shuford, my co-coach, is a part of Delta Sigma Theta, so that’s a big part of step culture. That’s not the only part of the organization, but it’s a [significant] part of it, and so I think that again, it gives us that. You don’t have to be African American to join the step team, we actually don’t have all African American students, but I think that it just builds a sense of pride in that culture,” said Ms. Wells, co-coach of the step team.

Throughout the history of Osbourn High School, there have been step teams, but the current one started when they held tryouts in late January. “I had students who were already interested in having a step team. I wanted to be able to help facilitate bringing that team back to Osbourn and I also wanted to increase school engagement and awareness about the step team,” said Ms. Shuford, the step team sponsor and co-coach. Students could find flyers for the step team tryouts around the school or online. “When I went to Osbourn’s main page, there was a banner that said ‘step team’ and it listed information on how to join,” said 10th grader, Ma’Kaylah Evans.

Students who join the step team often enjoy it, not only because of the dancing, but because of the connections they make with their fellow step members. “My favorite thing about being on the team is stepping and connecting with my teammates,” said 10th grader, Kalyce Foster-Amissan. Some students were persuaded to join the team because there’s a history of stepping in their family. “My mom did step team when she went to school and step is pretty prominent in my family, so I wanted to try out for those reasons,” said 11th grader, Janiyah Roberts.

The step team practices every Monday and Thursday, in the fine arts commons or gym. “The last few practices, what we’ve been doing is running through our steps, and then we will run through and make sure that everybody’s beating on cue. Then, we break off and learn different [steps], so I’ve brought a few new steps to the team for them to learn, as well as one of our captains, who has created some. So, we’ll break off into sections, learn new steps, and then kind of build onto our routine,” said Ms. Wells.

The week of February 17, the step team had their first performance at a fundraiser. “We’ve only done [that] performance so far, but I hope we will do another [before the season is over],” said Foster-Amissan.

Osbourn’s step team is hoping to continue to grow and you can still join today! While stepping is rooted in African American culture, at Osbourn, anyone is welcome to try out. If you are interested, see Ms. Wells in room 2055 or Ms. Shuford in 1298.