Let me tell you about a Facebook post that made reference to the ladies in Raleigh, North Carolina and their steppin’ game. It was stated that they are surpassing women steppers nationally. I cleared my throat and read this but halfway through I was perplexed. I was inclined to fire off a lengthy response sprinkled with a bunch of how the hell do you knows. But I chilled. I chose to blog my thoughts. When it comes down to the who’s who of steppers across this county and who’s developing them outside of the midwest, consequently, it boils down to economics. Who is spending the bread to get this thang dot com. Steppin’ cost and the more advanced you become the more funds you will expend. We pay for every turn, spin, trio, walkin’ lesson and let me not leave out the dreaded workshop. From my vantage point the longer you stay in this the more it costs. But before I go on and for those who have read it here’s a refresher and to those who haven’t, check this out. After you are done reading, I am going to expound. Oh, by the way, I cut and pasted the quote below…
Royce Bank’s Facebook quote (December 19th, 2011 @ 7:31 PM): “Hey all, I have to say this. The hottest area in the country with the fastest growing number of hot female dancers is North Carolina. You want proof well, here u go. There is Crystal Ramsey, Zona Wilfong Cureton, Linda Bruton, Lorey Crite, LeLani Mayfield, LaTonia Morrison, Valerie Hopson, Keisha Smith, Shauna Irwin, Erika Little, Shontavia Lee, Dana De Vane-Webster, Vashti Savoy-Russell, Dena Moore-Morrison, D. Graves (Tall Rick’s Girl), Maria Spencer Lewis, April Humphrey, Maryam J. Lynch, Elena Braithwaite, Vivian Perkins, Mashanda Ardister, Annette Read and Kinya Anthony. Nothing personal with the rest of the country but they are hungry/starving. Guess what after seeing them, we all have to get our weight up. Nothing Personal just my opinion. But, I’ll Bet money on it. Other opinions please!”
When I decided to take this journey and give my opinion, I felt it was imperative that I research both entities one being Royce Banks and the other the steppin community in Raleigh. My initial focus was how could he validate and give a whole community that type of endorsement and whose rubber stamping it? That was the question I wanted an answer to and as I ventured out on my quest for the information I took to my laptop. I searched the internet. Where do the above-mentioned ladies rank nationally? I Couldn’t find that info, so I moved on. Still wanting to satisfy my curiosity. I leapt over to Google and hit up youtube for footage, punched in the names and not much showed. Deena Morrison and Erika Little did show some results on the youtube search though. But the interesting thing about Erika was that her information was a mixed bag of steppin’ and line dance and Deena’s info led me to the North Carolina Triangle Steppers website. I wanted to see what linked Royce from Chicago and the women from Raleigh. Checking out the site I found no connection. But there was a posted video housed in the gallery of the North Carolina Triangle Steppers website of Deena dancing with Royce. My nosiness was peeking and I kept looking. I gave up on the ladies and began to focus on Royce. How did they land into Royce’s world? The distance between them is a 14 hour drive or 865.09 miles between them and before you frown and ask me “how do you know,” I mapquested it.
On The Steppin Is A Lifestyle website which belongs to Royce Banks, he lists himself as the lead instructor for the North Carolina Triangle Steppers. Ah ha, I found it! The tie that binds. He was coming from a biased place. The parent praising the child. How can you give a whole community that type of come-up-ance or national ranking when your teaching them, traveling to their city (not sure about vice versa) and I am sure Mr. Banks is reaping an economic benefit. There are no steppin’ instructors who engage in pro-bono work and if there are, leave a comment and tell me who. If you are not financially stable you will not be able to get this dance, steppin’.
I’ve been to quite a few cities for steppin’. I haven’t run into Royce in many of them except for Atlanta. I see the local steppers, and you know what, I think that steppin’ communities like Memphis, Los Angeles,Oakland, and Atlanta could give the city of Raleigh a run for their money. My thing is how are we measuring this? How is Royce measuring it? I could have easily asked him but I chose not too. Simple as that. I’m not sure how he came to his conclusion, but what I can say is this, I think that he’s using a yard stick.
I’ve travelled to Baton Rouge for the Touch of Class Steppers third anniversary weekend in November and they have some men and women steppers that have a handle on the dance and if viewed by the untrained steppin’ eye you would have thought that they were plucked out of Chicago and planted in Baton Rouge. They have a steppin’ community that is a well-kept secret. Their men are solid and some of the women are flawless. This is not to say that what Raleigh has to offer isn’t sufficient or that their dancers aren’t up to par. Is it fair to place one city above another one? Can we really say that a particular city is the best (let’s omit Chicago for a second) without having a national dance off? Hey, we can do couples from Raleigh against couples from let’s say New York and see who comes out on top and then the winner goes up against the next city, let’s see Seattle and so on and so on… The winner of the Steppin’ City Round Robbin would be crowned the best in the nation. Would that be an efficient way to measure it, a contest?
I’ve traveled a great deal with steppin’. I’ve been to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Raleigh, Atlanta, Baton Rougue, Orlando, Arlington and Chicago and to be honest with you, I can’t tell who’s the best out there. From my observation or view-point, we are all good. No city is better than the other. When it comes to Memphis, they travel with a group of bona fide steppers males and females ready to get it in and they hit the dance floor heavy and they cut better while doing it. Have you seen Sheena Clark from Memphis dance? Have you seen Rose Moore turn? Have you seen Brandon from Baton Rouge get it in with Drew and Dre in a trio? How about Tamara Lloyd from LA, heck she has a WLSC win under her belt.
Again, I am not saying that Raleigh doesn’t have steppers worthy of praise. I know they do. But to place them up against communities that are growing and developing steppers every day is just, well, I’m not sure what it is but I can say it doesn’t sit well with me. Dallas has a community that is consistent and developed again as does Los Angeles. Raleigh has been around for quite sometime. I have had the privilege of stepping with them annually, twice. I for one believe that competition is healthy and it requires you to step your game up and stand in the face of a challenge. But let’s not pit community against community. I just don’t think it’s cute.
I LOVE 2 STEP 
Hey Veronica, it is very interesting that you took the time to research one persons opinion, but in your efforts I discovered how you interpreted that NC Triangle is associated with NC Triangle Steppers, it is not. The Triangle and Triad area consists of about 6 cities in North Carolina. Although we love Royce Banks as an instructor, we do not have a lead instructor for http://www.NCtrianglesteppers.com. We have had many instructors to help our community grow and will continue to do so. Thank You so much, and I always enjoy your Blogs see on the beach at the “Adult Steppers Spring Break” April 19 thru 22, 2012.
Hey D, thanks for clarifying and your comment. Shamless plug, really. LOL… See you in April.
Good article…..It took heart to right!!! Thats good to see in this Stepper’s era…
Thanks Dave, that means a lot coming from you.
Veronica
Excellent article
Hey Warmbrown Shugga, lol great blog as usual! I have been teachin since 2000 around the country from Vegas to Boston and never once have I said that one city is better than another. This dance is costy in Chicago I know I paid my dues finacially and mentally so I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Lady Margaret, you are in a class all by yourself.
Fascinating!!!
Thank you L. C.
I used to live in Memphis and I heard of the stepping community there. They take it VERY seriously. My friend from Chicago took stepping classes in Memphis and she could not stop talking about it. It is interesting how this style of dance has birthed such a rich and widespread culture. I love looking into this fishbowl!
Warmbrownshugga Solomon…did you write this article???….I like it. All the ladies mentioned are very talented dancers…no matter the city. Why waste time making comparisons???…I enjoy dancing with them all.
Yes I wrote it Roy and I enjoyed doing it.
This is a great blog! I love your research. Well done. I agree that people should not pit communities against each other. It should be about the dance and not always about competitions. During the first couple of years that I started steppin’, I saw many competitions which were clearly unfairly judged. I also saw people become fiercely competitive regarding teaching. Many teachers are sometimes great steppers and business people, but make horrible teachers.
I have spent half my life raised in Chicago and the other half raising my children in Milwaukee. I met my husband taking steppin’ lessons. My stepdaughter and her husband also met shortly prior to us taking classes. We stopped steppin’ due to the social negativity of a few petty people and important family financial obligations. I wanted to learn enough to compete but I am very content having fun dancing with my family and friends. We have not taken lessons for years and get compliments from many people, especially in Chicago.
I also hate when new steppers, 6 & 8 count by the “book”, criticize old school steppers. Any woman who can truly dance should be able to follow any man’s reasonable lead in any style.
First, let me start by saying I am one the females mentioned in Royce’s article. Second, I am not from Raleigh, I am from the Greensboro area of North Carolina. I read your article and I read Royce’s and would like to say that at no time did he state Raleigh had the best females dancers. What he said and I quote, “The hottest area in the country with the fastest growing number of hot female dancers is North Carolina”. There is no mention Raleigh in the article, several of the women mentioned are from different parts of NC. He goes on to say “that we are hungary/starving for the dance”. I believe I can speak for the women associated with my group and that is I do feel we are better than anyone. We are just trying to learn and do this dance we have come to love, like so many others around the country. Living outside of Chicago has been a real challenge at best and I believe we are making great strides. And it is nice to be reconized for our hard work. That is not to say that other places aren’t working just has hard. And one last postscipt there are alot of great steppers and they are not on You Tube, they are in their communities quietly getting their dance on.
Hi Crystal, I copied an pasted his entire post…so I didn’t miss-quote him. I spoke as a result of what I found. Telling me about who and youtube, I got it. I’m not living in a steppers bubble. I also said I researched the two…I didn’t say nothing about him quoting Raleigh. Which means I picked Raleigh out of the cities and from where some of those women are from because the vast majority are from Raleigh. Oh, by the way, the tone of my blog post is such that you drove my point home. I am glad you got it. That is what the blog is for. Blessings to you Crystal.
I would like to make a correction and that is, we do (not) feel we are better than anyone else.
Ok, you are not better than anyone else. Isn’t that what I was saying?
I tend to stay away from drama and don’t have an opinion about this situation either way but I just want to commend you for speaking your mind. I been stepping since I was 18 (started with LC paying $5!!! Good times 😉 and I’m now 33 years old… I could never really get into it the way I wanted to (simply because I love the dance), because of the competitive aspect (I’m not a competitive person at all). But after years of growing and maturing and becoming, I notice that I keep coming back to it no matter what and it all boils down to I just enjoy it and it’s a part of me. In glad to see it spreading like wildfire and all the advancement of others that started at the same time I did and how the dance has evolved (used to be all about footwork… The spinning and turning is new but I dig it!) I’m amazed at how this dance is taking the nation by storm and I’m proud to be a part of this community. So I just wanted to give my two cents and say wherever you’re from if you love it get down how you live! We can do that without comparing one to another… Personally I think it kills the exitment of it all and gives folks big heads. I LOVE STEPPIN 2 ❤ Keep blogging Ms. Veronica! Love it 😉
I enjoyed your honesty… I’m a 3 years plus stepper and have seen many talented people. I wish that all Steppers no matter where your located can support each other & honor this dance as a whole. Kinda sad to see the division in this dance we all love. Not everything in life is a competition. Just Enjoy the dance people!
Hey Veronica, a thought-provoking perspective. As one of the ladies specifically mentioned in Royce’s quoted comment, I actually never saw it until now but am flattered that he feels that the NC females are making positive strides as we all continue to learn the art of Chicago Steppin. I see that Dena has already addressed the mix-ups with the groups and that Crystal has addressed some of my initial thoughts regarding the fact that nowhere in Royce’s comment did he state who was “the best.” He appears to simply acknowledge that NC is a fast-growing community and that we are “hungry/starving” for the dance, which I would tend to agree. Since you attempted to do some research, please allow me to share a little more information for additional perspective.
NC Steppers Association is in Greensboro (more than an hour away from Raleigh which is where NC Triangle Steppers is located) and is the group that’s been consistently working with Royce as their lead instructor for the past year of so, hence the basis for his first-hand experience and probably where his opinion stemmed from. When any instructor of Royce’s caliber comes to any part of NC, that information is shared amongst all the groups (which I believe NC is formally up to 6 groups that I’m aware of, not to mention tons of individuals and new students who aren’t affiliated with a particular group but support all of them). And since the NC groups genuinely like one another, we go out of our way to actively support each other which visiting instructors often notice.
My response is not to debate what I perceive as the overall point of your blog because personally, I agree that we don’t need anyone pitting cities against one another and further dividing us as a people. However, you chose my community as the basis for your topic of discussion so while this is all subject to the court of public opinion and it makes for interesting conversation (which is the point of blogging in the first place), I just want the same opportunity to present an accurate representation of NC as a steppin community and “how we roll.” I am extremely proud to be a part of the NC steppin community and commend our men and women on attempting to embrace and respect the true meaning of the dance and culture. Are others cities doing to same? Based on my travels to various steppin events across the country, absolutely. Is NC better than other communities? Not necessarily. Is NC hungry? I think so. Do we have some good dancers? Sure do 😉 But the one accolade/endorsement that means the most to me is the way I feel when I’m out on the floor enjoying myself because at the end of the day, I’m doing something I truly enjoy. When it stops being enjoyable, I will stop doing this and move on to something else. #realtalk
Hope to see you in the MIA next month. M 😉
Hey Maryam, I am just getting around to seeing this. I was actually taking a ballroom workshop today and loved it. Thanks for your response. You said a lot I must say, but hey…you felt the need. Your rebuttal gives the blog post balance and I like that. It would be truly one sided if all of the comments were positive and smelled of right on right on.
Thanks for your response to the post. I’m not sure what you cleared up because most of the points I didn’t make mention of or have any criticism of the community in Raleigh. That wasn’t my issue and it still isn’t. Hey, if you want to rep your city go right ahead.
My goal was to provide balance and information so I’m glad I was perceived that way. Your blog’s perspective seemed general and the fact that you used Raleigh to sum up the entire NC steppin community is an accurate reflection of what folks across the country are doing as well. Like other states, NC has several groups in multiple cities but there seems to be a tendency for folks to group all of us together, whereas other cities tend to have their own identity (e.g., Cleveland and Toledo versus Ohio, Los Angeles and Oakland versus California, etc.). Therefore, your blog provided a good opportunity to point that out. NC is a fast-growing community and we appreciate being recognized as such. Thanks for the platform and keep on keepin’ on… M 😉
Maryam you are funny. Let’s get one thing straight, I am giving my blog balance by allowing the opposing view points to be viewed. I did as you asked and removed your two anxious and over zelous posts. Now you say that my blog is general. I am taking that as a dig. I didn’t cook this up. I read something that was posted on fb and I decided to respond in my own way. I didn’t lump the state of NC up, that was Royce. How would folks know that all the ladies mentioned by him on his post weren’t all from one entity? There is none and with all the responses to his post… not one woman who responded from NC said, hey, I’m shouting out Greensboro. Your passive aggressive approach is insulting and I don’t like it. So now you keep on keepin’ on.
Excellent article. So glad that you enjoyed yourself while in Baton Rouge. I love the dance, the travel and the people. Peace.
Well put togther, you need to write more and let us (All The Steppin Cities) send it out to our people
Awesome read, however, if the steppin’ community isn’t producing “hungry” male leads, does it even matter. I would love to see class instructors with a zeal to grow male participation, with serious recruitment.