I attended the Adult Steppers Spring Break. I have to honestly say, I have mixed feelings about the event. Aesthetically, it gives you what all visitors expect when they embark upon Miami, sun, sea, sand and salt and the steppin’, well, thats always the bonus. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces and they were executing turns with great precision. The glow up for the Adult Steppers Spring Break was real but one thing for sure is this, if your event is in Miami, folks are going to come, why because it’s in Miami and then if you throw in the beach and a hotel on the sand, a sure winner. There was something in the air and it hovered over the dance floor like an illegal drone breaching air space. We all have our instincts and without hesitation, our gut will zero in on something that our eyes can’t see.
I had a good time. I also had a fucked up experience with a man I had one dance with and I had the unfortunate luck of sitting at this muthafuckers table. If you saw were I was sitting those who saw me know who I’m talking about. Don’t DM me with any questions because I’m not answering. Why, because I’m not getting into that bullshit. I paid to sit there so my ass was stuck. Now on too brighter things and dimmer lights.
I attended the sets on Friday and Saturday only. Friday I was bored but I danced more on Friday than I did on Saturday. The DJ’s had the dance floor packed both nights. If Friday was the oldies night then for sure Saturday was the turn up. The music catered to the steppin’ classics and a lot of it on Friday. When I hear the oldies and when I watch seasoned steppers do their thing it cast a light on why we step. That’s the music steppers will never be able to get away from, it gives the dance and the hardwood we glide on life and validation. Some steppers were singing and steppin’ as the classics moved them. And all I could do was watch and learn. I made every attempt to get into it but I couldn’t. I wasn’t familiar with many of the songs played so after a couple of hours I was out. As I was enroute to the valet stand, I caught the beat of Biggy’s Hypnotize and if my feet could skid you’d see black marks embedded in the hotel lobby carpet. So I wound up in the lobby bar not exiting until 2:00 AM and then stopping by my favorite 24 hour Cuban bakery on 163rd Street for two ham croquets, a media noche and a Cuban coffee to sober me up for the drive. The only thing I’m going to say about Saturday night is that I was able to learn that reggae line dance. It was easy, I got that shit.
The extra activities, like the pool party and jump rope competition, not sure what they were about because I didn’t attend either. But this is what was posted on social media, “the jump rope competition judges were Bonita Williams, Sabrina Crawford, Michael Bennet and host Herschel Smith. The jump rope contest winners were John Lucas (1st place), Feo Duncan (2nd place). The double dutch contest winners were Lawanda Williams (1st place), and Rachel Knight (2nd place). ” This info I lifted from the Adult Steppers Spring Break Facebook page. The Newport Pier Resort is a nice hotel but they did some crazy stuff, on Friday they valet parked my car but on Saturday, they did not. I pulled up and I was motioned to and directed to park across the street, wait, what. So I had to walk in my heels to the hotel from this gritty space for parking and heading back it was unsafe to retrieve my car. The lot was dark and undesirables was lurking and hanging out.
The thing about steppn’ is that it leaves no visible bruises. The Adult Stepper Spring break is the type of event that does just that. Come as you are, be who you are and just have a good time and if the set isn’t doing it for you, head down to south beach. Always an option. If your able to mix it up with a Miami local stepper, the history of the dance locally is an interesting and exciting one.
There is so much more to Miami than steppin’ when you attend the steppers spring break. We have a really unique history of African American art, entertainment and the culinary scene is expanding which is what takes you beyond the beach. The next time you make your way down to step, check out some of the local stuff that’s for us and by us. If for nothing else, do it for the culture.
I can’t say I had a great time but I can say it felt good to be out. It felt good to see old steppin friends that had me steeped in a steppin’ family reunion. It was the steppin’ that brought me out. Whats has tripped me out is that for the past couple of years we are left with the question, are they doing it next year or not? From the last post I read on social media, they may do it next year or they may not.
I LOVE 2 STEP 