Thousands of steppers make their moves in Atlanta

Georgia International Convention Center

2000 Convention Center Concourse, Atlanta

770- 997-3566

Special musical guests: Chante Moore, Glenn Jones and Joey Sommerville

gooddeedsinternational.com or www.heritageball.com

 Think you can dance? Check out this fancy footwork of Chicago-style steppin': Video 1 | Video2 | Video 3 | Video 4

Let’s be clear: When Donald Blount talks steppin’, he’s not talking about line dances or the campus shows put on by black Greek-letter sororities and fraternities.

He’s referring to a couples dance that he describes as “a culture” in the African-American community, that many trace to Chicago, where he lived for a few years before eventually moving to metro Atlanta.

“I was rather blown away by the sexiness of the dance,” said Blount, 53, a general contractor, who lives in Lithonia. “Steppin’ seemed like a lot slower, more romantic type of dance. I’ve pretty much been engulfed in the culture, and it truly is a culture.”

More than 2,500 like-minded steppers will join Blount this week in Atlanta during the 7th Annual Heritage Ball at the Georgia International Convention Center. The annual event is one of the largest stepper balls in the nation and is sponsored by Good Deeds International, a group of metro-based steppers who have turned their love for the dance into a celebration of black history as well as a way to raise money for charity.

Steppin’, which is the generally accepted spelling, has been around for decades. Blount traces its roots back to the lindy hop and the bop.

“It was very much born in the African-American community and stayed in the African-American community,” said Blount. “It’s like a family (of dancers). No matter where you go in the country, you have the same dance with the same type of people.”

Steppin’ is a very popular form of African-American social dance that is practiced across the United States and internationally, said Thomas F. DeFrantz, a professor of African and African American Studies and Dance at Duke University.

It falls into the genre of “partner hand dances” and follows the lead of the lindy hop and disco.

“Steppin’ is a mature sort of sustained dance form, which means you do it for three, five, 10 minutes at a time,” said DeFrantz, who is also president of the Society of Dance History Scholars. “ Today’s popular dances are much shorter in duration. “It’s not the kind of dance where you jump up, do it and sit back down. You might do it for an hour before you sit down.”

Chicago-style steppin’ is “graceful, fluid and it has a flow that makes it seem magical when two dancers are really in sync,” he said. ” It’s gorgeous to watch and incredibly rewarding to dance.”

Forget today’s more popular dances. There’s no twerking for this crowd, who mostly fall in the 40-plus age range.

“It’s a grown-up dance,” said Good Deeds President Cheryl Powe, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant. “You don’t have to be provocative. It’s not disrespectful. It has etiquette. Its contains all of those elements. And, you can even talk while you’re dancing.”

One minute couples might be steppin’ to Beyonce’s “Love on Top” and the next minute to “Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind,” by The Temptations.

In steppin’, couples follow basic steps, but add their own flavor. Couples add their own spins, dips and slides to the dance, sometimes incorporating elements of salsa. There’s also a move called walking

“Some people even incorporate the waltz,” said Royce Banks of Chicago, who is considered one of the experts on the dance.

While steppin’ is a couple’s dance, it’s not unheard of to see two men dancing together — or battling — trying to outdo one another on the dance floor.

A man might also dance with two or, even, three women.

Several metro nightclubs have steppin’ nights, and promoters rent out space for people who want to step.

Chicago native Ellery Murphy, owner of Ellery’s Atlanta on Campbellton Road, has featured steppers’ nights at this club since 1998.

Given his roots, “naturally, I had to put it in my business plan,” said Murphy, who watches more now than he dances. He estimates that nearly a dozen steppin’ clubs came out of his club. “It’s big.”

One night, Shawntha Harris-James was wiped out after working the second shift and decided to swing by a local nightclub to relax.

Instead, she found herself mesmerized by the moves of a couple on the dance floor.

“It looked like they were floating on air,” she said of the dance she later learned was called steppin’. “I wanted to learn it and went back the following Thursday. That was a dance I had to learn. It was beautiful.”

Today, James not only competes in steppin’ competitions across the nation but she helped start a business that includes three generations of her family. Every Sunday night, James helps teach Chicago-style steppin’ at Acoustix Jazz Restaurant and Lounge on Marietta Street, along with her son, husband and mother.

During one recent Sunday, James gracefully instructed a group of women how to step. Some of her students were newbies, others longtime steppers.

Emmanuel Rivers, 36, wanted to brush up on his skills. Zorita and LaMar Vaughan of Hampton were newcomers. “We hope to do a cruise and I want to be out there with them,” she said.

“It’s just smooth,” said LaMar Vaughan, who is retired from the military.

At 22, Keenan Harris is probably the youngest person in the room. He started steppin’ on his 16th birthday after watching his mother and some of her friends dance. He quickly caught the bug.

“I like every facet of it, from the music to meeting new people. It’s continuing changing and growing. That’s what I appreciate.”