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Northern Iowan

The student news site of the University of Northern Iowa

Northern Iowan

The student news site of the University of Northern Iowa

Northern Iowan

Dance company steps into action

Dance+company+steps+into+action

As the lights dimmed and the audience quieted, seven performers dressed in red and black stepped onto the stage, humming and snapping a quiet rhythm that set the scene for the performance to come. Step Afrika!, the first professional company in the world committed to the art of stepping, came to the University of Northern Iowa  Wednesday.  

Meredith Baumann, sophomore communications major, said this opportunity was set up by the Campus Activities Board.

According to the performers, stepping is a self proclaimed highly energetic, rhythmic dance form created in the early 1900’s by African Americans. Based out of Washington D.C., Step Afrika! gathers graduates from around the country who are interested in this cultural art. Among the dances performed, some traditional African dances were featured such as the Gum Boot Dance, which combines sound, rhythm and gum boots.

 Step Afrika!’s movements thrilled the audience with dazzling displays of rhythm and acrobatics. Attendees were called upon to clap out rhythms, shout rhymes and cheer for their favorite dances and teams of entertainers. The most striking twist came when performers actually went into the audience searching for volunteers, some more willing than others, to take the stage with them and learn the art of stepping. 

Two such students were Jamal White, freshman marketing management major and Lameika McCray-Fenton, junior criminology major. As the audience was transported to the nation of Zulu through costumes, music and dance for the show, these two students were crowned king and queen on-stage, and asked to repeat the complex movements required for stepping.  

“I had looked up the show earlier so I was kind of expecting something like this,”  McCray-Fenton said of the experience.

“It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting,” White, who was in attendance at McCray-Fenton’s recommendation, said. 

Surprises aside, both McCray-Fenton and White agreed that their experience at Step Afrika! wasn’t something they were likely to forget soon.

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