Step dance, also known as stepping, is a style of percussive dance where a dancer uses their entire body as an instrument to make rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken words,and hand claps. Traditionally stepping was rooted and developed after the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina. In 1739 twenty slaves held a rebellion banging on drums as they marched by river banks the sounds the slaves produced attracted more slaves causing the rebellion to expand. After the rebellion lawmakers outlawed the right to own and play the drums. The ban on drums influenced slaves to replace the drums with the percussive dance form that we know today as stepping. The culture of step is practiced today within the competitive schoolyard dance programs by African American sororities and fraternities.
Akilah joined her first step group when she was twelve years old – the Unexpected Step Team, led by a member of the African American Delta Sorority. She began teaching step-dance in the summer of 2020, developing her first team in Binghamton N.Y.
A teaching artist, she is a workshop leader for Local Learning’s “Culture, Community and the Classroom” workshops. In-school workshops include teaching the history and techniques of stepping as an African American art form.
Audience: Middle and High School preferred
Curriculum: Arts Education, Social Emotional Learning
Location: Southern Tier
Akilah participated in the Culture,Community and the Classroom training by Local Learning in Binghamton, 2023 and 2021. As part of her visit, teacher Amanda Shoemaker developed this curriculum: Culture, Community, and the Classroom: Step Dance
New York Folklore and Local Learning provide Artist profiles for informational purposes only. We make no warranties, either expressed or implied. Users of these pages will indemnify and hold harmless New York Folklore and its agents and employees from and against any and all claims, suits or actions of whatever nature resulting from or arising out of the activities of the Artist or the school, their agents or employees. Please follow all school district and/or organizational protocol when vetting, and know that you are assuming all risks when you bring an individual or group into your space.