To neophytes entering a steppers set, the atmosphere might seem like a time warp.
Men decked out in two-piece suits, some with hats, move hand-in-hand across the dimly lit dance floor with women sparkling in sequin dresses. For many, images will come to mind of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers gliding in each other’s arms.
But Astaire and Rogers didn’t have what today’s steppers have — the opportunity to dance to almost any type of contemporary music, from jazz, reggae and pop to New Age, hip-hop and rhythm and blues. Walk into any of the estimated 70 steppin’ clubs in Chicago and the suburbs and you will find people grooving to such diverse artists as Public Announcement, Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins, Face to Face, Erykah Badu, Steve Winwood and Peace of Mind.
Steppin’ is a form of swing dancing that sets sleek, ballroom-style steps and funky moves to an eight-count pattern. Unlike its predecessor the bop, which is based on a six-count pattern, steppin’ relies on a two-beat per measure count — that is, a step is executed on the even numbers between two and eight.
Sound technical? For the avid stepper it’s not. In fact, many say the smooth beats of Motown music of the late 1960s made it easy for Chicagoans not only to originate the dance, but also to learn to tailor it to different types of music. This flexibility, along with Motown burnout and a desire by disc jockeys to please younger audiences, has led to the evolution of steppers’ music.
For steppers, music is like a ball of clay: Regardless of the artist or genre, the dancers can pick it up and work with it. Stepper Theresa Grubbs even remembers the time during the holiday season when Herb Kent, host of the Monday-night steppers set at the 50-Yard Line on 79th Street, played a recording of dogs barking out “Jingle Bells” — and people continued to step.
That versatility is what makes this dance unique. Unlike fans of jitterbug and swing, styles that depend primarily on Big Band music and early rock ‘n’ roll, steppers look for funky beats wherever they can find them.
“The music doesn’t make a difference,” said 55-year-old Gregory Johnson, Grubbs’ occasional dance partner. “I’m listening to the words and I feel comfortable with any music. I learned this dance in 1957 when it was called the bop. The game is the same; only the name is different. They can play disco and I’ll bop. I just find a slower beat and bop to it.”
Grubbs and Johnson say steppers are flexible people who make the music work for them, rather than working for the music. And the moves these two employ on the dance floor hardly look like work.
With a flick of the wrist and a smooth slide, Johnson gently guides Grubbs across the floor, then pulls her a little closer. Their feet move effortlessly yet with military precision. Eyes closed, Grubbs appears to be in another world as she gently mouths the words to Aretha Franklin’s latest hit, “A Rose Is Still a Rose.”
Funky but cool
While steppers’ music might not take you to another planet, it can take you to a different place and time — or several. A steppers set is a variety show designed to appeal to multiple tastes.
According to William Brown, whose social group Smooth Gents and Diamonds and Pearls sponsors steppers sets every Friday night at the Chez Roue Banquets lounge in west suburban Forest Park, music of the 1950s and 1960s appeals to dancers who prefer a slower form of steppin’ called walking. The Motown music of the 1960s tends to appeal to boppers, who prefer harder beats, and music from the 1970s is more apt for steppers who like glossy beats but shun the excessive sweat associated with disco dancing. Because steppin’ is a culture that demands patrons dress to kill, steppers look at profuse sweating much like Superman would eye a hunk of Kryptonite.
A cool appearance and funky music have always been protocol in steppin’. Veteran steppin’ connoisseurs say this was also the case during the Lindy Hop era, which African-Americans made popular during the 1930s as they kicked, slid, hopped and twisted across New York’s Savoy Ballroom and other dance halls. Incorporated by Spike Lee into his 1992 hit “Malcolm X,” the eight-count Lindy Hop gave birth to the jitterbug, the bop, the push and many others.
The variation called steppin’ came into being around the late 1960s and early 1970s on the city’s South and West sides, where smooth rhythm and blues sounds could be heard coming from clubs such as Times Square on 48th and Wabash. Popular R&B groups of the ’70s and ’80s such as Anita Baker, the Whispers, the Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross and Jeffrey Osborne were favorites with steppers early on and continue to be popular today. Although steppin’ remains most common in the areas where it originated, the dance can be found throughout the Chicago area, often varying in style from neighborhood to neighborhood.
A few minutes spent inside Chez Roue demonstrate both the continued popularity of steppin’ and its adaptability.
As the Escorts’ 1969 hit “Look Over Your Shoulder” plays in the background, legions of couples swing, twist, slide and glide, all the while maintaining their savoir-faire. And when the deejay moves ahead a few decades to play Brian McKnight’s “You Should Be Mine,” the couples easily adapt their dance steps to match the mid-tempo jam.
Though a smooth beat is required for a song to succeed with steppers, many say the words are integral as well.
“I prefer dusties because I grew up with them and I know the words and the beat. I know what to expect,” said Grubbs, a regular at the 50-Yard Line. “The words contribute to my move. They are telling a story and I get into the story.”
Kim Kirsey, a veteran stepper, agreed.
“I like slow songs that have the word love in it because that’s where I am in my life,” she said. “You want the music to put you in the zone.”
A difficult market
Like food, steppers’ music is a matter of taste.
According to Kenny B. Thompson, host of the “Saturday Night Steppers Set” airing from 8 p.m. to midnight on WVAZ-FM 102.7, younger steppers aren’t as interested in dancing to the Motown sound because they see the music as something for their parents and grandparents. So to appease a variety of musical tastes, Kenny B uses a four-part format in his steppers set.
First he plays Motown music. Then he plays music by artists such as James Brown. Next he plays current instrumentals, and he sends it home with light rock.
“People can be volatile,” said Kenny B. “If you play a song that doesn’t sit well, they’ll let you know it. Modern stuff is what’s happening in steppin’ because it’s a fresh reminder for people.”
Though steppin’ continues to be a popular activity in Chicago’s African-American communities, the myriad musical tastes associated with the dance have made it a relatively difficult market for record producers to capitalize on.
In fact, Kenny B says that because radio stations realize the most profit from records with mass appeal, it is increasingly difficult for music that appeals specifically to steppers to make it into the record pool available to DJs. However, he added, steppers can exert a certain influence.
“The streets have forced certain records onto radio stations,” Kenny B said. “If a song is very popular with the 18-to-35 market, which generates the most music sales, that can force us to add it to the lineup.’ “
While the 18-to-35-year-old market remains the strongest for record sales, there are those producers who hope to profit from dusties lovers. By appealing to steppers’ nostalgia for the music of the 1960s and ’70s, Carl and Darryl Davis of Chi-Sounds Records also hope to define steppers’ music — a difficult task given the dance’s cross-generational appeal.
“Right now, if you put a song on and people dance to it, that’s a steppers’ song,” said Darryl Davis, Carl’s nephew and vice president of the label. “So we’re trying to establish a real steppers’ market with defined music.”
To get the ball rolling, the Davises have produced a new CD called “Steppin’ With the Chi-Sounds” (volume one), which includes such steppers’ favorites as “Passionate Breezes” by the Dells.
“The songs we chose for this CD were based on calls to several area disc jockeys,” said Carl Davis, Chi-Sounds’ president. “We had many more songs to choose from, but we went with what steppers and the people who play music for the steppers wanted.”
But as long as modern R&B hits such as Public Announcement’s “Yippie-Yi-Yo (Step On)” — a remix of “Body Bumpin’ ” — keep steppers grooving, Chi-Sounds’ dusties face steep competition.
“Steppers’ music fades in and out like any other music,” said Kent, who also hosts “The New Dance Club” airing at 1:36 a.m. Saturdays on WLS-Ch. 7. “You can’t expect music from the 1970s to be very popular in the 1990s. Music progresses.”
