m
3D
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/tES* CJarlotte
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Silence on Eminem deafening
Continued from page 1D
she once said that he was a
dope MC. Or why hasn’t Dre,
Eminem’s boss, said any
thing?
Probably, everybody is
waiting for the controversy
to pass over and it will.
Mainstream media will see
to that. Fox News wrote a
short article on its website.
After mentioning what
Eminem did the author
closed the story citing that
Eminem has changed his
ways.
If only black artists can get
the benefit of the doubt like
that.
Some people argue that
black rappers degrade
women too, and I have to
agree. But the difference is
this guy specifically said
black women.
Maybe that’s why there’s
so much silence. When black
women are the targets of
hate or crimes it’s as if soci
ety doesn’t care. I refuse to
believe so many people
would be silent if Nas had
released a song degrading
white women.
When Bill O’Reilly started
a campaign against Ludicris,
O’Reilly didn’t stop until
Pepsi dropped Ludicris from
its ad campaign.
When Professor Griff made
anti-Semitic comments
years ago the media didn’t
let it go until he was no
longer a part of Public
Enemy.
The chicken has come
home to roost for black peo
ple and hip-hop. Since black
men have disrespected
women so long on records
and talk shows, the rest of
the world has followed suit
and the world remains quiet.
Chicago dance tradition gains broader following
By Bennie M. Currie
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO - It’s Tuesday
at the 50 Yard Line Bar and
Grill and the dance floor is
packed with couples twirling
and sashaying to the mellow
sounds of Barry White, Ger
ald Levert and other R&B
baUadeers.
The dancers are cooler
than cool, executing intricate
moves best described with
one word — smooth. This is
stepping - Steppin’, if you
will - a distinctive Chicago-
bred derivative of swing
dancing that is spreading
across the country.
Stepping originated in the
1950s as The Bop, taking on
its current name around
1990. The dance is a six- or
eight-count movement dui'-
ing which partners face each
other and clasp hands while
alternately moving side-to-
side and spinning to the
beat.
Those are the basics. But
stepping is better defined by
the individual and improvi-
sational style on display
most nights in Chicago .and
its suburbs, where the dance
has had a cult-hke following
among blacks for more than
four decades.
“Stepping is about more
than just dancing. It’s a
social way of life,” said Herb
Kent, a disc jockey at the
WVAZ-FM radio station and
longtime observer of the
scene. “Stepping was bom
here. It probably goes back
to the days when jazz was
hot and the dances like the
Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug
were so prominent here.”
With help from R&B
singer and Chicago native R.
Kelly, whose current single
and video for “Step In the
Name of Love” is getting
heavy airplay, stepping is
now gaining devotees from
Washington, D.C., to Atlanta
to Los Angeles.
“When I first saw it, I fell in
love with it,” said Benjamin
Cunningham, an' avid ball
room dancer in Detroit,
where stepping has joined a
list of dances that include
the Latin Hustle and salsa.
The accountant and part-
time dance instructor
learned how to step about 18
months ago and now teaches
it locally.
“I don’t even want to do the
other dances anymore,” Cun
ningham said.
Stepping’s spread doesn’t
surprise Pete Frazier, a
Chicago impresario who has
produced a stepping -video
and plans to complete a “how
to” DVD later this year.
“It’s a dance where you
don’t have to break a sweat
but you can still go out and
enjoy yourself because
there’s a lot of creativity
involved,” said Frazier, 42, a
stepper since high school
and winner of several con
tests. “I teach it at work
shops in other cities, but
there are not enough hours
in the day to get to all of the
requests.”
R. Kelly’s song, from his
current “Chocolate Factory”
CD, has all the elements of a
classic steppers’ time - sen
sual lyrics and a smooth,
mid-tempo groove.
“Ever since that R. Kelly
song, people here have been
getting into it,” said Belinda
Haywood, a dance instructor
in Cleveland who started
teaching stepping in July.
She has spent the past year
taking lessons in Chicago
from James Calvin.
“My students range in age
from 18 up to 80,” said
Calvin, adding that his class
es are ethnically diverse and
attract blue-collar workers
as well as doctors, lawyers
and other professionals. For
those who are ready to test
their skills on the dance
floor, Calvin offers a caveat:
Counting your steps is a no-
no!
“The dance is a basic six or
eight step dance usually, but
when you get on the floor
and dance you don’t ask the
lady what step she wants to
do,” Calvin said. ‘You just
pick up the count and go
with the flow.”
Not only might a novice
stepper lose some cool points
by fixating on function
ratber than form, he or she
also runs the risk of rejec
tion.
“If a stepper thinks you
don't know how to step, you
might get left out on the
dance floor,” said Clint
Mitchell, a 30-year stepper.
Many top steppers belong
to cliques and social clubs
that regularly get together
at dance parties known as
“steppers sets,” Mitchell
said, noting that older step
pers prefer the more
straightforward “original”
style while younger dancers
lean toward the improvisa-
tional “freestyle” form. Oth
ers are fans of “walking,” a
slower version of stepping.
But no matter the style,
steppers are a sight to see,
showcasing slickly choreo
graphed moves that some
times are rivaled by flam
boyantly colorful outfits.
For 53-year-old grand
mother Patricia Gray, Tues
day ‘Ts my night to step.” She
has been a regular at tbe 50
Yard Line, located on the
city’s South Side, for the last
five years.
“It’s a form of exercise,”
Gray said. “My family knows
not to bother me on TUesday
because they know where Ill
be.”
Stepping’s exact origins are
harder to pinpoint. From
dancers to DJs to organizers
of steppers sets, confusion
abounds. While it is -widely
If You
Can Read
This, Help
Someone
Who Can't.
More than 15%
of local adults
That stark fact impacts
us all, because people
who can't read are more
likely to drop out of
.school, live in poveru'
and struggle in the
irkplace.
are functionally
illiterate.
To find out how you
can voiunceer in the
fight against illitemc)',
call United ^X^'ay 211.
Qiarlotte
Reads
viewed as an offshoot of the
Bop, its hard to pinpoint how
the dance became known as
stepping.
“It’s like the blues or jazz,”
according to Dan Land, 47,
who runs a Web site devoted
to aU things stepping. ‘"You
can’t really specify who cre
ated it. It’s something that
evolved.”
And as other dances (the
Jerk, Hustle, Electric Slide)
emerged and faded from pop
culture, the Bop remained
on the Chicago scene. Land
added. “It would always be
around and people would
keep changing it,” he said.
“In the 70s it was called the
New Bop and later on, step--
ping.”
Frazier, whose dance party
billed as the “World’s
Largest Steppers Set” drew
about 2,000 dancers from
Detroit, Atlanta, Milwaukee
and elsewhere Labor Day
weekend, also hosts an
annual convention in Las
Vegas. He hopes that step
ping will develop a main
stream following the way
salsa dancing has _ a view
shared by Land.
“That has always been one
of my objectives,” Land said.
“It’s a black cultural dance to
me and people are beginning
to do it all over the country.
They may call it Ballin’ (in
Detroit) or Tland Dancing’
(in Washington, D.C.), but
regardless of what you call
it, it all comes fmm Chicago.”
^isitoric
€xtetetor
921 Beatties Ford Rd. • 704-;
Tuesday Night
“FISH FRY”
Only $5.'”
Doors Open at 6:00 p.m.
Disco at 9 P.M.
Thursday Night
“DIRTY THIRTY
THURSDAY”
Friday & Saturday
The Best
“^DISCO”
In Charlotte
Open 6 Nights A Week
Tuesday-Sunday
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Featuring
“Aibetino & Company”
8:30 P.M.* Doors Open at 6:00 p.m.
“Changing Lives For The Better”
C\ Urban
Cliatlotte $aait
YOU!
Join The Urban League
and receive
Cliarlotte
FOR ONLY $25.00*
Help The Urban League Support Enrichment
& Training Programs for Youth and Adults.
How?
New Members- Submit The Application Below.
Current Members- Inform Us When You Renew.
Circulation Dept.- (704)376-0496 ext 10?
‘Savings of $15.00. Annual Subscription Rate- $40.00
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary - Changing Lives for the Better
MEMBERSHIP APPLICAl ION
Join the Urban League & Receive SIS Post Subscription Reduction ( new subscribers only)
First Nanie:_
Last Name:
Title;
_Applicaiion Date: _
Company:
Address:
^UrbcHi
Leslie
Home Phone ( ) _
Business Phone ( ) _
Email Address/ Website; _
Solicitor/Sponsor Name: _
State Zip Code
Home Fax Number ( )
Fax Number ( )
Age (please cirele one): underlS 18-25 26-35 36-50 50+ Sex: Male Female
Race (please circle one): African-American ilispanic Caucasian Other
Is this a renewal membership? Yes No
Credit Card tf Exp. Signature
Membership Options
Student/Friend $25
i-yr. Membership, Quarterly Newsletter, Use
of Resource Room & network center,
Invitation to Annual Meeting &Whitney M.
Young Banquet, Discounts for various clubs.
Supporter or Auxiliaries $50*
All above benefits plus an option to join
either the The Urban League Guild or
Young Professionals.
Silver Level Member $100*
All above benefits plus preferred seating atihe
Awards banquet.
Gold Circle Member $250*
All above benefits, plus two complimentary
tickets to the Annual Meeting.
President’s Circle Member $500*
All above benefits, plus includes membership
into the President’s Circle, which scn'cs in
advisory capacity to the Board of Directors.
•Check here if you wish to participate in Young Professionals Urban League Guild-
Plcase PRINTand complete ALL above inTcMTnaiion. All Membciships are ANNUAL FROM D.ATE OF APPLICATION.
You can join the Uiban League, by credit card ot by sending in this applicaticm and check to: Uitan League of
Central Carolinas.Attn:Membeisiiip, P.O. Box34686,Oiariotte,NC 282344686 OR join via our website at
www.urfaanleaguecc.org. Please make all checks payable to The Urban League of Central Carplinas.
COGA-COU
“STUDENT” OF THE MONTH
Ian Cedric Montgomery
7th Grader,
Wilson Middle School
Aspirations:
To attend college
and become an architect
Our 12 year old “Student of the Month,” Ian Montgomery, is an A-B honor
student in the Scholars program at Wilson Middle School. An active, popular and
involved student, Ian has won numerous awards for excellence in creative writing,
citizenship, art and math.
lap’s extra curricular activities include membership in Boy Scout Troop 130, Sci-
Teen volunteer program and Discovery Place where he volunteers at
the Omnimax Theatre,
When not in school or volunteering, Ian enjoys reading, playing
chess, drawing, listening to music and increasing his action hero
collection,
Ian is the son of Trina Montgomery-Ardrey. He has two brothers,
Alex and Fredrick “Chuckle.” Ian and his family attend Manna Bread
of Life Ministries Church, where his grandmother, Mary M. Davis is
pastor. Active at church, Ian sings on the youth choir and is an usher.
Best Wishes “Ian” From Coca Cola Bottling
Company Consolidated of Charlotte