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Forty-five years ago, Negro Teenagers on Chicago’s South and West sides attached strings and ropes to doorknobs planting the seeds for a potential billion-dollar music, entertainment, fashion, and dance behemoth. Do not start counting any dollars soon, and perhaps not at all. Largely because, the industry is not organized and has been infiltrated by non sanctioned confederates with the business ethics of a jackleg preachers. Worst, various cliques continue to waste a billion dollar opportunity feuding over egos, greed, and etiquette, rather than regulating an industry that reeks in duplicity, and fraud.

Sam Chatman’s career in the Steppin’ spans four decades. In fact, according to Mr. Chapman, he was the first disc jockey to use the word Steppin’ at a public event. There is no denying the fact Sam Chatman posses a disc jockey's DNA; a magnetic and infectious personality, conjoined with a trademark voice that booms like Gabriel’s Trumpet. As the only promoter/DJ providing “Steppers Only” dance venues for Chicago High School students in the years 1974-84, he became the Steppin’ equivalent to Dick Clark‘s American Bandstand. “ Everyone else was doing disco, and I was thrilled to death”, boasted Mr. Chapman.

Times have changed, today those high school students are part of a Baby Boomer Generation that has been a boon for the entertainment, music, and fashion industry. They are also ground zero for clash of cultures that has placed the Negro Community at a thought-provoking crossroad. If egos and greed can be set aside, billions of dollars could be injected into dilapidated neighborhoods. Failure to launch Steppin’ into an Economic Mecca, would create another vanished economic opportunity for Negroes living in the poorest American communities, much like the Negro Baseball League and Historical Black College Athletics.

The Players

Pioneer Boppers, Old Skool Steppers, and New Skool Steppers share an equal love and respect for the Steppin’ culture. Yet, they seem to share an almost equal animosity for each other's clique. Their infighting and (behind the back) disagreements over the music, instruction of dance, and criteria for events have created a large vacuum filled with unscrupulous business ethics and low quality. One could make the case, much like jazz, blues, and gospel  eventually a Dancin With The Stars or an MTV inspired monopoly that controls the Pop Culture, will regulate Steppin'. 

Indeed the industry does suffer. On any given night in Chicago, and many other cities across the United States, it is common for various associations to schedule four events within blocks of the same vicinity. For people unfamiliar with the Steppin’ Culture, this is not a problem, but for true Steppers, this can be a real nightmare.

According to Don Vic, Director of Etiquette, Chicago Steppers LLP “More than likely there are people paying to attend events where no Steppin’ is present. You see in order for it to be a Steppers Set, there have to be people there to perform the dance. Otherwise you are paying money to see an empty dance floor, or a contest with only four couples doing the Turkey Trot.”

Perform a Google Search under Chicago Steppers and you will register 443,000 hits. You can find listings for Chicago Steppin’ Instructors, Promoters, Travel Agents, Web Page Designers, Magazines, Books, Instruction Videos, Fashion Designers, Record labels, and national/worldwide associations. There are many factions among both the young and old. There is also an abundance of greed and people who are motivated simply by the opportunity for exploitation.

On the surface, this appears to be the main source for much of the public animosity and confusion within the Steppin’ Industry nationwide. It hampers the possibility for creating an entertainment powerhouse, and a loss of millions in corporate sponsorships. When outside observers or corporations sponsor a Steppin’ Event usually they are left disappointed and at best frustrated. It is nearly impossible to distinguish who and what is the real Steppin’ Industry, or even if one exist.

The legitimate Stepper’s Association are viewed by patrons as entertainment venues composed of talented  performers. They are bound by tradition, vast experience, deep love for the dance, and a symbiotic relationship embedded with the music. As many often say, “I learned how to Step from my parents”. In contrast, there is another group with a total disregard for culture and traditions. What is left is an atmosphere infected with severe conflicts and serious devotees  of the art being misled.

Says Chatman, “This is an ego driven industry, but for most of us money is secondary. We do this because we love it. I can have a big event and everyone gets paid except me. I still get pleasure knowing I put on a big Steppin’ Event, and 1,000 patrons were entertained. There are other people who come on the scene with no experience, no background in Steppin’, but know that Steppin’ is popular. Wednesday they can ask for my advice and by Saturday, they know everything and are ready to make cash. That is the reason every person you meet in this business has a website that says either they are the greatest or the first. It doesn’t matter whether it’s teaching, promoting, or being a DJ.”

Ropes on a doorknob to The Bop

“ When the slave from Africa got off the boat in America and first hollered the words Oh lawd!  In that moment both Blues and Gospel were born”........Oscar Brown

There can be no accurate history of dance without including the music and vice versa. After World War ll, and the height of the Great Negro Migration North,  Chicago-based recording companies such as Chance (1950), Chess (1950), J.O.B. (1949), Delmark (1953), Parrot, United (1952), and Vee-Jay (the largest black-owned label before Motown), mined the city's talent and had their music thundered across the radio airwaves of Chicago's only Negro Radio Station, " The Voice of The Negro, whose FCC call letters were “WVON”.

There were great artist and groups. Instead of Chubby Checker, Chicago teens were more connected to the Spaniels, Artistics, Gene Chandler, and in 1960, a young female artist named Etta James.  Meanwhile, as the rest of America was doing the boogie to the beat of the twist, an enchanting music and an innovative dance were merging in Chicago’s Negro Community.

Alice Collins, Mary Harris (AKA Black Mary), and Yvonne Parrymoore were part of a generation inventing a new dance to complement the music produced on Chicago Records Row. Social centers and parks on Chicago’s South and West sides became the launch pad for a dance called the Bop, staged specifically by Chicago teens for hit tunes like Billy Stewart’s “Sitting in the park, I do love you, and Summertime”.

By connecting ropes to doorknobs, they invented a revolutionary dance chorography unique to Chicago's recording artist. Reminiscent of Benjamin Franklins’ key at the end of a string in a jar, the dance struck like lighting and electrified the music. Instead of moving to the beat, the dance was composed of a parallel footwork and enthused with the rhythm of the song.

It was a dance invented to adjust to musical instruments, intermingle with the vocal arrangements, and be versatile. "Here was a dance, you could adjust to any beat, yet maintain the basic steps." According to Alice Collins, “ It was soft, elegant, and did not make you sweat. This meant women could dance in their best dresses with their hair done, and men could wear suits and not mess up their processes.”

Later Collins and Harris would meet together in a female social club called the Dancettes, and forge a new form of entertainment, and adult recreation.  Theatrically, the Dancettes (see cover) were a line of chorus girls during the ballroom era, and hosted dance parties to raise money for costumes. There were already several social clubs dancing to the Bop in 1965; The Professionals, Coterie Seven, and Tom Cats to name just a few. The Dancettes soon followed suit, and became the first club to promote what is now called a “Steppers Set,” in Chicago at an establishment named the Guys and Gals.

 In 1972, Yvonne Parrymore and “Black Mary” would spin off the Dancettes and start “The Old Timers” raising money for families with children receiving public aid during the Christmas Holidays. Every dance to the Bop was an act of love. Neither they, nor the others of that era ever saw it as a business, and no one had any idea what would happen over the next 35 years.

To Collins “There has always been a struggle for Black People to recognize where they come from, and Steppin’ is no different. It was just something we did at the social centers. We had no instructors or Steppin’ Classes. It was passed from person to person, and the instruction was highly depended on your individual social skills. There were basic steps and etiquette. Although we were all doing the same thing, each couple looked different because we were able to improvise and add our own flavor. This is why the dance has been able to survive all these generations,” she said.

Mary Harris who prefers to be called “Black Mary” does not consider herself part of the Steppin’ Culture because in her words “The Bop ain’t dead!” She believes there is a place for both young and old, but many of the old traditions should be preserved. “People started getting away from the dance. There are people out there who call themselves instructors, and don’t know what they are teaching. What they teach is nothing more than hand dancing and turns. The Bop is more about footwork and smoothness. We started the Old Timers to keep the Bop, Walk, and Dusty Music alive. This way there would be places where people can see how the dance should be performed, and understand its roots”. She says.

America Discovers Steppin’

While Black Mary and Yvonne Parrymore preserved the dance for an older set during the disco era, the high school kids attending Sam Chatman’s sets were becoming adults. Then, in 1991 a group of men organized under the name "Mellow Fellows"  hosted The First World’s Largest Steppers Contest, sponsored by Anheuser Busch, at the suggestion of Rodney Burke, then regional vice president.

It was an overnight success! More than 2,000 people had to be turned away at the door. Steppin’ continued to ascend the entertainment ladder, becoming the most popular dance among Black Americans. Infused with the sounds of Dusty, R&B, and Neo Soul Music, Steppin’ evolved into a sub culture more popular than Hip Hop. Today, it is among America’s fastest growing segments in the dance and entertainment industry.