Stepping is a form of art that originated in early African American slave communities. It is a series of steps or beats, created using your body or mouth, put to songs, hymns or rhythms. Throughout history it has been a symbol of African American culture and it remains the same today.

Westside High School is able to be apart of this African American tradition through the addition of the Step Team five years ago. The growing club preforms at pep rallies, basketball games and outside competitions. Its performances, while often compared to dance, display an entirely different skill set.

“Stepping is how we interact with our bodies and how we use them to create something different,” step team captain Minx Thomas said. “We don’t do spins, jumps or extra stuff. It’s just our bodes to form the beat.”

In order to create these beats step team members must have rhythm and coordination. During practices, captains and experienced steppers work with new recruits on stepping with their rights and lefts. From there, they add handwork, such as claps, and mouth work, such as chants.

“You have to manipulate their (new recruits) bodies,” Thomas said. “Our goal is to get the girls who don’t really know how to do things to push through and to be confident in what they have.”

Thomas wants the girls to be self-assured in their abilities and to never compare themselves to those who have been stepping longer. If a girl doesn’t get the step the first time through, someone will always be there to support them and remind them that with a little more practice they will get it.

With this mindset, stepping not only creates beat, but it creates an enthusiastic vibe for all the girls involved.

“We look for girls who portray a positive, proud of African American heritage culture character,” step team sponsor Ashley King said. “We want to create leaders with a strong sense of self-awareness.”

Step team is a highly student-led club. Senior members are in charge of advertising, try-outs, picking out songs, choreographing the steps and teaching the steps to the rest of the team. This can be a tall order, with two captains to lead and organize the entire team. Practices and performances must well planned.

“There is only two captains with a lot of girls,” Thomas said. “We have to try split it up. It is really hard for the two of us to make sure everyone knows it, and that we keep everyone on the same page.”

The processes of creating a step routine for a performance can be challenging. The captains begin by selecting a song. From there they use the beats in the song to create steps. Through the use of the Internet and creativity from other members, they choreograph a step that meets all of the admiration’s guidelines.

“We have to be just stepping,” Thomas said. “If we want to do a song, there has to be stepping involved in the song. Even in the simplest songs, there has to be some sort of movement.”

The step team’s requirements also include separating themselves from the dance team, but like dance team it is not a school funded activity.

“We have to raise all the money ourselves,” said Thomas, “And we know other groups do too, but all we have is shirts and that’s all we are going to get. It is difficult to not be recognized by the school as a full set team.”

With all the challenges that step team faces, it is still a firm part of the spirit squads here at Westside. And just as it is supposed to, it represents a strong presence in the African American culture of the District 66 community.