History of Step

History of Step

By Shadidja ZebulonES

About Step​

Where it came from?​

​The African gumboot dance performed by dancers in boots is said to be one of stepping’s biggest influence. Its modern day roots began in the early 1900s when organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council held “Greek Sings.”  The organizations of the NHPC (the Divine Nine) used songs and dance as a call and response to uplift audiences. It has also become a way for organizations to show pride and unity in their group.

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• Workers began to communicate using rhythms, stomping, clapping, making beats with their bodies. This was the only way they could communicate

• South African laborers who worked in gold mines

• Boots were mainly used to protect them from toxic waters ​

• Workers were not allowed to talk/communicated and were shackled ​

South Africa- Nigeria ​

More about Gumboot ​

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Open Ended

We will discuss NPHC sororities and fraternities later but for now name any that you may know of already.

Fill in the Blanks

What part of South Africa did the gumboot orginate?

Multiple Choice

Gumboot was a way of....

• Entertaining

• Escaping

• Doing the work

• Communication

Open Ended

What similarities do you see between Gumboot dancing and Step today?

• ​​Stepping has had a long tradition in African and Black communities. While its origins are in the Black community, stepping has spread to Latino, Asian cultures to multicultural fraternities and sororities as well.

• “Greek Sings” evolved into Greek shows which eventually progressed into step shows that remain popular to this day. Stepping is judged on sportsmanship, originality of the step routine, stage presence and uniforms. Stepping competitions and battles can be fierce and only the team with strongest performance will prevail.  

• ​ Stepping is now a worldwide phenomenon practiced amongst people of all ages from drill teams, churches, high schools to college fraternities and sororities and more. In stepping, the body is used to make sounds through clapping, stomping and spoken word. Modern day stepping also uses elements of tap dancing, break dancing, gymnastics and Afro-Caribbean dance.

Culture in Context​

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The Divine Nine- NHPC Greek Organizations​

​​Delta Sigma Theta

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Alpha Kappa Alpha​

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​​Zeta Phi Beta

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Alpha Phi Alpha​

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Kappa ​Alpha Psi

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The First Step Show​- Famous Members

​. The first official Greek Show was held at Howard University in 1976.^[3]

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Subject | Subject

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Multiple Choice

Which one of these groups do not perform step dance?

• Churches

• Schools

• Band Dancers

• Fraternities and Sororities

Fill in the Blanks

Now that we've reviewed name a fraterniy or sorority

Multiple Choice

When was the first step show?

• 1994

• 1960

• 1980

• 1976

Open Ended

Name a famous sorority or fraternity member