Students automatically begin cheering when Creek’s step team comes out onto the floor at any school event. But to the dancers, the group is more than just a club.
Step Dancing is a performing art of dancing and yelling to make a rhythm and beat, and many people have a lot of passion and love for this type of dance, something that often gives the team a sense of community.
“Step is more than just dancing,” senior Alani Mcqueen said. “ it’s about learning what teamwork really is, creating bonds, being very productive and just being able to [be yourself] in the performances,”
For many students, Creek is a really hard school, between academic, athletic, and social pressures. However, the step team has been a sanctuary for some students. It allows students to express themself and have a community within Creek’s vast student body population.
“[Step] has helped me build friendships and having [them] is important when being in school and [having] a community of people I know I can rely on,” senior Kai Alejo said.
Step isn’t just a sanctuary, but it can also get people out of their comfort zone. The team can express themselves through dancing and the teamwork that it takes to create these dances. Not only that, they learn important life skills that you may need to thrive. They learn how to be loud and confident, two important tools needed in order to perform in front of the school.
“Before step, I was very shy., scared to participate, and scared to present in front of a class,” Mcqueen said “After [joining] step, I got out there, I was no longer afraid to talk to people,”
Although some step teams like Creek’s are mainly for cultural art purposes, in the past stepping was a way for African Americans to tell a story and show their pain, it was a form of comfort and a support system. But over the past century, stepping has been a cultural dance form for African American college fraternities and sororities showing their talent and remembering the past.
According to the team, coaches pride themselves on trying to make the dancers not feel nervous about going out and performing with a huge group watching them. To do this, the coaches and the captain of the step team have created a safe environment for the members to connect. So before any performance they do a hype circle, this is where they dance, sing, get all their jitters out and create the nice vibe that sets them up for success.
“The hype circle allows us to get all the jitters out and become connected so that when we go out we are a team,” Alejo said.
The coaches have also developed into their role as mentors, often creating a safe place for the team to talk about their feelings. Even when there is a problem within the team, they are mature enough to find a better solution after learning how to communicate more.
“We always try to perform to the best of our abilities when trying to solve problems just because when there’s tension between people in a group the whole group has tension,” senior Venus Tallie said.
To the members of the team, the coaches are a tremendous support. Not only just because they’re good at leading the team, but because they extend the community that a new student at Creek needs. Alongside the coaches, making friends in the team has also helped students adjust to highschool.
“[Step] has given me more friends and [has] shown me a new variety of people [that] I can interact with,’’ sophomore Katie Castillo said.
Being on the team is not only an experience that members participate in, but also a journey of character building. Often, this team has helped the students embark on new journeys outside of high school.
“It has allowed me to work on my communication, my assertiveness, and my leadership which are things that you need in the real world,” Tallie said.
Over the course of their time on the team, members have realized that step isn’t just about creating beats and dancing; it’s also about creating a sense of unity, building strong connections, and working together as a team to achieve something greater than individual effort.
“Step isn’t just dancing, it’s about learning what teamwork is, creating bonds, being very productive and responsible,” Mcqueen said. “Step taught me the importance of taking risks even if the outcome is uncertain.”
