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Why Soulstepping?
| About the Author
Why Soulstepping?
When I first attended an
African American step show in 1983, little did I imagine that steppers
would someday be invited to perform for the inauguration festivities of a
U.S. president or that so many schools, churches community groups and
other Greek letter societies would also form step teams. Although I have
tried to document this rapid growth and change, the stepping "movement" is
developing in so many directions and places that it is hard for any one
book to embrace them all.
The First National
Conference on Stepping, held in Blacksburg, Virginia on 6-7 April, 2001,
after this manuscript was under review, brought me in contact with still
more organizations that are using stepping to effect social change. There,
Patricia M. Mason from the greater Rochester step off explained how her
nonprofit organization in New York uses stepping to mentor youth and Jerry
Smith of In-Step, Inc., told of his stepping program that helps at-risk
youths in south Florida. Later, I met Harris Hardaway, founder of the
Greater Boston Step Association, which uses stepping in a multifaceted
program of cultural education and leadership building among young people.
No doubt many more people
are developing and transforming stepping to serve new audiences and
purposes. I hope this book will open the door for others who will continue
to examine the ever-changing and innovative tradition of stepping.
- Elizabeth C. Fine
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