Showtime Steppers

Showtime Steppers
Also known as Showtime, The Brotherhood, America's Favorite Step Team
Origin United States Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Genres Hip Hop, Instrumental, Dance, Gospel
Years active 1998–present
Labels Independent
Website Official MySpace Page
Members El Hadjo (Founder)
Mr. Showtime (President)
Numba G
Banks
P.B.
D-Will
Deo
Promo
Eazy E
Mars
Killa Cam

The Showtime Steppers are a nationally recognized step team, and the first professional step team of its kind. The group, which originated from a Fort Worth, Texas high school, was professionally founded by Jenerian "El Hadjo" Young, and is currently being led by Shane "Mr. Showtime" Wilson. This group has become one of the most established professional step teams in America, and is widely known as "America's Favorite Step Team". The group has performed several times on national television, and has performed live for Kirk Franklin, President Barack Obama and his family, Ne-Yo, Pretty Ricky, Trey Songz, Nick Cannon, Lil' Fizz, Deitrick Haddon, Fonzworth Bentley,[1] and Tonex.

Biography

Sigma Beta Steppers (2001)

The Showtime Steppers originated in the late 1990s at Eastern Hills High School in Fort Worth. They were then known as the high school step team "Alpha and Omega" and later as the "Sigma Beta Steppers". After the first year, they were guided by Anthony Arnold, a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and sponsored by Caprice Williams, a former teacher at the school. During the 2003-2004 school year, the group was undefeated, winning first place in over 20 step shows including that year's state championship step show.

Because the steppers were not under direct sponsorship of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity[2] and were not registered under the national Sigma Beta Club guidelines, the team began to run into complications using the name "Sigma Beta". Therefore, prior to the start of the 2004-2005 school year, the team was reformed under the name "Showtime Steppers". The name is based on one of their original routines in which they called out, "It's showtime in the house tonight and it's our time to get it hype!"

In the fall of 2005, because of the graduation of all of the original group's members but one, a new team was formed by recruitment. This eventually led to a division of entities. The high school step team continued to perform under sponsorship at the high school and were occasionally supervised and assisted by the alumni (sometimes referred to as "The Brotherhood"). Meanwhile, the alumni also continued to perform on a national level.

Stepping

"Stepping" or "step-dancing" is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. Though stepping may be performed by an individual, it is generally performed by groups of three or more, often in arrangements that resemble military formations.

Stepping also draws from elements of gymnastics, tap dance, marching, and African and Caribbean dance, and can include semi-dangerous stunts as a part of individual routines. Some forms of stepping use props, such as blindfolds, canes, rhythm sticks, or fire.

Popularized by the National Pan-Hellenic Council member organizations who perform at local and national competitions, stepping has been featured in films such as School Daze (1988), Mac and Me (1988), Drumline (2002), Stomp the Yard (2007), and How She Move (2008). Stepping has also been featured on TV shows including A Different World, Sister, Sister, BET's 106 & Park, and NBC's America's Got Talent.

Current members

As of January 2010, the group, founded by Jenerian "El Hadjo" Young, consists of the active members, Shane "Mr. Showtime" Wilson (President), Clifford "Numba G" Benton, Chase "Banks" Wilson, Marcus "P.B." Petty, Derrick "D-Will" Williams, Camerion "Killa Cam" Carrathus, Deodrick "Deo" Ware, Josh "Promo" Shepard, Eric "Eazy E" McDaniel, and Mark "Mars" Hines.

Current Members Past Members (2004–2010) Sigma Beta (1998–2004)
Jenerian Young (Founder)

Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Shane Wilson (President)
Clifford Benton
Chase Wilson
Marcus Petty
Derrick Williams
Camerion Carrathus
Deodrick Ware
Josh Shepard
Eric McDaniel
Mark Hines
Isaac Hall

Notable awards

Notable performances

References

  1. ↑ Baylor University || The Lariat Online || News
  2. ↑ www.pbs1914.com
  3. 1 2 Texas Step Shows
  4. ↑ Televised Performance Videos from 2006-2008
  5. 1 2 Spring Bling '07
  6. ↑ Videos MySpaceTV : Show Time Steppaz !!!! par prince of "D" Town

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, May 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.