Stepping in a step show as exhibition

JayBEE! · #1 05-01-2001, 11:34 AM

If you conducted a step show, would you invite another organization to step as exhibition if they were not a National Pan-Hellinic Council organization?

JayBEE! · #2 05-01-2001, 01:04 PM

I was going to go to your website but i got a...

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A step show is a stage act consisting of a synchronized foot stomping, hand, chest and thigh clapping drills with mixed in choreographic dance. Some acts have mixed in other things as well. Like human pyramids, cane used to help syncopate rhythms, and skits to help annunciate a theme.

JayBEE!

Finer Woman10-A-91 · #3 05-01-2001, 02:27 PM

I am in NY and I have seen MANY youth groups stepping...steps they obviously got from NPHC orgs for the most part...I recognize the steps. Unless the show is being sponsored by NPHC does it really matter? Anyone and their grandmother steps nowadays anyways.The NPHC orgs know the rules about stepping in such events. The NPHC does not own the right to step. Invite who you want to step if its exhibition its exhibition. My personal take is...if you are going to exploit the NPHC orgs by getting your tickets sold, at least make sure some of the money goes to a local charity in the name of the NPHC. JMHO.

Quote:

Originally posted by JayBEE!:
If you conducted a step show, would you invite another organization to step as exhibition if they were not a National Pan-Hellenic Council organization?

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Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated...Every Finer Woman's Dream!

PenguinTrax · #4 05-01-2001, 02:46 PM

I know that recently the ZTA chapter at Georgia Southern won the Phi Beta Sigma Step Show. I've seen that chapter step and they are awesome - I'm sure the competition was fierce!

Barbara

gamma_girl52 · #5 05-01-2001, 03:07 PM

PenguinTrax, I think that the same chapter of ZTA stepped at a step show at Georgia State about a year ago. I heard they were tight!! And, they won the show!

JayBEE! · #6 05-01-2001, 03:08 PM

How about if a step show is sponsored by a major company like State Farm and the event is a huge event like the Bayou Classic and the Battle of the Bands. Shouldn't a Group not assoiciated with the NPHC, be allowed to step and win some of the cash prizes, if they went to the Representing Schools?

prettypoodle6 · #7 05-01-2001, 03:18 PM

if i were to conduct a stepshow and had authority to decide who participated, i would not invite non-nphc organizations to step.

reasoning--
1. if all 9 organizations performed (and shows are ususally 10-15 minutes long) we're already dealing with a 2.5 hour long show (not including intermissions, MC time, and any other acts)

2. if there are any other acts used as fillers or during break time, they should not be more step step teams (how redundant!) i'd rather have something different than what's featured, like dancers, or music artists...

3. i know folks arent going to like this, but i think that NPHC sponsored greek show should be just that! an NPHC greekshow. (sidenote - i dont have a problem with other organizations stepping [ie youth groups, high school clubs, other greek orgs], just not for NPHC stepshows.

JayBEE! · #8 05-01-2001, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Finer Woman10-A-91:
My personal take is...if you are going to exploit the NPHC orgs by getting your tickets sold,

If this means what I think it means, you didn't understand my question. It was in reverse to what you are thinking. I'm talking about a organization not in the NPHC be invited to a step show to sponsored by the
NPHC.

JayBEE!

Exquisite5 · #9 05-01-2001, 04:15 PM

The only problem I have with non-NPHC groups stepping is that they so often are not aware of the history behind the act. Very often in America aspects of African-American culture are shared with other cultures as a bridge of communication, yet as time goes on the receiving cultures fails to give credit where credit is due. We are then faced with a situation where ten years down the road the receiving (majority) culture is claiming the act as their own with no thought to its African/African-American origins. If non-NPHC groups steps, they need to learn the history and properly respect and acknowledge stepping's origins.

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JayBEE! · #10 05-01-2001, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by prettypoodle6:
if i were to conduct a stepshow and had authority to decide who participated, i would not invite non-nphc organizations to step.

reasoning--
1. if all 9 organizations performed (and shows are ususally 10-15 minutes long) we're already dealing with a 2.5 hour long show (not including intermissions, MC time, and any other acts)

2. if there are any other acts used as fillers or during break time, they should not be more step step teams (how redundant!) i'd rather have something different than what's featured, like dancers, or music artists...

3. i know folks arent going to like this, but i think that NPHC sponsored greek show should be just that! an NPHC greekshow. (sidenote - i dont have a problem with other organizations stepping [ie youth groups, high school clubs, other greek orgs], just not for NPHC stepshows.

1. What if you had only 3-4 other groups instead of 9

2. What if there were no other acts that would come a step show at that time.

3. But what if the their are other groups on campus just as popular as the NPHC groups on campus. Wouldn't the avoidance of the invitation just create more division of the groups on campus. I was proud of the fact that the Alphas invited Gamma Sigma Sigma to step as exhibution? They were excited and GSS has been on that campus since 1982. I could see if the show was sponsored by the council, not to have any groups that was not associated with the NPHC. But I'm thinking more along the lines of individual organizations doing their show during their week.

JayBEE! · #11 05-01-2001, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Exquisite5:
If non-NPHC groups steps, they need to learn the history and properly respect and acknowledge stepping's origins.

What do you consider proper respect.

Finer Woman10-A-91 · #12 05-01-2001, 04:55 PM

Gotcha...Its not a problem to me. Give some of the proceeds to charity if any of the NPHC is involved...meaning, we know people go to stepshows expecting to see NPHC groups step...in consideration of this "exploitation" in its literal sense, I feel IMHO that some of the proceeds should go to the local NPHC philanthropy.

If you are asking should non-NPHC groups be permitted to compete againt NPHC organizations for money? Based on the responses I see it is happening quite successfully already. Do I think this should be happening? I have mixed feelings. I mean when I saw the Backstreet Boys stepping in their video, I was like...

I felt like whoa...robbed, everything and anything that looks cool can be emulated...thinking...b4 you know it folks will have "step dancing" classes that end with some sort of sorority/fraternity sounding call and I will be utterly disgusted.

Quote:

Originally posted by JayBEE!:
If this means what I think it means, you didn't understand my question. It was in reverse to what you are thinking. I'm talking about a organization not in the NPHC be invited to a step show to sponsored by the
NPHC.

JayBEE!

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Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated...Every Finer Woman's Dream!

JayBEE! · #13 05-01-2001, 06:14 PM

Wow! Your too far to the left.

Quote:

Originally posted by Finer Woman10-A-91:
Gotcha...Its not a problem to me. Give some of the proceeds to charity if any of the NPHC is involved

my organization is a service organization as well. Most of the function we do go to charity anyway. But this isn't an issue.

Quote:

...meaning,
we know people go to stepshows expecting to see NPHC groups step

This is not true at all. I been in my organization for a long time (20years) and I've seen people come out expecting just what was advertised. I think it's a bit arrogant to say that stepping is only synonomous with NPHC groups. I know on HBCU, people know that even group like the Persian Rifles will even give a show any time any place. I think
that sometime we think that what is happening on our respective campuses is happening likewise all over the country. And that's just isn't true.

Quote:

...in consideration of this "exploitation" in its literal sense, I feel IMHO that some of the proceeds should go to the local NPHC philanthropy.

This is a deep and conscending view point. My organization's stepping "tradition" is not a exploitation of NPHC groups. Saying this is assuming Stepping Came from NPHC group instead of the African history that one mention earlier.

Think of this senario. I know that stepping did not exist in 1951. This comes from a brother that is still alive today, and it represents as far back of a recollection that anybody that I know has. What if the Persian Rifles began to step in 1958 as part of their drill routine and the NPHC groups began to follow them in lets say 1960. No, I have not
read anywhere where this is true and i have not read anywhere where anything else says different. So if you say what we do is a simple exploitation, then you gonna have to prove it so I will not take this personally.

Quote:

I mean when I saw the Backstreet Boys stepping in their video, I was like... I felt like whoa...robbed, everything and anything that looks cool can be emulated...thinking...b4 you know it folks will have "step dancing" classes that end with some sort of sorority/fraternity sounding call and I will be utterly disgusted.

Why? may I ask? ....... Lets go to the real meat and cheese. I mean look at what we are doing. We are black people with white r heritage letters on our chest saying to white people don't do what we do. Deep Huh!
I could see your point if we were hollaring "Zulu!!!" and then they were trying to do the same. But we're professing black/greek heritage but frowning on greek/black heritage. As a black man, I consider it flattering that they think enough of it to try to perform the act. Because when it comes right down to it, everybody knows what culture it came from. I really can't see it being taking from our culture. It's not and shouldn't be that sacred a black object.

What do you think?

Lots-a-Heart · #14 05-01-2001, 07:37 PM

I'm staying out of this one! Did you get to go to the site?

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Sarah
Sister Lots-a-Heart, #9
President, Iota Beta Chi Sorority
http://welcome.to/iotabetachi

prettypoodle6 · #15 05-01-2001, 08:04 PM

1. What if you had only 3-4 other groups instead of 9

2. What if there were no other acts that would come a step show at that time.

3. But what if the their are other groups on campus just as popular as the NPHC groups on campus. Wouldn't the avoidance of the invitation just create more division of the groups on campus.

to answer 1 and 2, I'd still feel the same way. I've seen very sucessful shows where all 9 orgs were not represented. And although there is always the slight chance that outside talent is unavailable, its very rare (at least in my neck of the woods - everyone in LA/hollywood has some kinda gig they are willing to showcase!)

to answer #3, i think i need more clarity when you say "non-nphc organizations"... are you more interested in how i'd feel about ALL non-nphc orgs, or just the predominately black ones.

cause the G Phi B's (predominately white) and the Rho Delta Chi's (predominately asian) were the most popular sorority on my campus as far as numbers, but i dont think not inviting them to step would cause any more division than there already was cause it was never "expected" that they would participate in our greek shows (btw-the rho delta chi's on my yard do have steps...)

if your talking about BGLO's, then i honestly cant speak on it cause I'm not in an environment where there are BGLO's that are not NPHCers. Like I said I'm from southern cali, and we dont have these organizations out this way! If we did my opinion on the matter might be a little different.