30 DAYS OF NYMF: Day 22 Step Show

Day 22 Step Show
By Maxine Lyle (Writer/Choreographer)

I was just a young girl when I was taught African American step dance, or "stepping" as it's commonly referred to, for the first time. It was a popular dance for kids in my Newark, NJ neighborhood. We used our entire bodies to create intricate rhythms. What I did not know then, but later discovered, is that we were stepping (pun intended) into a rich cultural legacy that started among African American fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s and has deep roots in the South African migrant labor culture of the 1800s. Within the step world, rhythm expresses brotherhood and sisterhood. I have been fascinated (some would say obsessed) with step dance for most of my life. I helped to start a step team, Sankofa, while a student at Williams College, and then founded one of the first professional step companies in the world, Soul Steps, LLC, after graduating.

My love of stepping is the impetus for creating STEP SHOW, a thrilling (and loud!) theatrical piece that combines step dance and spoken word to tell the story of one character's journey to find a voice through rhythm. STEP SHOW is unique in that the musical is told through our bodies, which serve as the primary instruments. The show also breaks the fourth wall and engages audiences through call and response. Filled with hip-hop, reggae and African beats, STEP SHOW is an intimate experience that brings this art form to the stage like it has never been done before!

To buy tickets or to learn more about Step Show go to www.nymf.org/stepshow or call 212-352-3101