Steppers Prepare for Tournament

On Nov. 23, the PNH Steppers will perform at Roosevelt High School for a step competition. There will be Step teams from ten or more schools. The event is at 3:00 p.m. and costs five dollars to get in.

“The competition will be a lot of fun because there will be step teams from many different schools,” Jonathan Brown said. “It’ll be fun to see how we compare to the other schools.”

Being part of the Step team has helped a lot of the members gain confidence not only during a performance, but outside of Steppers as well.

“Performing as a Stepper has helped me get over my stage fright because I love to entertain the crowd and its get my adrenaline going,” senior Destiny Williams said. “Maybe I’ll even be able to start singing in front of people.”

While most dance teams have a choreographer that comes up with the steps, the PNH Steppers create their own beats and their own steps for performances.

“The steppers come up with their own steps and beats; we don’t have a choreographer,” senior Jonathan Brown said. “The captains work hard to come up with all the steps, and we just have to hope the rest of the team will like them.”

The Steppers practice two times a week for two and a half hours, and before a performance they practice every day for two weeks. A lot of work goes into practicing and perfecting their step before a big performance.

“I love practices because everyone is funny. At practice, we put in a lot of hard work but we always have fun doing it,” said senior Larisa Dokes. “The performances are my favorite part because they are so exciting to be part of.”

The captains, seniors Jonathan Brown, Camille Neal. and sophomore Andrea Brothers. have to put forth a lot of effort to keep the team working hard.

“As a captain, the hardest part is making sure that everyone understands that I’m not going to act the same as I do during school,” senior Camille Neal said. “School is the time for us to be friends, but during practice we need more order so they need to respect me as a captain.”

This hard work will be put to the test at the competition at Roosevelt High School, which is located at 801 N. 11th Street St. Louis, MO, 63101.

by Taylor Weiss