When you think about Stepping, you typically think about African American Fraternal Organizations who have been performing for over 100 years. You may also think about the yard shows in the southern states or even just recently the movie “Stomp the Yard.’
What you may not know about stepping is that it is an art form of expression that evolves with everyone who encounters it. It is not owned by a race or a culture, it is a freedom of expression that has a story. It is the combination of beats as they are defined on your body, utilized as the tool, with sounds of your vocals as you chant your words of expression. Of course, it has its origins like every art form out there, but its beauty is the evolution to where we stand today.
My name is Jessica Marie Saul (Morales) also known as REMO. I am the owner and choreographer of the ArtofStepping.org and Remo Production Inc., which operates nationally providing interactive and exclusive programs on the Art of Steppin’.
Remo became the name that has solidified itself with the constant pursuit of the art of stepping. But before I became Remo let me take you on a ride as you delve into my thoughts, beliefs and practices that have lead me to enter a field that is dominated by one race. I have often been told that I do not belong here, that I am disrespecting an art form because of the color of my skin and the gender I am.
[pagebreak]
Often quiet, I decided to lay my story on the line and tell you why this art form was chosen.
It began in the spring of 1995 in the boogie down Bronx, where I was first shown what stepping was. Always familiar with beats and sounds as I am from Dominican descent, where music encompasses your body (from your head to your feet) the minute you are born. In 1997, I went off to college and pledged my sorority where I founded the National Step Team. With this accomplishment, I began to create, understand and learn more about stepping. Its historical content, its evolution and how I could play a part of it.
[pagebreak]
Stepping always came easy for me because I wanted to tell a story. Every beat and every sound was a way for me to express myself with precise execution leaving no wondering of why I stepped on that stage. For many it was a thing to do, for me it was a thing I knew. I began not only creating beats with my hands but writing them down so that I could create a play sheet. As I created the play sheet I define what movements where, how sounds differentiate and how positioning could be written. I didn’t have anyone to follow or mentor me because I knew no one else in my field (to what I believe stepping is) that could guide me so I went on my own.
A famous composer, Ludwig van Beethoven once said ”What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven.“
So now I own my company where I teach the Art of Stepping to children nationwide, created a scholarship for those who Step while maintaining an education and produce the National Step Championship that is held every summer in August. Now that you know who I am come join me and see what I will be going through this summer as we prepare for one of the biggest sh
