Showtime Steppers
Encyclopedia
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
, and Tonex
.
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 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 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
.
Stepping (African-American)
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...
, and the first professional step team of its kind. The group, which originated from a Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :...
, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and his family, Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
, Pretty Ricky
Pretty Ricky
Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip hop group originally made up of Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, Spectacular Smith, Corey "Slick 'em" Mathis, and Marcus "Pleasure P" Cooper. In 2007, Pleasure P left the group to pursue a solo career...
, Trey Songz
Trey Songz
Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...
, Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
, Lil' Fizz
Lil' Fizz
Dreux Pierre Frédéric , better known as Lil' Fizz, is an American rapper and actor. He was best known for being the youngest member of the R&B group, B2K....
, Deitrick Haddon
Deitrick Haddon
Deitrick Haddon is a Gospel singer, songwriter and producer. A popular artist known for his contemporary style of music, he is well known for his progressive gospel styles.-Early years:Haddon is a native of Detroit, Michigan....
, Fonzworth Bentley
Fonzworth Bentley
Derrick Watkins, in Atlanta, Georgia and popularly known as Fonzworth Bentley or Farnsworth Bentley, is a musician and author. He is perhaps best known for being Sean Combs' former personal valet and assistant, as first seen in Making the Band 2, and is currently the host of MTV's From G's to Gents...
, and Tonex
Tonéx
Anthony Charles Williams II , better known by his former stage name Tonéx , and most recently as B.Slade, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, dancer, producer, preacher, and activist. He has gone by various names and aliases, but his primary stage name of choice...
.
Biography
Eastern Hills High School
Eastern Hills High School is a four-year public high school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, educating students in grades 9-12, as part of the Fort Worth Independent School District. In an historical footnote, the band from the school played "Hail to the Chief" during President JFK's visit to...
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
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
Fraternity and were not registered under the national Sigma Beta Club
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
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
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
, 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
National Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...
member organizations who perform at local and national competitions, stepping has been featured in films such as School Daze
School Daze
School Daze is a 1988 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell-Martin...
(1988), Mac and Me
Mac and Me
Mac and Me is a 1988 sci-fi fantasy film co-written and directed by Stewart Raffill about a "Mysterious Alien Creature" escapes from nefarious NASA agents and is befriended by a young boy who uses a wheelchair. Together, they try to find MAC's family, from whom he has been separated...
(1988), Drumline
Drumline (film)
Drumline is a 2002 American film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay, which was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline , was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps...
(2002), Stomp the Yard
Stomp the Yard
Stomp the Yard is a 2007 drama and dance film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges...
(2007), and How She Move
How She Move
How She Move is a 2007 drama film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Clé Bennett and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing...
(2008). Stepping has also been featured on TV shows including A Different World, Sister, Sister
Sister, Sister (TV series)
Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom about identical twin girls Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell , who were separated and adopted at birth, when one day they come face-to-face after 14 years apart....
, BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's 106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
.
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
- 2004 - 1st Place at State Championship (Texas)
- 2005 - 2nd Place at State Championship (Texas)
- 2008 - 1st Place on BETBetBet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's 106 & Park106 & Park106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
: BET's Top 10 Live - (Wild Out Wednesday)
Notable performances
- Three performances on BETBetBet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's 106 & Park106 & Park106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
: BET's Top 10 Live- June 21, 2006 (Wild Out Wednesday)
- January 30, 2008 (Wild Out Wednesday)
- September 10, 2008 (W.O.W. All-Stars)
- Special Presentation to President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Family - NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's America's Got TalentAmerica's Got TalentAmerica's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
(Season 3) - BETBetBet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's Spring Bling '07: Get 2 Steppin - BETBetBet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's Spring Bling 2006: Get to Steppin - KTXAKTXAKTXA, virtual channel 21 , is an independent television station based in Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth designated market area. With its transmitter in Cedar Hill, KTXA is owned by CBS Corporation and is the sister station of CBS outlet KTVT .KTXA was originally an...
Dance Club 21 (formerly UPNUPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
's Dance 360Dance 360Dance 360 was a modern hip-hop television series in which different dancers competed to win 360 dollars and an Xbox or other prizes like a cell phone from boost mobile...
) - TonexTonéxAnthony Charles Williams II , better known by his former stage name Tonéx , and most recently as B.Slade, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, dancer, producer, preacher, and activist. He has gone by various names and aliases, but his primary stage name of choice...
Concert - Deitrick HaddonDeitrick HaddonDeitrick Haddon is a Gospel singer, songwriter and producer. A popular artist known for his contemporary style of music, he is well known for his progressive gospel styles.-Early years:Haddon is a native of Detroit, Michigan....
Concert - World of Dance Tour (2010 & 2011)