In middle school, step team member Destiny Rodriguez wanted to try out dancing, but once on her school’s middle school dance team, she realized it wasn’t for her. Soon after discovering step, Rodriguez, a junior strategic communication major at Bona’s, went from watching her school’s step team to stepping in both her middle school and high school teams, a hobby she continues to do with her time at St. Bonaventure.
“It wasn’t my style of dancing [on the dance team], and I just wasn’t feeling it,” Rodriguez said. “While we were practicing, another team came down, and my instructor and that team’s instructor started talking, and my instructor told us to sit down. As we sat down, the other team [the step team] went up to perform, and I instantly fell in love with what they showcased. They made music with their bodies. No song in the background was needed and attitude could easily be added to spice things up. I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
The SBU Step Team is a multicultural club that uses both members’ hands and feet to make unique beats and rhythms along with creating a dance performance to catch viewers’ eyes.
Although the step team is often thought to be only for minority female students, Aaliyah Coleman, a senior sociology major and co-captain of the step team, said it is open to everyone.
So far this year, the step team has had performances during halftime at Bona’s basketball games. The team also had its first-ever flash mob in the Hickey Dining Hall before spring break, which brought the team a lot of attention from students, and members have participated in events at the Warming House and the SPCA.
On Wednesday, the SBU Step Team will present its annual spring show “Alice in Bonaland” in the Rigas Family Theater at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at 7 p.m.
The show, based on the original movie “Alice in Wonderland,” will star Taylor Morton-Lewis, a senior theater major, as Alice; Lourdesmine Gaston, a sophomore marketing major, as the White Queen and Adonis Towe, a junior sport studies major, as the Mad Hatter.
The step team will also perform at Drill-A-Rama, a step-team competition in Buffalo, on April 17. Drill-A-Rama focuses on local teams coming together to show what the choreography each team has worked on, Coleman said.
During Spring Weekend, the SBU Step Team will also perform, giving a recap of all the steps members learned over the past year.
Most members, including Coleman and Rodriguez, feel passionately about step, performing for years before coming to St. Bonaventure. However, Coleman said that people at any level of knowledge, including beginners, are invited to participate.
“I personally became involved with the SBU Step Team because I grew up on a team similar to a step team. We did multiple performances in the Buffalo area such as Drill-A-Rama and the Juneteenth parade. I have years of previous experience, and so I thought it would only be right to join something I deeply enjoy,” Coleman said. “Whether you have experience or not, we can help make you an expert at something you may think you would never try. The Step Team is a very diverse club, and there is always room for anyone who may want to join.”
The SBU Step Team will be having auditions for its annual Spring Weekend show soon. Coleman said anyone who would like to try step can come to the team’s practices in the basement of Butler every Tuesday through Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.
Coleman encourages anyone interested to take a step of faith and try out just as Rodriguez did in middle school.
“I step because it’s literally my life,” Rodriguez said. “Every stomp and clap I make means something to me. To me, step tells a story. And no two steppers step the same. When you see a team perform, you’ll see everyone doing the same movements but with their own twist and style to it.
“I love to be extra and put my all into steps because that’s how much I love it. I love the adrenaline of performing. I love the beats we make while doing it. I turned to step because it’s an outlet for me. Any emotions I’m feeling, or if I’m in a bad day or mood gets taken out on my steps, especially in middle school and high school when I was suffering from depression and bullying. All that anger and sadness I had, I took that out on my performances. So, when people ask me why am I so extra when I perform, it’s technically because I don’t have a choice. I go hard for what I love and want to do. And that is why I step.”
By Natalie Forster, Managing Editor
forstena17@bonaventure.edu
