Customer Reviews

Soulstepping: AFRICAN AMERICAN STEP SHOWS

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed this book because it took me back in history to the roots of stepping. It connected me to my African and African-American Ancestors. It helped me relive my soul-stepping days as a Delta in Lambda Chapter in Chicago. Stepping is a tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation. Sororities and fraternities are known for their particular steps. Now, non-Greeks are stepping too. It is great to see how stepping has evolved and this book has captured the traditions of stepping. The first copy I bought was for me. The next book will be for my daughter in college so that she can have her own copy. Hats off to the author!

I wanted to know was this the book I was looking for and it was. Also the product was in excellent condition as described.

Pros: I've been on this constant mission to find out more about Greek stepping after seeing "Stomp the Yard." I'm not quite sure why, considering I went to an HBCU and saw plenty of it, as well as being addicted to shows like "A Different World," but I've found so many books that give me a deeper perspective on the topic and this would be one of them. I enjoyed this book. It talked about the controversy between the African American nonGreek community and African American Greeks; the issue with representing African culture but using Greek letters; whether nonGreeks should be able to step; the light-skinned versus dark-skinned perspective in Spike Lee's "School Daze" movie; a little bit of hazing; the Greeks of the 50s and 60s who completely disagree with the idea that stepping came from African culture; and the dance of juba, which played a great part in the creation of stepping. I thought the book was going to be just about stepping, but I didn't expect so many debates to be covered as well. I enjoyed reading about how Greeks felt about other cultures learning how to step, as well as nonGreeks. That was something I'd always wondered about but never felt the need to ask.

Cons: I wasn't so much interested in reading about church step groups. Not to be disrespectful, but I was looking for the perspective of BGOs, not other cultures or groups. I do understand why the author covered all the territory.

Comment: She did such a great job of the research, especially considering her "mamma didn't tell her about A Phi A," and she is a white woman who was not previously introduced to the subject. In the antecdote about the black man asking her why she wasn't studying polka instead of step, she didn't dodge the topic of what readers may wonder but are too nice to mention. Great job!

Soulstepping: African American Step Shows by Elizabeth C. Fine (Associate Professor in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of the Humanities Program, Virginia Tech) is an informed and informative introduction to a complex and unique form of performance that blends dance, percussion, chanting, drama, initially developed by African-American fraternities and sororities, and has evolved to now being practiced and performed worldwide. The history, culture, politics, and art of this African-American performance artform is examined in-depth; with black-and-white photographs embellish this impressively, scholarly, highly recommended contribution to Black American cultural studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

I returned the product. I thought it was a DVD of stepping and not a book. I want tapes.