Program / Event Details

Step by Step

35-45 minutes of highly energetic, percussive unity in motion. In this assembly-sized, workshop-based program, with grade-specific options for grades ranging from Pre-K to 12, students enjoy learning step choreography and discovering how dance brings people together. The program introduces the ties between stepping, college life, and academic achievement while discovering the rhythm, physicality, and history of stepping. Our core pillars of teamwork, commitment, and discipline shine through as spectators join Step Afrika! and individual students become a team.

Larger groups may require additional artists. Please contact us to learn more about the package that would be best for you.

Fees are for daytime school programs in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia only.

Evening, weekend, workshop, and non-school fees differ – please contact us.

Additional travel fees apply.

About Step Afrika!

Step Afrika!, the first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, brings a unique energy that will shake the floor and fill the air. Step Afrika! artists use their bodies as instruments and combine footsteps, claps, and spoken words to produce complex rhythms. Stepping is an American art form created by African-American college students and Step Afrika! tells this story while also teaching universal lessons of teamwork, discipline, and commitment. Students enjoy learning the history and culture of stepping while also discovering how dance unites people and cultures. Step Afrika! performs nationally, internationally, and all over the DC area.

Step Afrika!’s most recent international tours have promoted cultural dialogue and exchange in Jordan (2018), Ghana (2018). Croatia (2019), Ukraine (2019), Zambia (2019), Angola (2019), South Africa (2019), Dubai (2020), Poland (2022), Slovenia (2022), Bolivia (2022), and Kuwait (2023). In 2023, Step Afrika! was inducted into the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) Hall of Fame, the first Dance Company to earn this honor.

Biography

Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Under Mr. Williams’ leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports, touring more than 60 countries across the globe and ranking as one of the top 10 African American Dance Companies in the US.

Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities; traditional African dances; and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.

Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement and cross-cultural understanding. The Company reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through a 50-city tour of colleges and theaters and performs globally as Washington, DC’s one and only Cultural Ambassador.

Step Afrika! has earned Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Innovation in the Arts, Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and was inducted into the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) Hall of Fame, the first Dance Company to earn this honor. Step Afrika! headlined President Barack Obama’s Black History Month Reception and performed at the first ever Juneteenth Celebration at the White House. The Company is featured prominently at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture with the world’s first stepping interactive exhibit.