While the Apocalypse – Blog

Born on the Southside of Chicago, Steppin’ is a dance rooted in its community – growing out of neighborhood parties, and the tight social scene that expanded around it. Evolving with soul music as a collision of ballroom and swing, with parallels to the jitterbug and the hustle, the Chicago Steppin’ scene lives on through a close pool of Southside icons, connected by a gravitational pull to its fast footwork, old-world charm, and smooth, sensual movements.

Initiated into Chicago Steppin’ from a young age, Chicago-born filmmaker Rodney Lucas lenses the scene through the luminous characters who established its presence, and continue its legacy, for short film steppin’ on water. Between archive footage, embellished outfits and the sounds of Chicago’s legendary Steppin’ DJ Sam Chatman, the film captures the history and present of the gliding step that planted its seeds in Black culture, and the poetic groove that carries the spirit of Steppin’.

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