The I Love Steppin 3rd Anniversary Weekend Review

By Tracey Bivens

There was another “Royal Wedding” if you will…which occurred in Southfield, Michigan this weekend. The collaboration of The Steady Steppers and Jeff Clark had to be one of the most anticipated Midwest events of the year next to Atlanta’s Heritage Ball and Rockin Rodney Mack’s White Party in June. The Steady Steppers have been voted the top organizational, instructional and promotional group three years in a row on Chistepper.com as well as Jeff Clark being voted as the number one promoter, e-blast service, best set Saturday set at Fire Water Bar & Grill and overall nice guy. As a result, it made perfect sense for these two entities to unite.

This 2011 event is a re-introduction for The Steady Steppers into the Detroit fold and has a history connected with it. Headed by Larry Collins and Kammal Smith, this dynamic duo was the first organization to conduct the original lavish steppers sets in Detroit complete with out of town guests, live entertainment, workshops and food. Having dual residences in Las Vegas and Michigan allowed for The Steady Steppers to branch out and bring more potential steppers into the steppin family. Thus, the first steppin clothing line, video and DVD instructional series and mega workshops were introduced all over the country. Since 2003, the Steady Steppers have charted several chapters while conducting their weekly classes that are still held in Detroit and Inkster.

The bonafide star of this weekend had to be the venue. Larry Collins described the dance floor/stage as a “whale tail” which is entirely accurate. Every seat in the place provided a great view of the dancers because steppers always like to look at the top part as well as the feet. No matter where you were sitting, you didn’t miss a thing. The blue, black and white colors provided a sultry yet upscale ambiance complete with everything you’d expect…and not expect. No matter how much you try to provide party goers there are always going to be the “it was a nice party buts…”

There was no food served at either party but there was no food served in an effort to keep ticket prices down in a fledgling economy. I think a lot of people don’t understand that they DO have the option of eating before they leave home or possible afterwards at an all-night eatery. Although this is unheard of…sneaking food in is an option as well (wink). I heard the same complaints in Atlanta and the White Party in recent years but people still go and enjoy themselves in the end. Another complaint was that in order to get to the dance floor, you had steps to go up and down on…maybe 5 or 6. You could see the pain written on some people’s faces after their first few rounds of cardio on them. You definitely were going to test your knee strength if you were over 30. Now even though people had the OPTION of walking back and forth on a stair free ramp, a lot of the same people that complained insisted on taking the steps to get to the dance floor. What can you say?

Mellow Khris and Mykel “Shorty Smooth” Farr provided the music for both evenings and the crowd reacted as expected. They ate up the LIVE mixing. When you are a DJ that is not afraid to take chances and go outside of the “push and play” mentality, you are going to get results and accolades. You have to cater to several generations on the dance floor as it relates to music. Is it easy to do this? No it isn’t. Is it fun to listen to Khris and Mykel tease us with songs they mix on the spot and won’t allow us to purchase for at least a year? No, (smile) but it’s what keeps them both hired and in demand. Something to think about.

No steppin workshops were provided on Saturday morning or in the afternoon for some guests. Was this a problem? Not really. Again, in a wallet and purse tight economy, the promoters of the party tried to keep everything as cost effective as possible when it came to the extras…not the quality. Jeff’s Saturday brunch still went on as planned and was well attended with DJ “K-Mix” Kirk Peterson entertaining the troops.

Although Jeff Clark did not get Tyra Banks to show up (she had a table with her name on a tent card and everything) I think that he and The Steady Steppers can truly be proud of the 400 plus people that came into the Shriners Silver Gardens this weekend. People came from Philadelphia, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Cincinnati, Columbus, Flint, Cleveland, Toledo, Miami and Akron.

St. Louis, Missouri poster child, Iary “Cat in the Hat” Israel, CEO and founder of Word of Mouth Entertainment, attended with the assurance that his Memorial Day weekend function will still be going on as planned without any deviations. From what I understand, this will be the first opportunity for many people to see famed steppin legend and one of Tyk Myn’s inspirations, Ice Ray, live and in living color. In 13 years, I may have seen in once in Chicago so it will definitely be worth the trip.

Victor Anthony James Sr. and Nicola Thomas were also in the house commanding the dance floor all night. That man had to have danced with 75 women that night…I promise you. I keep hinting to Victor that he and Nicola should enter the WLSC because of their commanding and smooth presence on the floor. We’ll have to see how they feel after both of their large scale events coming up in Indianapolis and Missouri.

Shockingly, Ronneal “Moe” Muhammad, was the ONLY Chicagoan that I saw at the set all weekend besides Mellow Khris. Someone replied that this was the first major party in the Detroit area in which Chicagoans didn’t come out in full force and it was still a success.

In the house was the lady behind the website designs, Tonya Harris of Harris Pro Designs.com

 (feature interview coming up with her real soon), Columbus’ Own, Cleveland’s Dancin Dons and Divas, Deon Farr, Jennifer Toles, Kendra Willis, Ira and a very sexy Gail Blakely, Bonita Williams, Drew Alexander, Lynne “Ms. Cheesecake” Batten, “DJ Huck” Vince Huckabee, Michelle Mason aka DJ Butta, Upscale Productions, Sherry Gordon, Feo Duncan, Candace and her daddy Robert Hinton, Sherry Gordon, Jamal Brown, Keesha Anderson, Sophia Hooper, Darby Settles, The BHG, Ann Dobson-Hunter, Rebecca “Sexy Legs” Atkinson, Victor “Slick Vic” Plotnikov, Brock Powers, Nicole Holsey, Darryl Flexx, Dave D Stepper, David Dean, Quin Q Jones and a rare public appearance made by Buford “Mistalocks” Collins.

FYI...Tracey was not able to attend the Sunday Brunch hosted by Friends United, so I'll add my two cents. I got there two hours after the brunch had started and there was still plenty of food remaining. I was very impressed with the assortment of food the was made available by the Fire Water kitchen staff. You could have your choice of breakfast or lunch foods. The breakfast menu consisted of scrambled eggs, potatoes, turkey sausage or hot and cold cereal. The lunch menu included corn, baked beans, fish, baked chicken and a host of other items. There was also a variety of fruits and danishes available.


Quite a few of the out of town guests stayed around for the brunch and I'm sure they were pleased with the quality and quantity of the food. Hats of to Friends United and the staff at Fire Water II Bar & Grill.