The Washington, D.C.-based Step Afrika! troupe put on display in a rousing free show Aug. 30 in the Campus Center arena for more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members.
Jakari Sherman, right, artistic director for the Step Afrika! troupe directs his audience recruits in introductory moves and shouts for stepping, an energetic dance form the Washington, D.C.-based performers put on display in a rousing free show Aug. 30 in the Campus Center arena for more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members. The group introduces people around the globe to step — developed in the early 20th century by African American fraternities and sororities — and the evening featured plenty of audience participation. Step Afrika! presented intricate, pulse-pounding routines of claps, shouts, stomps and athletic leaps. The troupe paid tribute to South African roots with a “gum boot” dance such as miners use for solidarity and entertainment, and another in Zulu tribal garb to the beat of African drums.