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MHC Goes Mad Over Double Dose of
Insane Steppers in Unity
by Carissa Rice
The step team ends their recent performance. From left to right, (first row) Rebecca Sumerel and Ronnie Boyd, (2nd row) Tessa Ashwell and Mandy Gray, (3rd row) Jonathan Palmer, Brandon Gash, and Terrell Patton.
-(Left to right) Jonathan Palmer, Brandon Gash, and I.S.U. Captain Calvin Streater perform at the "Halloween Havoc" October 29.
(Left to right) Rebecca Sumerel and Co-Captain, Lillie Hughes, break it down during their performance Tuesday night.
I.S.U. members performed in the Moore Dormitory in front of around 50 students Tuesday night.
Tessa Ashwell (front), I.S.U. Captain Calvin Streater, and Rebecca Sumerel (back) step as interested student audience members look on.
The step team lines up and steps in unison. (From front to back) Rebecca Sumerel, Lillie Hughes, Tessa Ashwell, Ronnie Boyd, Mandy Gray, Terrell Patton, Jonathan Palmer, Brandon Gash, Calvin Streater, and (far back) April Hatten.
(Front to back) Terrell Patton, Tessa Ashwell, and Brandon Gash give the cue for the rest of the team to step during their performance.
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A new step team - the first of its kind at Mars Hill College - made its debut this fall. The Insane Steppers in Unity gave introductory performances during the weeks of Homecoming and Halloween, and they are planning future competitions and appearances across campus.
Step dancing is a form of self-expression where one makes strong rhythmic beats, patterns, and motions with hands, feet, and body. It is often used to portray and provoke certain feelings or emotions in a creative, visual way that also appeals to one's sense of rhythm and tempo. Rebecca Sumerel, a freshman stepper of the Insane Steppers in Unity, describes stepping as "clogging with a twist, but still a lot different."
Calvin Streater, vice president of the freshman class, decided to create a step team just this past fall. Early in the semester, Streater posted several flyers and posters across campus-hoping to find interested college students who would be dedicated enough to create and practice for a step team that would eventually participate and compete in competitions.
Streater eventually found enough students interested and held a "try out." Once the step team was finalized, Streater had to appear before the Student Government Association to have the Insane Steppers in Unity become a part of the college's organizations under the Mars Hill College name. That allowed the step team to become an "official" team for the college where they would receive administrative support. The Insane Steppers in Unity, or I.S.U.-as they are most commonly known around campus-now consists of 11 members with Streater as the captain and freshman Lillie Hughes as the co-captain. The team is young, with only two sophomores, a junior, and the rest freshmen, but by no means does this affect its authenticity. Members practice hard for two hours, twice a week, as they prepare for local shows and performances on campus, and sometimes they practice longer. "We sometimes stay after. We don't leave until we all have it (the routine)," says Sumerel.
The Insane Steppers in Unity debuted with their first performance at the Lion's Growl during the week of Homecoming. This was the first time several students and faculty had even heard of, let alone watch the performance of, a step team. The roar of the crowd during that performance displayed the obvious approval of students and faculty. "I liked it (the step show), not only because my friends were in it, but because it was fun, exciting, and full of energy," says freshman Megan O'Kelley.
The step team has become more involved with on-campus activities over the past few months. On Tuesday, October 29, the Insane Steppers in Unity, held a step show called "Halloween Havoc'' in the Edna Moore Dormitory. This was their first "in-dorm" performance. At ten o'clock that Tuesday night, around 50 students filed into the Moore lobby to witness the fifteen-minute step show filled with screams, contemporary music, rapid rhythmic beats, and a visual display of difficult steps and formations. The show was so pleasing to the audience that the team decided to perform the same show later that night for all who wanted a double dose of the step team.
The Insane Steppers in Unity is a very unique team, according Sumerel. Many believe "step" to be more of an African-American way of expression and dancing. Indeed, step originated from an African-American form of dance, and it usually is difficult to find step teams with anything other than all African-American members. However, I.S.U. has managed to crash through the stereotypical barriers that many people have created about step teams. "It (I.S.U.) raises awareness about a different culture on campus," Sumerel explains as she speaks of the origins of step dance. "But we're not prejudiced. It's good to step into a different culture and feel accepted." The team consists of Caucasian students and African-Americans, as well as an almost equal number of both genders. "We want to make a multi-cultural team," she said.
For many of the steppers of I.S.U., step dancing is "fun and expressive," says Tessa Ashwell, a sophomore team member. "I've always wanted to (step), but I just never had the opportunity," she said.
"I step because it is spiritual and emotionally healing for my soul," said Sumerel. She also participated on step teams in high school, but she enjoys I.S.U. and the college form of step much more. "It (step) has helped me raise my self-esteem and my self confidence…It's just fun and unique," she continued.
The step team will have smaller performances on campus during the next couple of months. However, on Saturday December 7 from eight o'clock until midnight, the Insane Steppers in Unity will host a competition that will be made up of other colleges and high schools. The competition will be held on campus in the Loft, and I.S.U will most likely perform as the opening act before competition starts. A dance open to all Mars Hill students will follow the competition on Saturday night.
The Insane Steppers in Unity is a team unlike any other on campus. They are unique in their own style. If anyone questions the effort and hard work each step team puts into each show and performance, then that one has most likely never seen I.S.U. perform. "We are dedicated to the team and to each other…like a family," says Sumerel. "We want to have a positive outcome to better our school. We strive to do our best."
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