Old School Chicago Bop, Philly Bop, And Some Other African American Originated Partner Dances (Online Information & Comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision -Nov. 3, 2023

This pancocojams post presents two online excerpts and selected comments from YouTube discussion threads about the history of the (old school/partner dance) the Chicago Bop*. 

This post also presents selected comments from a YouTube discussion thread on the history of Chicago Steppin.

In addition, this post presents an online excerpt about the Philly Bop.

Other African American partner dances are also mentioned in these articles and comments.
 
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who helped create these dances and thanks to all those who have kept these dances alive in one way or another. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*The old school Chicago Bop is used to differentiate those dances from new school Hip Hop dances such as the Dlow Shuffle which has also been referred to as the "Chicago Bop".

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ONLINE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OLD SCHOOL CHICAGO BOP

FULL RE-PRINT
From https://profmilesproduction.com/history/ "The Society of Boppers, Steppers & Walkers
One Dance, One Love" [no author or publishing date cited; retrieved November 2, 2023]
"There are many versions on the history of “Steppin” in Chicago and the various versions have merit. It is those “different” and varied experiences that makes the history of the dance beautiful and worth the study. There are many who lived and experienced a part of the history in this dance. The objective here is to add to the many versions of history that are presently available. Dancing is like a language no one knows who did it first or who gave it the name yet we speak the same language. The beauty of Bopping, Stepping, and Walking is the two individuals coming together to create a unique art on the dance floor.

“Bopping” is a dance that was primarily done by the parents of the “Baby Boomers” generation. Bopping is part of the “swing style” family of partner dances however in Chicago many of the acrobatic moves, spins and turns of the original swing styles were toned down and the Chicago Style was created where the dance took on a more laid back and smoother execution done mainly with one hand. Bopping became an “elite” dance in Chicago that included a “secret society” of social partner dancers and lifestyle. Someone had to bring you into the culture before you were accepted in the culture and lifestyle. As a social partner dance, Boppers learned to Bop from parents, other family members, and close friends in their youth. Boppers prided themselves on being a part of the “watch and learn” generation. The music of the Boppers included the popular sounds of jazz, soul, and R&B.

“Walking” emerged as a dance in the early 1960s. Walking coincided with the romantic Doo Wop music of the late 1950s and Jazz music. Walking is the black version of the WALTZ one of the oldest European dances. In addition, Walking was considered by some as a “slowed down” version of Bopping. Walking was at the aphex of the social dances because walking could be done on a wide variety of music. It was not necessarily a “slow or romantic” tune that brought individuals together to execute walking. Walkers could create art on a jazz tune or medium tempo soul or r&b tune. There were several variations of walking the single step, double step stride and the skip walk. One mistake made by some individuals was thinking that “slow dancing” and “walking” are the same. Slow dancing is intimate with bodies pressed upon each other, while walking looks intimate however, the bodies are not pressed on each other.

“Steppin” which is not to be confused with the art form of “Stepping” done by college students in the black Greek culture, has a rich history that comes from the black neighborhoods of Chicago. The starting point for “Steppin” appeared in the early 1970s through the teenagers of the streets and high schools in Chicago. The music that ushered in the “New Bop” variation by the youth, was the music of the JB’s, with songs like “Gimmie Some More” and “Pass The Peas“. “Steppin” came from the youth that followed the original Boppers generation in Chicago and for brief period from 1972 – 1975 the dance was called the “New Bop”. The “New Bop” added the use of two hands and a stylish kick out or step out to the basic steps of Bopping. The New Bop and Steppin(which are synonymous) came from the swing dance style called Bopping done by previous generations. The name “Steppin” is credited to DJ Sam Chatman who promoted parties especially for the teenagers in Chicago. Steppin was created by the teenagers in Chicago in the mid 1970s."
-snip-
The font used in this article is the same as it is originally found online. 

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WIKIPEDIA PAGE EXCERPT ABOUT CHICAGO STEPPING
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_stepping
"Chicago-Style Stepping (also known as Steppin') is an urban dance that originated in Chicago and continues to evolve nationwide and overseas, while defining its unique style and culture. within urban community. "Chicago-Style Stepping" makes reference to other urban styles of dance found throughout the United States in urban enclaves such as Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.[example needed]

Origins

The partner dances that began in Chicago during the big band era came from the east coast Swing dances the Jitter Bug and the Lindy Hop. The Bop emerged in the late 50's and 1960's when dancing at clubs and ballrooms flourished in the City. The Bop was directly influenced by the music of Chess Records and Motown Records. The basic pattern of the Chicago Bop was like most 6 count Swing dances. The Chicago Bop Style was similar to the "Philly Bop" as seen on the American Bandstand television show. The youth of the late 60's in the high schools of Chicago began changing the movement of the partner dance from a circular rotation to a straight line featuring a north and south pattern. During the 60's Chicagoans did not refer to the partner dance as bopping or stepping instead people simply said they were "dancing" however all dancers of that era acknowledged the Chicago Bop as the original dance. The basic characteristics of the Chicago Bop was smooth, cool, less acrobatic and done with one hand. In 1971 with the release of the JB's song entitled "Gimmie Some More" the younger generation of dancers created another variation of the partner which was called "The New Bop". The NEW BOP is the foundation of what is known as Stepping Today. With music fueled by the JB's, the youth from the streets of Chicago changed the pattern of the partner dance from one hand to 2 hands and the body motion from front to back to side to side. Years later, in 1974 a DJ/Prompter by the name of Sam Chatman saw a couple dancing and when the two separated Sam announced during the party "it looks like they are "Stepping" and the name Stepping became popular for the partner dance.[1]

The term Chicago "Bop" was used to describe the dance form by Chicagoans until the early 1970s. Prior to that time "Bop" was a universally known term with its origin beginning sometime between 1945 & 1950 to express music and dance. The dance known as Chicago Stepping' evolved from the New Bop and is more likely a derivative of several east coast swing dances. No published syllabuses exist for the dance.[2] Chicago-Style Stepping is an exclusive local dance and gained a foothold on radio in 1989 when a local radio station, WVAZ (102.7 FM) began playing music on Saturday Night. Prior to commercial radio expressing interest in "Steppers" music a college radio station WKKC FM 89.3 in 1975 began programming with Steppers Music.

Popularity

Steppin' in Chicago goes back to the late 1940s early 1950s, originally called Bopping it evolved with soul music as the street corner harmony soul songs did with musical bands. Stepping remained popular throughout, even as Hip Hop and Rap music came along it remained mainstream in the urban dance scene. ( Also there's the only Mainstream Steppin TV show in the World ! " Step On IT " urban ballroom show signed to icon rapper ' Skee Lo 's Music Mogul label/Sony for global distribution, Aires on IFAME TV via Roku/Apple TV.)

Artist such as Grover Washington, Jr.; Michael Jackson; Earth, Wind and Fire; Average White Band; and especially James Brown (J.B.'s Mono-rail) all had hot stepping tunes aside from many others.

R. Kelly's songs that featured Steppin' or Stepping helped move the dance into national mainstream culture”...

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ONLINE EXCERPT ABOUT THE PHILLY BOP
From https://xpn.org/2020/06/17/the-philly-bop-history/ The Philly Bop: How a local spin on a national trend has thrived across generations

WXPN LOCAL

By John Morrison, June 17, 2020
"In their 2017 TED talk, dance / choreography duo Lisa LaBracio and Camille A. Brown give a concise and encompassing demonstration of the history of African American social dance. Moving through a range of some of the most popular dances throughout the decades like The Cabbage Patch, the Dougie, the Twist, the Nae Nae, and beyond, the performance is a testament to the diversity and enduring social power of Black dance. Speaking to this rich tradition of dance, Brown explains what social dancing is and the role it has played in African American culture.

“A social dance isn’t choreographed by any one person. It can’t be traced to any one moment. Each dance has steps that everyone can agree on, but it’s about the individual and their creative identity. Because of that, social dances bubble up, they change, and they spread like wildfire. They are as old as our remembered history. In African-American social dances, we see over 200 years of how African and African-American traditions influenced history. The present always contains the past. And the past shapes who we are and who we will be.”

In Philadelphia, one social dance, simply known as “The Bop” has its origins in Jazz’s Swing explosion of the 1920s. An intimate and meticulously coordinated dance, The Bop has existed as a beloved tradition in Philly’s Black community for decades and it still remains a staple at cookouts, anniversaries, and family reunions throughout the city.

A regional variation of popular Swing dances from the 1920s — like the Jitterbug and the Lindy Hop — sometime in the 1950s, Philly dancers distilled the hyper, flamboyant movements of Swing dancing into a relaxed, understated partner dance based on a universal, six-step pattern. The dance spread locally being practiced at dance halls around the city.

In the late 1950s, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand was one of the most-watched television programs in the country. Filmed at a studio on 45th and Market in West Philly, the show maintained a de facto segregationist policy that kept Black teenagers off the show. Although there was no “official” race-based policy, young people would arrive at the station before tapings to be selected by the show’s producers. In this process, Black kids were mostly denied access. Despite this, some Black youth still made it onto the show, and arguably it was on American Bandstand that The Bop was first witnessed outside of Philly’s Black neighborhoods.

[...]

Although the specific mechanics involved in the Philly Bop are unique to our city’s dance culture, there are many regional variations of similar post-Swing dances Most famously, Chicago Stepping is a dance that evolved in the wake of the Jazz era and is similar to the Philly Bop. Audrey Donaldson explains the development of the dance and how many regions have their own dances that share common origins with the Bop. “My understanding is that as the dance traveled across the country, people had different takes on it. In D.C., they have something called Hand Dance which is very similar to the Bop but our “5,6” is their “1,2.” It’s different but we can dance with someone from D.C. and it looks pretty much like the same dance.

June Donaldson continues, explaining that the sound of Motown with its rich, elegant arrangements and driving backbeat, pushed the evolution of the dance, further emphasizing its reliance on smooth, effortless movement and coordination. “The Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug are both 6-count dances. People were dancing to Big Band Swing music and it was kinda fast, but then Motown came out a little later, so we smoothed that thing out.”

Today, the Bop lives on as an integral part of Black Philadelphian dance and social culture. There is not a single Block party, cookout, family reunion, or oldies night in the city that would be complete without boppers. I personally grew up watching family members and elders in my neighborhood do the Bop. My mom, Jackqueline Morrison has been an active bopper since she was a child, she learned the dance when she was only 7 years old and as a teenager, she would teach the Bop to boys in the neighborhood."...

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE YOUTUBE DISCUSSION THREADS
These discussion threads are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Discussion thread #1
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMX75kb_QXk "Chicago style steppin': DJ Sam Chatman shares the origin of this smooth dance style"

Windy City LIVE, Jan 15, 2020

It's the cool and smooth style of dancing that originated right here in Chicago. Windy City LIVE spoke with DJ Sam Chatman, aka the Godfather of Steppin, about this sleek and sexy dance style's origins.

COMMENTS:
[Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.]

1. @bumpyjohnson_3rd973, 2020
"My mother and her contemporaries I should say my mother and my father they used to call it bopping and when they would slow it down of course it was called Walking that's what I like to learn Chicago walking Beyond smooth'

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2. @shanettacane7101, 2020
"Yep bopping it was and they did it in the 50's"

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3. @HOPE.TheresNoPlaceLikeHomeClub, 2020
"Nothing is new. The bop, the hustle, stepping...let's just dance!"

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4. @ceebee8042, 2021
"Texas two step too. In Cali, Chachacha."

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5. @ginadavis5137, 2023
"No it is not the same as the hustle dance…"

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6. @ginadavis5137, 2023
" @ceebee8042  No those dances are not the same as bopping… which steppin originated from…"

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7. @bigdog5086, 2022
"I'm a native Chicagoan from the South Side... this style of dance is nothin new. Back in the day we use to call it the Bop. Friday and Saturiday nights we as teens back then would come together at a place called the Time Square ran by DJ Herb Kent the Cool Gent and we would Bop and dance all night. This took place during the mid 60's and went on to at least the mid 70's. High schools like Dunbar, Phillips, Du Sable ect. high schools from all over the south side gathered at the Time Square, the Peps, The Church and The Tuskegee located on 48th and King Drive and Bop...now they call it steppin...nothin new."

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8. @jacquelinethomas9353, 2022
"What happened to Chicago Bop. Thought that was Chicago's main dance forever.  Isn't Stepping  #2. My cousin Olivia was from Chicago.  She always talked abt The Bop. When we went to Chicago ( in 70's ) I watched and they ,Chicago taught me The Bop. Never heard of Stepping. Years later Stepping came to Youngstown.  When song " Step in the name of love " came out, that's what we Steped to. Not saying it didn't come from Chi, just had never heard it. We had a different style of doing it. Still 123 456 78"
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"Youngstown" refers a city in Ohio (a state in the USA)

"Step In The Name of Love" is the title of a hit 2003 R&B song by R. Kelly. I've read at least one comment in a YouTube discussion thread that indicated that the word "steppin" became the preferred referent for this type of partner dancing in Chicago because that R. Kelly record.  .

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9. @reneegraves4608, 2021
"We called it The Brooklyn Hustle, a four step which was out before 1969 even before the disco era and it was called 5 step up in NYC. I was a teenager back then and I'm 66 now. Brooklyn Hustle, Brooklyn Bounce, Harlem Shake."

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10. @sweedy3333, 2022
"This one is an 8 count, but it's still similar!"

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11. @markeetawins, 2021
"In the DMV back in the day it was called hand dancing to fast music and slow dragging to a slow record!"
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"DMV"- Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia [area]

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12. @shirleymartin2164, 2021
"In the sixties we would go to blue light parties in someones basement and dance the bop and stroll.  Some of the cool guys were called Gowsters, they really dressed.  Some of the other guys were Ivy Leaguers, they wore Brooks Brother shirts (button down collars) and khakis.  We girls wore sweaters and pencil or box pleated skirts.  French rolls and bangs.  Those were really good times."

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13. @caroldorn6933, 2021
"Growing up in the early 60’s we just called it dancing!  He didn’t invent it. I don’t know who 1st started calling it stepping! Maybe he did! 😳👍❤️"

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14. @classylady2257, 2021
"I was stepping at Budland, on that postage stamp stage, that was so small & crowded, that sometimes the guys would have to be on the floor next to it while "walking" with their partners, in 1962 when Clinton Ghent, Jojo, and others were there.  Some of us would leave Washington Park swimming pool in the summer evenings, go to Budland, at 64th & Cottage Grove in the basement of the Pershing Hotel, dance all night and then repeat it the next night.  We'd also go Basin Street, and ?Mambo City to mambo, cha-cha, pachanga, etc.  (it's been a while).  Bus Stop Charlie Green & friends would put on a show,  with all their intricate steps @ Guys & Gals in the 70s.  ALSO:  Langston Hughes was called a "stepper" back in the 1940s!  It was a label given to those who were smooth dancers who could do intricate footwork and sometimes acrobatic moves -- not dance a repeated pattern.  I was and am a bopper who can step!"
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I wish classylady2257 would have shared her source for the statement that Langston Hughes was called a stepper back in the 1940s. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes for information about African American poet, novelist, playwright  and activist Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) who was born in Missouri and lived in Ohio and in New York City.

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15. @classylady2257, 2021
"It was also called stepping.   You had to be really smooth with innovative, unique "steps" to be called a stepper."

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16. @arciliciaoliver42, 2021
"A sad story it was called Boppin', Westside bop, Blackstone bop, two-step bop, too many lies...I'm a Boomer..."
-snip-
This comment is in response to another commenter whose screen name is “a sad story”.

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17. @williephillips7805, 2021
"I love to step I'm down here in the south we call it two step"

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18. @peteholloway5473, 2021
"No Sam Champman saved it didnt invented because it went away for awhile  and Sam rejuvenate  the culture putting on event's  it started as

Swing

Jitterbug

Walking

Bopping

Then it evolved into

Stepping...

I left one out

can't  think of it..."

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19. @djbhe, 2021
"My uncles also called it boppin."

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20. @jonathangraham4745, 2021
"@Ina Marshall. My grandma said the same damn thing you said and she's 82 years old. She's from Arkansas and still gets down. She said it's called hand dancing or fast dancing is what her husband called it."

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21. @ladyreepatton6342, 2021
"We called it "Swinging out " back in the 60's& 70's."

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22. @davidforeman8177, 2021
"I am from West Harvey, ILL. We was stepping back in 1965."

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23. @arciliciaoliver42, 2021
"Nope, you were boppin', check the facts..."

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24. @davidforeman8177, 2021
"@arciliciaoliver42  Sorry you are wrong. We boppin' but we had another dance. We called it strided', it was in between. A slow dance and boppin'. Same basic moves as steppen'. All things came from somewhere, before they got picked up by others."

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25. @arciliciaoliver42, 2021
"and you had the stroll too...I began Spinnin' in 72!!!"

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26. @davidforeman8177, 2021
" @arciliciaoliver42  I am a little older than you. I was in to jazz by then. So no dancing, just foot tapping while getting your head bad."

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27. @arciliciaoliver42, 2021
"@davidforeman8177  but you grew up small town I've been into jazz and the blues and I grew up on the west-side Holy City and we did west-side Bop, Blackstone Bop, and 2 step so you might be a little older but I grew up on the street and was DJin' for people as a kid and it was stip bopping and everybody was trying to keep their head bad. So many of the dancers are dead and what really turned this was Herb Kent the Cool Gent, not Sam..".

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28. @davidforeman8177, 2021
"@arciliciaoliver42  You are correct about Herb Kent the Kool Gent. 1972 was the beginning of FM radio. So the record tracks got longer. I didn't like dancing on the longer records. So I just went to jazz from soul."

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29. @arciliciaoliver42, 2021
"@davidforeman8177  he was on AM WVON 1450 almost at the end of the dial and either 72 or 73 might have been a few years later a kid got killed at Marshall High School and Herb dropped out of sight. he had a show called Steppin' at Club 7 you can find clips here on YouTube and yearly he was calling it bopping. The station would play a song every night before it went off at 11PM. Now last look up this song here on YT called the Fruit Song, that was a song that they played early in the steppin' world...everybody who bopped or stepped knew it. hope you find it..."
-snip-
"Yearly" is probably a typo for "clearly". 

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30. @classylady2257,2022
"@arciliciaoliver42  No.  You check your facts.  The best boppers were called steppers.  They were called that because they could also do other dances including mambo,  cha-cha, pachanga, etc.  It indicated your dance skill ability.   Langston Hughes was called a stepper in the 1940s.!"

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31. @ladyreepatton6342, 2021
"We called it "Swinging out " back in the 60's& 70's."

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32. @grandrapladyakaamb2438, 2023
"What he failed to say is the original style was called bopping in the late 60's and 70's it was originated on the Southside of Chicago in the Englewood neighborhood.. late 60's and then we called it steeping @ the Time Square with Herb Kent, we stepped around the dance floor and it was a beautiful circle of style and finesse"

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Discussion thread #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yiPISPPq4s "STEVE HARVEY !! CHICAGO STEPPING", published by Dizzy see 1971, Feb 15, 2016

1. @tiha6708, 2017
"Steve was NOT stepping."

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2. @vrobbee, 2017
"looks like he's doing the bop"

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3. @vrobbee, 2017
"Xactly"

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4. @SDP6666, 2017
"They are dancing, but that is not stepping"

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5. @phillipswatson3452, 2019
"SDP6666 😎

NEW YORK HUSTLE 💃🎵🏃"

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6. @jacquettediggs4633, 2020
"SDP6666 I agree. They was grooving but not no real Chicago stepping."

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7. @Chutney1luv, 2020
"They are bopping and not doing the Chicago Step! They did look good tho! 🎶💃🎶"

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8. @TheMandie1111, 2020
"You are right.  I am from Chicaho and old enough bop ftom.steppin. They look like they were having fun."

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9. @divinedesigndiscover3683, 2020
"I think I called those moves “The Hustle” back when.."

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10. @iamdjbutta, 2020
"Steve is showing off his Cleveland hand dance moves!"
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Comedian and radio/television host Steve Harvey is from Cleveland, Ohio. 

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11. @lindatillery9800, 2021
"I'm from Cleveland...hand dance...YES!!!❤"

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12. @chitownBigfella, 2020
"For those on here who stated thays not stepping must be young generation doing thay 8 count!!! I am born bread Southside 91st to those wild 100s that was stepping old school style! I did not think Steve had it in him lol!! He did good as hell!!!

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13. @annetteharrison1039, 2020
"A lot of you saying that's not steppin' and you have your opinion but I'm seen a lot of varieties of steppin'  and think think was pretty darn good for two people that never stepped together.  I'm just sayin'!!!"

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14. @phillipswatson3452, 2020
"😎SWEETIE...DIFFERENT GENERATIONS WE CALL IT THE HUSTLE 💃🎵🏃"

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15. @TerryOnDemand, 2020
"That wasn't Chicago stepping, BUT it was nice to watch😊"

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16. @NLawrence96, 2020
"L.C. Terry I swear it wasn’t . They was halfway boppin"

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17. @connielockridge8146, 2021
"The dance was nice but, definitely not Chicago stepping!!! The teacher was bopping!!!"

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18.  @tidavis904, 2021
"Definitely Cleveland hand dance"

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19.  @connielockridge8146, 2021
"You are so right, the instructor was bopping!!!"

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Discussion thread #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikVaKr9K3c "Chicago Original Freestyle Steppin R Mack White Party Detroit 2010.avi", published by Dj Stretch Alex, Uploaded on Feb 2, 2011

[Pancocojams Editor's note: A number of people in this video's discussion thread commented about the fact that two men were dancing together. While it's somewhat acceptable in the United States for two females to "fast dance" as a couple, it's not acceptable in most of this country for two males to dance together. Doing so raises implications of homosexuality. Unfortunately, many of these comments reveal how deeply rooted antagonism toward people who are homosexual is in the United States. The Chicago bobbin/steppin dance culture is an exception to the view that its unacceptable for two men to dance together. ]

1. Mistepper1, 2011
"This old-school gangsta steppin right here! lol You TRULY would have had to grow up in Chicago to understand! Back in the 70's, the men did all the STEPPIN, while the ladies stood back and watched! REAL TALK!"

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2. cjoy4d, 2012
"my big brother was one of those steppers back in the 70's......he did this 'show off' thing with his guy friends....it was like a mating call for the ladies who were there at the party......he was and still is a ladies man...he had ALLLL THE GIRLS....he is all man...all the time.....and I'm from chicago.....we roll like that"

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3. hazeleyesChicago , 2012
"Men have been Boppin' and/or Steppin' together at least since the 50's. I remember watching the gang members back in the day, in the 60's outside the corner record store boppin' on 61st Street, the south side where I grew up. My mother still talks about how those "cats" could jammm! I took Steppers workshops in the 90's and the men practiced with each other. Cool as hell, stepper smoooth...."

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4. hazeleyesChicago, 2012
..."You had to have been there, back in the day and even now to understand the Steppers culture in Chicago. Steppin' is a way of life here. Steppin' is such a hot style of dance when done well. The men in the video are "Free Styling", which allows for so many types of moves, as well as dancing with opposite and/or same sex partners. The men in the video are doing some very stylish and hard core moves. Don't focus on their gender, focus on their moves. Those some bad ass moves."

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5. 803DONYELLE, 2013
"It's about showing your skills!!!! It has nothing to do with your sexuallity.......really!!! If you dance you would understand."

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6. RemyDeLeMonde, 2013
"The people calling this gay obviously are NOT from Chicago, nor do they have people from Chicago. Steppin is a dance that everyone has fun doing, and men are seen dancing the step together in the R. Kelly "Happy People" music video."

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7. flatbush46, 2012
"... i remember michael baisden was talking about how dudes were doing this back in the day..i think he called it hard bop?? these dude are tearing it up..im glad someone nejuienejuie posted this..i remember it was up last year but i was taken down.."
-snip-
"tearing it up" = dancing really good

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8.shantea Jones, 2014
"To those confused on the guys dancing together, this is not uncommon in STL nor Chicago. The guys show off their moves, the women watch but eventually the men end up with women. I don't see it as gay at all. I love it and miss seeing my uncle move like this. As a kid well over 40 years ago, I too was on the side lines watching my uncle. This is not new."
-snip-
STL = St. Louis, Missouri.

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9. ricardo catlett, 2015
"Did u say where the women lol'' ? Baby this is Chicago style stepping and most women could'nt keep up1 Or felt the need to get down on this song like men do!!"

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10. LaSweetable, 2015
"Steppin' which is from Chicago has always showcased male and male steppin. Men step the best...they get to really showcase their talents. My cousins step together...it's acceptable in Chicago culture and has nothing to do with sexuality."

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11. ricardo catlett, 2015
"See with women you rarely find the ones who STEP' and women in Chicago are so sophiticated'' and sometimes hard to approach on the Stepping tip unless you know em' But men hear a song and just start stepping and the beat a be so smooth that a man can't resist the oppertunity too Step and show his skillz even if it means STEPPING with another guy that's all it is Is fun!''"

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12. cadillacstr8mk, 2015
"I grew up in Chicago and I remember back in the day "the early 70's" the only people that really were Steppin were Straight up Gangsters Disciples ,and Vice Lords, Hardcore Pimps and Macks . What drew me to Steppin was the fact that these dudes were super cool with permed out hair ,Ocean waves ,Finger waves and Custom made Clothes, or we called them "Mades" and Stacy Adams shoes . That being said , Times are different now so I can see why people think it's "suspect" ! Back then nobody even thought anything funny because those dudes were know for criminal lifestyles !"

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13. daressia, 2015
"thank you for clarifiyng becaue i could not understand why i keep seeing men step together.."

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Discussion thread #4
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6321luGyQ-0 "Original Steppers Competition From Chicago's Largest 2010", published by StepperDJ, Apr 13, 2011

This is video I shot from the 2010 Chicago's Largest Steppers Contest held at the Burbank Manor. Steppers battled it out on the dance floor in the original category. The audience judged the contest and some people got paid for their efforts

1. @phillipswatson3452, 2019
"😎BACK IN THE DAY WE CALLED THAT HUSTLE 💃🎵🏃"

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2. @twinboys6401, 2020
"Phillips Watson exactly what I was thinking!!! Ok"

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3. @phillipswatson3452
"@twinboys6401  😎

YUP... GREETINGS FROM A NEW YORKER N.Y.C. 💃🎵🏃 BACK IN THE DAY WHEN WE USE TO DANCE  🙈LOL🙈 TODAY THEY DO 🙉SMDH🙉 WHAT EVER 😹MEOW😹"

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4. @Dream-kd4id, 2023
"This is not the hustle back in the day it was called bopping.

Bopping and Hustle is different"

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5. @Dream-kd4id, 2023
"Stepping is a classic dance it will never go out of style. It's been pass down from generation to generation in Chicago, and will never stop. Back in the day we called it bopping. Growing up in Chicago we all liked to bop.

I was born and raised in Chicago we stayed out late at night stepping and would get in a lot of trouble with our parents for being out late bopping on school nights.

Anyway, we enjoyed our childhood. And wouldn't change it for nothing."

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Discussion thread #5
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjV_Wb9vRq0 "Dancing With Flava- Houston 2-Step Demo.mpg", published by Diana Howard Feb 20, 2011

 1. @YpsiBorn82, 2012
"That's interesting how you can commonalities between all swing dances, whether it's this Houston Swing Out, Chicago Style Steppin' or Detroit Style Ballroom. Thanks for posting this."

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2. @hwdabdm9, 2012
"The name is correct, it is called Houston 2-Step and has been called this for over 50+ years, and is also a swing dance as this dance has always been around, but now popular. However the name Houston 2-Step is correct and been named this since its origination. I spoke to one of the old school dancers over 70 years old and still dancing who remembers live and breath this dance and remembers it well. THE NAME IS CORRECT."

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3. @ninag35, 2012
"You can also call the the NEW YORK HUSTLE"

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4. @MrDennisford, 2012
"I LIKE HOUSTON 2 STEP, KANSAS CITY IS ALMOST THE SAME, BUT WE TAKE OWER FIRST STEP FORWORD INSTEAD OF BACKWORDS"

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5. @chocolateice4u, 2012
"First of all...it's not stepping..it's called TWO STEP SWING DANCE!"

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6. @MrRayw01, 2013
"WHEN YOU ADD BOPPING TO STEPPING ,MAN IT GROVES,TRYIT."

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7. @DontDooTooMuch, 2017
"is this like Chicago stepping?"

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8. @prettyboy1970, 2018
"Chitown ShaSha not quite. Chicago stepping is done to music that is a bit slower. But I’m no expert at either."

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