SHAKEDOWN/Chicago Stepping, DJ Quicksilver Cooley, Sep 26, 2006
Steve Butler and DJ Quicksilver Cooley bring to you the Shakedown line with some of the windy city steppers. produced by Steve Butler video directed & edited by DJ Quicksilver Cooley
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Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision- August 21, 2026
This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series on Chicago style stepping (partner dancing).
This post showcases a YouTube video about Chicago style stepping and also presents selected discussion thread comments from those two YouTube videos about the use of the term "Chicago stepping" or the use of other terms for the same or very similar styles of dancing.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/08/chicago-stepping-performed-by-two-male.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases two YouTube videos of Chicago style stepping featuring two men dancing together. That post also includes selected comments from the discussion threads of those two videos.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/08/hyperlinks-to-pancocojams-posts-about.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post provides hyperlinks to pancocojams posts about Chicago Stepping & similar African American originated partner social dances.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are shown in this video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of this showcased video on YouTube.
-snip-
I'm using the terms "Chicago style stepping (partner dancing)" to differentiate this type of dancing from other movement arts that use the term "stepping" such as historically Black Greek letter fraternity/sorority stepping, and African American (soul) line dancing/trail ride dancing.
Click the tag below for other pancocojams posts on Chicago style stepping.
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM SHOWCASE VIDEO #1 ABOUT OTHER DANCES THAT ARE THE SAME AS OR SIMILAR TO CHICAGO STEPPING (PARTNER DANCING)
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOQeXfDwsiM
2010
1.@obastan
"Yea, this is what Chi Town do.Steppin is all about attitude
and CHi-town is so full of it is Stankin, I been all over the USA and believe
me when i say this, nowhere do they throw down like they do in Chicago."
**
Reply
2.@kelvinburns4597, 2020
"Detroit has a ballroom dance out of this world and a walking
dance out of this world even though I am a stepper and a papa from Detroit but
the Steppin that these cats are doing today the six and eight count it's
messing everything up I hate 68 count Steppin I like Freestyle Steppin"
****
2017
"One of the best demonstration videos of various styles of
Chicago stepping."
**
Reply.
4. @QuicksilverCooley
"Hilda Mabon that's what I was shooting to show...the
styles"
****
2018
5. @charlesbrown9873
"Too smooth!!!!! Looks like DC hand dancing!!! Ya'll do that
thang!"
**
6. @clintonbeck9054
"Back in the 70s and 80s they called it Boppin now they call
it Steppin
Reply
7.
"Clinton Beck well growing up on the Southside streets of
Chicago in the 80s I knew it as stepping but I am up on bopping also"
**
Reply
8. @tangicoleman3306, 2020
"You right in the 70’s we called it boppin...startin that at
skating then went to steppin"
**
Reply
9. @kandillishis, 2020
"My Grandma still calls in boppin til this day
lol"
****
2019
2020
10.
"I love it. We call it Hand-Dance in D.C. and I been dancing
since I was 3 years old like this.
**
11. @lindalyte7307
"Back in the day, we used to call it....Boppin.
I have 2 first cousins, one still resides in Chi- town the
other now.. resides in Milwaukee ( they
are in their 70' s now)....yet they can
still" Cut a Rug"( The Old schoolers know what I'm talking about)...." Cut a
rug".....oh yeah👫🏾🕺🏾💃🏿
-snip-
"Cut a rug" is an old African American Vernacular English term meaning "social dancing".
****
2021
"This Is Nothing But The Bop... With Ur Own Creative Dance
Steps Added In.... This Is What We Call This In The D......THE BOP...."
-snip-
“The D”= Dallas, Texas
**
13. @BeverlyDillon2
"Love it now this is real old school stepping it's not
bopping like people do today"
****
2022
"THE REAL STEPPING 2 STEP.🤗😁🖐♥️"
**
15. @TheRayExtra
"Looks like the bop to me!"
**
16. @DISGUYROX
"This brought me all the way back to my home~Chicago. I got
into this when it was called "jitterbuggin' and still get down with it. I
love steppin with a woman who's real down. won a few contests, too."
**
17. @sunnu777
"Naaaaw!!! This ain't nuthin' but the good ole' East Coast
Hustle!!! :D"
**
18. @bonniemiller8505
"Ok old school stepping I LOVE TO SEE COUPLES DANCING AND LOOKING FLY WHEN THEY DO IT!!!!!"
****
2023
"A little west coast swing!"
**
20. @mrsstrawberryluv1
"Yall call it stepper we call swing out 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰'
**
21. @paulettechatman4604
"We grew up calling the dance the hustle in N.Y.🤗 in 60's"
**
22. @1955jc
"real 100% chicago steppin, they all just doin the damn
thing!!!"
**
23. @LogicB4emotion
"This cool , it's got the moves of old time THE HUSTLE with a
little SALSA turns. "
****
2024
"Here in South Africa ,we called this type of dancing as
Jazz dancing but in the back of my mind
I knew this has roots to the Black Americans who knew how to jive ."
**
Reply
25. @micah14
"Jazz was invented by Black Americans, so even it's called
jazz dancing it's still rooted in black culture."
**
Reply
26. @GaryPretorius, 2025
" @micah14 black Americans yes...not from Africa"
**
Reply
27. @GrenvilleBS, 2025
"We have a cousin of this style in the U.K. known as LeRoc or
Modern Jive."
Reply
28.
"It's actually the other way round i.e. Jazz and the Blues
were exported from Africa to North America, Central America and South America,
by slaves from Africa who worked on cotton plantations in the USA, and
sugarcane plantations in the Central America and South America."
****
2025
28. @marccr1313
"Here in Brazil we call it samba rock 🇧🇷"
****
2026
29. @michaelmcginsie2600
"In the 70s when these folks were younger , it was called the
hustle"
**
30. @edwardsmith8619
"Westside Bop.
Southside Bop. A child of
the 60’s in Chicago."
**
31.@tinapatterson3006
"It's 2026 🎉they still getting down
on STEPPING 🎉♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️"
**
32. @Alice-xp6uw
"💙💙💙
Steppers Be Stepping."
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2-The Origins of Steppin' with DJ Sam Chatman
WGN News, Feb 28, 2023
As we close out this Black History Month, we thought it
might be nice to highlight some Chicago Black history with the godfather of
Chicago-style Steppin'. DJ Sam Chatman joins us now with more on the art of
steppin' and its origins.
-snip-
The music is ”Sweet
Summer Days” by Peabo Bryson.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 ABOUT OTHER DANCES THAT ARE THE SAME AS OR SIMILAR TO CHICAGO STEPPING (PARTNER DANCING)
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU_j3xUknOg&t=83s
2023
"My grandparents called it the bop"
**
Reply
2.@Stacy-e2q, 2026
"Mine too..."
**
2. @mongrelgtv
"this man is legit cuz in the 70's it was called boppin"
**
3. @Audogo-b2g
"I am a stepper born and raised in Chicago.
****
2024
"In the 70s and 80s we bopped. I stopped dancing for years,
and now it's stepping. It's not exactly the same, but still fun. Thanks Sam!"
**
5. @lmboyd3
"This is wonderful! In my town, there are a few groups who do
this dance style. Our dance style is DC Hand dancing. I also like Detroit
Ballroom. I didn’t know these dances are connected to African couples dancing
like Kizomba from Angola. Genetic memory. Keep dancing and passing it down to
the next generations ❤️🖤💚"
**
6. @deebarlow
"I started bopping in high school and as I graduated and live
my life, I became a stepper and it is one of the most satisfying dances I’ve
ever did in my life! I moved away from Chicago. I live in Tampa Florida now but
we even have Chicago steppers down here in Florida is reaching out everywhere.
There is so much fun and I’m 67."
**
7. @speerrituall1
"In the DMV, it is known as hand dancing"
-snip-
"the DMV" = the Washington D. C., Maryland, Virginia area
**
8. @nataliamiranda7475
"We called it the hustle in NYC😊"
**
Reply
9. @sheilaj4084
"similar but not the same dance..."
**
Reply
10. @cheryltee4095
"The hustle is fast and involves alot of arm movement. Almost
like an old swing. Stepping is more focus on the feet. So similar but not the
same. Im from NY. I luv both"
**
11. @SamCeasar-s4o
"I love in South West Louisiana we are known for swing out
you are born with dance in your blood we don't take lesson it comes naturally
in the black fly out people been doing swing for hundreds of years my home town
is Eunice Louisiana St.Landry Parish. My Name is Sam Ceasar"
**
12. @marianavarro7797
"I had never heard of stepping until that R. Kelly video😊
then my sister dated and married a brother from Chicago and all of a sudden we
were stepping at clubs with him, we’re Puerto Ricans who are aged salsa dancers😊♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️"
**
Reply
13. @LadyMargaretSteppin
"Im in this video and I was in the RKelly video
I love STEPPIN"
-snip-
The R. Kelly video that is referred to is "Step In The Name Of Love".
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcLbmWYmnHg for the 2025 official music video for that ic song.
**
Reply
14. @reneewood125
"I bet you all adding Salsa moves in with stepping is
beautiful."
**
Reply
15. @BBBucksss-zq9yg
"Steppin and New York salsa are descendants of jazz dance
variations"
**
16. @thetruthspeaker5101
"NYC it is The Hustle"
**
Reply
17. @LashidReceipts
"No, the HUSTLE is not the same as Chicago boppin/steppin'
(although similar), which goes back to the 40s/50s ..and remember, SOUL TRAIN
came out of Chicago."
**
Reply
18. @BBBucksss-zq9yg, 2025
"Respectfully, a lot of this came out of 1920s/30s Black
America!"
**
19. @winniejohnson5559
"I see similarities within Cuban salsa or salsa period ..
cool .. steppin has a vibe of class and cool 😊"
**
Reply
20. @BBBucksss-zq9yg, 2025
"Cubans love jazz/jive dancing.
**
21. @wack8589
"That looks like the hustle"
**
Reply
22. @yvettea7253
"Yes, except slower and smoother."
**
23. @jefferybingham15
"He is (The Godfather of Stepping) but i feel he left out
part of the history . Boppin', (Walking), Then Steppin'/All good baby👍"
-snip-
"He" in this comment refers to radio DJ Sam Chatman.
**
24. @LashidReceipts
"People are comparing this dancing to THE HUSTLE of New York,
but this goes back FURTHER .....and the dance slower, smoother (and cooler,
IMO) ...dating back, further (to the 40s/50s) ...this is CHICAGO - NOT New York
...People overlook Chicago's ORIGINAL contributions for the "bigger",
flashier cities that get more spotlight ...Consider that the Globetrotters
originated in CHICAGO - NOT Harlem ...Just as Soul Train originated in Chicago
- NOT L.A ...and there are those who will make comparisons to LATIN SALSA,
trying to take it back to some LATIN origin, when the origin is really
"AFRICAN" "
**
25. @grandrapladyakaamb2438
"Reality check: 1950's, Englewood, Chicago, IL,- originated
stepping, they called it bopping, incorporating, the style of the late forties
dancers from Hollywood, such as the Waltz and Foxtrot, giving it elegance and
style. That's the truth, Ruth. Herb Kent
turned it into a distinctive dance when
he started the sets @ the Time Square, Charlie Green came later, much later."
****
2025
26. @astankh3090
"Harlem combined hand dance from the south with Afro-Cuban
music to produce Latin Dance which is now called Salsa. We Harlemites was
dancing since 1932. Praise be"
**
27. @michaelmcginsie2600
"This is a slow version the Hustle from the 70s, so when most of these people were younger,
trust me they were doin the hustle to “This time baby” by Jackie Moore."
**
28. @ozellbaker7188
"We 2 Step in Kansas City"
**
29. @Kemet3.0
"I’m sorry Cleveland is the originator and the official name
where they’re spinning and turning is called ‘Hand Dancing.
In Cleveland we coin the term (Steppin)AKA line dancing."
"AKA" here means "also known as"
**
30. @Roberto-Antonio
"Looks like simple Salsa dancing moves in a smooth,
slow-motion style.. lol"
**
31. @sharonsims7082
"Step on y'all Kansas City Mo has a stepping called 2
Stepping often imitated, but never duplicated😅"
**
32. @katinasaffo5732
"In Alabama we call it swing out!🤗💃🏽"
**
33. @nicoledavis4239
"LOVE IT WE HAVE 2 STEPPING IN KANSAS CITY ♥️♥️"
**
34. @doriswilliams1725
"Back in the day in Louisiana we called it swing out"
**
35. @JohnnyW-v6l
"In Chicago in the 1960’s on the South Side it was called The
Bop. The term Steppin’ came some time after that."
**
36. @terridalessandro3412
"i am 78 and did and still do Philly Jitterbug - I had no
problem picking up the bop. have done
soul line dancing to. just love to dance
!"
**
37. @promayes8186
"I'm glad he explained Chicago style of Stepping. I'm a
Southern Belle so I grew up seeing my parents do what some people in the South
call hand dancing and which is really the same thing it just has more of a
stroll style while stepping . But I do love the swag that Chicago has on it.
And these couple is so classy and dressed. So nice! I love it"
****
2026
38. @angelicanegron3292
"Yessss! My kinda dancing. My mom taught me how to step when
I was a lil girl & she taught me that back in her day it was called Bop
instead'
****
This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series on Chicago Stepping (partner dancing).
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
I don't know what the word "shakedown" that is used as part of the title for the first showcased YouTube video* in this pancocojams post refers to.
ReplyDelete* title: "SHAKEDOWN/Chicago stepping" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOQeXfDwsiM
I think that the word "shakedown" in the title of that video means "a specific time during a Chicago stepping dance event or during any other social dance event when couples take turns showing off their best dancing skills." That portion of the dance event occurs when one couple at a time dance in the center of a circle that is formed by other couples. The couples forming the circle don't dance at that time, but clap for, and otherwise encourage those dancers. At some portion of that first couple's dance, another couple takes their place and becomes the showcased couple who dance in the middle of the circle. This pattern continues until the record ends or-presumably- until each couple has one turn dancing in the middle.
(This pattern is very similar to children's 'show me your motion' recreational circle games that have one person in the middle of a circle).
Alternatively, the word "shakedown" in that video title could refer to a style of Chicago stepping or the word "shakedown" in that video title could be a general referent for Chicago stepping.
However, I've not yet found any that word being used online in either of those last two ways.
What do you think the word "shakedown" means in that title of a Chicago stepping video?
If the word "shakedown" that is used in that YouTube video of Chicago stepping has the first meaning that is given above. then "a shakedown" or "the shakedown" may have been a referent for a portion of a dance event that was the precursor to the dancing that occurred as part of "the Soul Train line".
DeleteThe "Soul Train Line" is still associated with the popular African American nationally televised dance series Soul Train. That long running television series began in Chicago, Illinois (the city where Chicago stepping was/is still performed). However, eventually the Soul Train television series relocated to Los Angeles, California.
The Soul Train line formation substituted line formations instead of the traditional (African and African American ring shout) circle formation.
In the case of the Shakedown, that space was the center of a circle that was formed on the dance floor by other couples. In the case of the Soul train line, that space was the area on the dance floor that was in between two parallel lines facing each other. Originally, one of those lines consisted of males while the other line consisted of their female partners. In later versions of that television series, males and females stood in either of these two lines and one person from each line alternated dancing down the Soul Train line.
The activity that is described above of couples forming a circle and taking turns social dancing in the middle of that circle probably occurred during the 20th century at the same time or earlier than it occurred in Chicago. However, I don't know if that specific activity was called "the Shakedown".
Furthermore, the word "Shakedown" as a referent for this specific competitive or non-competitive portion of a dance event may have been invented by African Americans in Chicago. Or that term may have originated and/or been first used by African Americans outside of Chicago and spread to Chicago and elsewhere.
Please share any information that you have regarding the use of the term "the shakedown" or "a shakedown" in the context of a portion of a dance event. Thanks!
I happened upon this 2011 YouTube video of an African American soul line dance entitled "Shakedown Line Dance" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jU6ATY9b7c&t=59s.
DeleteThere are a few other African American (soul) line dance videos published after 2020 with that same title.
However, this line dance didn't go viral, and the dance moves for that line dance aren't the same as any dance moves in that Chicago stepping video.
The only things that any of those videos have in common with the 2006 Shakedown/Chicago stepping video besides that word "shakedown" are the fact that each of the videos showcase group social dance forms that are from African American dance traditions , and-with the exception of one White couple in the 2006 video-, the people featured in these videos are Black.