Kadence takes its first ‘steps’ toward success

While Middlebury is without a Greek system, it has been lucky enough to benefit from the best of Greek traditions with the addition of Middlebury’s very own step team, Kadence. The name, a spin off of the word “cadence” meaning a recurring rhythmic pattern, “was given to me by my friend Darryl,” explained Tia Harper ’12, co-founder of the team. “He thought the step team was going to be big and wanted to contribute.”

Intent on adding this new form of dance to Middlebury’s repertoire, founders Harper, Mona Quarless ’12 and Alexandra Vasquez ’12 began their search for members by stepping at activity fairs and using connections to get the word out. The result: a current team of 12 members, plenty of potential talent and promise for the team’s future.

Though still a young club, Kadence met its first success at an inter-scholastic competition at Williams College, aptly named “Steady Steppin’ Forward.” Competing against Siena College, MCLA and Tufts, Kadence’s creative Harry Potter theme had the packed auditorium on their feet and won them People’s Choice. It was during this trip that Kadence reached their stride as a team.

“It was a very mixed group with a lot of people I didn’t know coming in,” said Kelsanah Wade ’13. “Especially over the trip to Williams we grew closer to each other. They were not people I typically get a chance to hang out with and we meshed really well. It was a good laugh, good times, good overall experience.”

Though fast improving, with the disparity in skill level among team members, Kadence still has its work cut out for it.

“The important thing is patience,” explained Erin Prak ’12, who was a stepping novice herself when she joined the Middlebury team.

“We get off track sometimes but we don’t get at each other’s throats.”

“We’re finding our way,” said Harper of the team’s development over their first year, “I came from a very strict high school team, but it’s a different dynamic here because we’re new.”

Stepping is a challenge for the unfamiliar, which makes Kadence’s success as a young team even more impressive. Because step teams make the rhythm and the dance with their bodies it is essential that all dancers be synchronized — a daunting task. However, even the newest of steppers expressed confidence in their abilities.

“Once you get it in your body it becomes easy because of muscle memory,” described Xian Lee ’13, who started stepping when she came to Middlebury. On occasion music is implemented but Harper stressed that stepping is about creating beats with the body.

Throughout the year, Kadence has made more and more appearances at Middlebury events, hoping to reach out and create a base in the student body. This past weekend alone they performed during both Relay for Life and for the AAA alumni weekend. Though dancing for a small audience, their performance on April 25 was expressive and intense. Filling the room with sound, their swift movements and sure steps were a clear sign of bigger things to come.

Though stepping originated in both African military drill and Wellington “gum-boot” dancing, its roots in America stem from African American college culture in the early to mid-20th century. With the growth of African American fraternities and sororities like Alpha Kappa Alpha came a desire to show their pride and represent at college athletic competitions; what began as chanting over time developed into a sub-culture of stepping where typically musical rhythms are substituted out for the strength of full-body movement.

“Step is about really big sound because you’re making the music with your body, clapping, stomping,” explained Prak. “The bigger the sound the better.”

Since then, stepping has moved from college culture into the mainstream, expanding to different cultures and new forums, such as Hollywood films “Drumline” and “Stomp the Yard.”

While stepping is widely associated with African American culture, Harper emphasized heavily its unlimited potential for people of all backgrounds.

“Though [stepping] is based in African American culture, and personally [I] do feel like this campus is missing out on African American culture in relation to dance and this is our contribution, it is not closed off to other cultures,” said Harper. “We have someone that’s Irish, Spanish, Asian … It’s not our intention to make this about race. We’re a family. We love each other and we respect each other’s backgrounds.”

As to the future of Kadence, the team is hoping to increase its membership and become better represented on campus. “There’s no limit to how big we can get,” said Vasquez on her hope that Kadence will grow in size and in sound. For those interested in the team or in exploring a new form of self-expression contact charper@middlebury.edu.