“… you have so many of the Chicago people that are going out of town teaching this dance, so there’s no excuse for anyone from out of town to say that they're out of town…”
T. Pratt: All right, ChiStepper.com here with Rick Wetherspoon. Rick you're taking off on us?
Rick Wetherspoon (RW): Yes sir, I’m taking off. I’m going to the beautiful city of Raleigh, North Carolina greener pastures.
T. Pratt: Chicago is sad to lose you. But Raleigh is coming up big time. Will you be participating in the Steppin’ community down there at all?
RW: Absolutely. I’ll give a small teaspoon of what I have to offer if they want it. I don’t have a problem with sharing anything that I have whether it’s dancing, whether it’s etiquette, whether just peace of mind in the art of Steppin’. For me it’s about growing to the capital of Steppin’ not just in Chicago but all over the country. So, that’s my goal.
T. Pratt: How do you feel about leaving this city?
RW: Well, you know Chicago is my home. It’s been my home over 40 years. It’s not a bitter sweet thing for me it’s truly a gift for me to be living in Chicago -- the culture, the cuisine, the night life, the people, the family, my son, but you know I’m going for the greater good of being in love in Holy Matrimony to marry my wife, Ms. Demetrius Graves.
T. Pratt: Rick you kind of left me speechless. (Laughing)
RW: (Laughing) I’m sorry, I'm sorry.
T. Pratt: Do you have anything planned down there or is there anything you want to do when you get there?
RW: I would like to learn how to play the acoustic guitar, I would like to get in to photography -- still photos that is. And probably learn another language, and just live my life in the twilight years with my beautiful wife.
T. Pratt: Twilight years? You’re talking like an old man, Rick.
RW: You just never know, you know. We live our day as if we have so many in front of us, and I have a tendency to live days as if today is my last.
T. Pratt: All right. Now let me switch gears on you real quick, did you make it out to the World’s Largest this year?
RW: Yes I did.
T. Pratt: What do you think of the contest?
RW: Well, personally I think that Steppin’ is evolving into something that unfortunately for me the spirit is not where it should be. This is just one person’s opinion, but I just think that the Steppin’ community needs to embrace the true art of the dance, and not necessarily the spinning, the twirling, all of the acrobatics and all of the extra energy that is [going on] right now.
I think that if we scale back look at some of the tapes from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s I think that we can get back to the true art of the dance which is very simple, very sexy, very sophisticated, grace, poise, style, personality. A lot of those things are missing, you know, again one person’s opinion, but that is my opinion.
T. Pratt: Let me ask you specifically about a couple of categories; one is, do you think it still makes sense to have an Out-of-town Category?
RW: Personally, no because you have so many of the Chicago people that are going out of town teaching this dance, so there’s no excuse for anyone from out of town to say that they're out of town because they’re getting the true root, the true integrity of the dance. Now unfortunately, we have a tendency in our own respective cities to put our own, you know, stamp on it and call it ours, but it’s still a Chicago thing. So therefore, I think that when you’re dancing it’s not about being from Toledo, Ohio, being from Oakland, California, or being from Alabama. It’s about you know just dancing and then trying to win the prize.
T. Pratt: The other thing I see and notice when I watched the Original Old Skool Category, was that a lot of the contestants seemed lost as to how much how they can get away with, how creative they can be and still be within the confines of rules. But then, when you go back and you watch the tape of Macaroni, you see he conforms to the rules but he still added his own flavor to it.
RW: (Cutting in) I definitely agree with that. I definitely agree with that not to cut you off, but I think that people like George Macaroni and others in the category of Old Skool had a certain personality that just came with style. I think that when you pick a style in learning this dance, you still have to bring out who you are, which is your own personality. I walk to my car differently from Terrance Pratt, differently from Tyk Myn, differently from Maurice Turner. Therefore, because our movement is different, we’re going to have different movements in the way that we do our dance. Thus brings style, thus bring personality and I think that if you continue to do this dance and you practice it in the way that it should be practiced, I think that you internally will start to come out and when you start to come out, your personality shines.
T. Pratt: Last question and I’m going to let you get back to your party, Rick. They had a new rule this year which allowed both feet to come off the floor in the Original New Skool Category. What do you think of that rule and how it impacts the dance?
RW: I think it impacts the dance tremendously, because now were talking acrobatics. You know next we’ll be flying from the ceilings, you know next we will be, you know, catapulting from one part of the stage to the other. Let’s keep the integrity of the dance the way it is, the way it should be, which is a dance, which is both feet on the floor even if it’s just one foot I can probably in my opinion allow that. But when you start getting in to break dancing and what have you, I think that it takes away from the true art of the dance which is Steppin’ -- Chicago Style Steppin’. We’ll be into Salsa, we’ll be into Ballroom, and once you start to integrate those dances with Steppin’, I think that it takes away from the true integrity and the true meat and heart of the dance.
T. Pratt: Any closing thoughts?
RW: I love Chicago, hopefully Chicago loves me. This is not goodbye but farewell … it’s a see you later. I will continue to come back to Chicago because this is my home, this is where I was raised and Chicago will draw me back because of the family, because of the friends that I’ve encountered. Not just in Steppin’ but in skating, not just in skating, but just overall I have a lot of friends in Chicago and so I will truly miss Chicago and I will definitely be back.
T. Pratt: All right, we wish you the best Rick. Thanks man.
RW: Thank you for having me.
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