The second official Elite Advantage Card drawing has commenced and the winners are in.  The prizes were 2 pairs of tickets to the "Step Into The Light" stage play at The House of Hope on Feb. 13th.  Lady Margaret Fisher, Swan, Michelle, Elite and a host of other Steppers will star in this play.  These tickets are valued at $35 a piece and are available on Ticket Master.

The Winning Elite Advantage VIP Numbers are ...

005 (2 Tickets)
007 (2 Tickets)

A trailer from a rehearsal of the stage play "Step Into The Light" has just been released on ChiStepper TV.  I spoke to DeSean McIntosh, the play's co-producer and he assured me that the final version will have a full set built and every thing that you'd expect from a major production.  New additions to the play are Westside Mike, Dre and Company, TykMyn, and Ken Hilliard.

R. Kelly's "Whole Lotta Kisses" took me back to high school, sometime around junior year, when I thought I was cool playing "Your Body's Calling" for another precocious teen named Georgia.  While the rest of the nation is bumping "Echo" and "Number One", I find myself reminiscing on the old Kels with this track.  You have to keep it smooth on this record ... well, I'd have to keep it smooth on this record?  Some of y'all can't spell smooth!  :)

Here are the details: A Stepper can only be placed in 2 categories. Those categories will be determined by the areas where they earn the most nominations. Please nominate your top 3 selections for each category and list them under each section. The final list will have 15 (or less) selections for each heading. This year your nominations will be submitted online by completing the survey.

Thanks to Felicia Lynch, ChiStepper.com is able to bring you follow up coverage from Steppin' 4 A Dream 2010.  While I didn't get a full report on the event, the folks that I talked to seemed to have a ball.  The over 400 pictures uploaded in the photo gallery tell a story by themselves.  It seems that there was a Black and White ball, that turned out well.  Even Lalah Hathaway, the artist who made the popular Steppers cut "Breath," and daughter of the Legendary Donny Hathaway, stopped through for the festivities.

The first official Elite Advantage Card drawing has commenced and the winners are in.  The prizes were 2 pairs of tickets to the "Step Into The Light" stage play at The House of Hope on Feb. 13th.  Lady Margaret Fisher, Swan, Michelle, Elite and a host of other Steppers will star in this play.  These tickets are valued at $35 a piece and are available on Ticket Master.

The Winning Elite Advantage VIP Numbers are ...

006 (2 Tickets)
002 (2 Tickets)

This Saturday, January 23rd, Steppers will have a choice between two parties, one on the south side and one out West.  Out west The Chantellez are making their return at Mariella's Banquet Hall, and they're celebrating the birthday of club member Ms. Nita.  On the south end, Paradise Productions will be Steppin' In Jeans at Mr. G's.  Check 'em out if you get a chance and come back and let us know what you thought!

Sam Chatman, ChiStepper.com, and Dre & Company represented well for the Capricorns at the Alhambra Palace on Sunday, Jan. 17th at the Capricorn Ball for a packed crowd. Andre Blackwell battled LAX airport traffic en route to Chicago from the “Steppin’ 4 A Dream” gala in L.

As Steppin' continues to spread its wings, more artists are seeking out the talents of the Chicago Steppin' community.  The latest is Rhymefest, a Grammy award winning artist for his work co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."

Ishmuan Productions is taking Steppin’ on the road in the form of a stage play called, “Step Into The Light.” The play stars radio legend Herb Kent (V-103), Darryll King (102.3 and 106.3), comedian Wildcat (BET’s Comic View), Carl Muhammad (as David Blake Jr.), and Steppin’ heavy hitter, “Lady” Margaret Fisher (as Ari Blake).  While Lady Margaret is in a leading role, she’s not the only Stepper in the play. Malik El Mir, better known as “Swan” to those of us in the Steppin’ arena, choreographed the pl

Today kicks off the "Steppin' 4 A Dream" weekend in Los Angeles, CA, where Steppers from all over the nation will be leaving the cold and heading toward the sunshine.  They'll be partying for 5 straight days in L. A. and ChiStepper will have some highlights from the event coming your way.  I know the entire "Steppin 4 A Dream" staff have been preparing for you all year and I can't wait to hear the reports on how well the party went.

For the past two months, I have avoided watching the news or reading newspapers because of the frequency of articles pertaining to teenage deaths. It has become too depressing to hear of so many young lives lost so senselessly. In 2008, 80% of victims killed were by gunfire and half were between the ages of 10 and 25 and 2009 has yet to report the percentage. So when Richard Willis invited me to The Connections party, I immediately said no, thinking it would be on his usual set-day of Sunday. Sunday’s are really hard for me to attend any Steppers events because I r

I love going to I Love Steppin.com’s Jeff Clark’s Saturday sets at Fire Water Bar & Grill II because you never know what you’re going to get. However, everyone that paid their five dollars Saturday night got what most people who pay $20 or more would get at a large scale set in Detroit, Chicago or any other major city for that matter. Steppers from Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Saginaw, Chicago, Flint and Lansing came out to bid Nicolle Holsey farewell as she transitions to Denver, Colorado.

It seems the weather KO'd another good Steppin' set as Luther Gage had everything in place Friday night accept the dancers.  Both Mellow Khris and Luther Gage had good music playing and those of us who did show up had a good time, but even Luther was surprised at the turnout.

DeJa Vu's whole crew (Suave Larry, Steve Breeze, Steppin Greg, and Maddy B) minus Louis B was in the building, as was Don Vic, Richard Willis (Connection) and Marshall Thompson of the Chi-Lites.  Luther seemed uncertain that he'd continue his Friday night affair. Stay tuned!

Those of us in the midwest experienced a snow storm last night, and almost everybody cancelled their events, but Ken Bedford sojourned through it.  His crowd took a hit last night, but what he missed in quantity, he made up for in quality.  A number of big dogs rolled through the Alhambra Palace last night to celebrate with Ken, including: Marshall Thompson (Chi-Lites), Herb Kent, State Senator Rickey Hendon, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Theresa Griffin, Ray Silman, and Gene Chandler (Duke of Earl), who sings the Steppers song "Just Be True."

Tomorrow kicks off a stretch of four cool events, where Steppers can brave the cold for some good Steppin'. 

Thursday, January 7th - Ken Bedford's Afterwork Networking and Steppers Affair