Though the 2nd Annual Steppers Ball 2008 has come and gone, the excitement lives on in my heart.  Where and how do I even attempt to capture all the fun in this recap?  It won’t be easy, but I’ll certainly give it a whirl!

 

 

We greeted the day on Friday with an awesome “Women’s Only” workshop held by three of the smoothest female Steppers in the game: Angie Faine (AZ), Charnice Simmons (Chi) & Sherry Gordon (Det).  During the Meet & Greet, we saw Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Flint, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Dallas, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Seattle, Las Vegas, Maryland, Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, and North Carolina in the house.  Detroit’s #1 DJ, DJ Rodney Mack was in the DJ booth.  To say that he did an awesome job of keeping the dance floor packed all night long would be an understatement.  Rodney was assisted by one of Vegas’s top DJ’s, Pierre.  The Grab Bag with a twist contest was led and won by one of Flint’s finest, Candice Hinton, whose name was drawn by James Pacely of Detroit.  This brought about a showdown by Michael Bryant who was led by Deon Farr.  The girls’ leading skills were off the chain!

 

On Saturday, we cranked the heat way up with DJ Mellow Khris in the DJ booth.  Arif from Atlanta started out the evening, followed by Unique Maurice Turner, also of Atlanta.  I have to say, Atlanta is truly blessed to have such talented DJ’s in their city.

 

Lonzo of the LA Dream Steppers and Steppin’ 4 a Dream was our entertaining and gracious host for Saturday’s main event.   Now, if you weren’t there for Saturday, I assure you, you missed a most exciting, spectacular, and unexpected evening.  Well, maybe it was a little more exciting for me because of Marcell of Marcell & the Truth breathtaking and enchanting acappella rendering of “Song for You” by Donny Hathaway.  That memory will be with me for a lifetime.  Thanks Marcell!!!  Even before I was called to the floor, Marcell was belting out to listeners’ and Steppers’ delight numbers like “Maybe I’m Not The Man” and “Hopes Too High.”  Since his inspiring performance, I’ve received countless e-mail requests desiring to know how to contact him for future events -- and not just Steppers events!  While we all pulled our chairs up with eager anticipation of a great show, no one seemed to be surprised by the contest winners of Feo & Candice from Flint.  Their performance was absolutely, positively, no doubt about it, hands down awesome!  Certainly giving it their all with another commendable performance, Michael Bryant and Sherry Gordon from Detroit Stepped their way right into second place.  Congratulations to all our worthy contestants and again to our winners.

 

Making sure that everyone knew we were in the place, it was very nice to see so many Steppers walking around the hotel in a classic 2nd Annual Ball t’shirt.  Don’t worry - we still have a few more if you didn’t get one or want to order one!

 

The bonus of the weekend was Sunday’s final set at Farenheit 128 in Scottsdale. As promised, the dance floor that seemingly had no end was nothing short of a Steppers paradise.  Walkers could barely make it around twice before the song ended and another started.  Though we began our goodbyes around 1:00am, many stayed until 2:00am.  A humble and sincere “thanks” goes out to my friend Darnell owner of Farenheit 128 who allowed us to hold the Finale’ at his place.

 

As the clock ticked away and the time to say the final goodbyes arrived, sadness overcame me.  My awareness on Saturday that the event was coming to an end the next day in no way made it easier for me to do on Sunday.

 

To the many old friends I had the opportunity to see again and to all the new ones I made, I am grateful.  I extend a heartfelt and hearty “THANK YOU” to each and every one of you who chose to spend your time with me and the Desert Steppers.  Without all your support, an event like this is simply not possible.  I, of course, send special thanks to our entertainment crew who provided the sounds, entertainment, vibe, and instruction that are the key part of Steppin’s allure!  Huge thanks go to Roosevelt and Cedric Ceballos for supplying the musical equipment.  From Marcell, to our DJ’s and to our masterful Instructors Unique Maurice, Malik Swan, Andre “Dre” Blackwell, Steppin B, Larry Collins, Kammal Smith, Keith Hubbard Candice Hinton, Feo Duncan, and Dominique I say “thank you, thank you, thank you!”  They all did it well and they did it real big.  The Desert Steppers and I were both honored and overjoyed to welcome you and to have the opportunity to enjoy your expertise for three fun-filled days.  You most certainly did ‘make it do what it do!’

 

I also want to thank our faithful vendors, Tracey & Rodney of Step on Unlimited and all the Steppers who supported them.

                                      

I would totally be remiss if I didn’t thank the following wonderful people for ALL their help and daily encouragement with the Ball:  my girls, DJ, Teresa & Faye; my daughter Nicole; my son Jamaul who shuttled attendees to and from the airport, to the mall, back and forth to my home, and to the final set; Ms. Lizz who kept the hospitality suite poppin’ and did more than her share at the registration desk;  sweet Mary, Tasha, and Richard who also took more than their share of shifts at the registration table and in the hospitality suite;  Charles, Keith, Jerrold, Ms Connie, Barbara, Mia, Sherry, Darrilyn (who was there every Step of the way too - she hosted my home and at the hotel), Robert, Andre Blackwell (my roommate who keeps me grounded and helps me better understand the minds of Steppers); Larry Collins my special friend my writer and proofreader who catches all my grammatical errors; Lana who not only sent out blasts, but also did a beautiful job in adding a much needed personal touch ensuring those blasts looked professional; Lisa who not only offered her support but also eyes into the Steppers world and would quickly tell me if something would or wouldn’t fly with the Steppers; Unique Maurice who was there even when I didn’t realize he was there, when I needed something, it was like magic and poof, he would there; the handsome and I mean handsome escorts who escorted the women and helped them find their seats; my boy Desmond for his daily calls of support and his beautiful and kind words he shared Saturday;  Captain Mykel & Deon who came in on Wednesday and quickly made their presence and support obvious; and to the creative geniuses Mark, my logo and flyer designer, and Dan Lan, my Webmaster, I must say “thank you again” for the flair you share that drew people in and made them want to check out the weekend simply because of the look and feel of the event.

 

In closing, I’d like to thank each of you, my Steppin’ friends, for being such an integral part of the Desert Steppers’ success.  Your camaraderie and loving kindness have helped us do our part in spreading the message of positivity and unity here in the Valley of the Sun.  Most of all, your willingness to give of yourselves and your ideas have enabled us to design a roadmap that will take our passion and vision to another level as we collaborate and begin planning for the 3rd Annual Ball!

 

And last but certainly not least, my sister Carmen whose direction from the very beginning made the event what it was.

 

If there is anyone that I have forgotten to name, please charge it to my head and certainly not to my heart.  This event would not have been possible without the collective efforts of all of those involved.

 

Forever grateful,

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Want to share your experience, have something to add, or maybe you saw someone who you never got a chance to meet? All isn’t lost.  Go to www.desertsteppersconnection.com ‘Guest Book’.

 

HELP!  Do you have photos or video footage of the event that you can share to be added to the website enabling our friends who couldn’t attend the event to experience it through our eyes?  In great demand are any photos or video of Marcell’s performance and Saturday’s contest.  Please if you don’t mind sharing memorable moments, please contact me at coastonceola@yahoo.com.