OK, I know it's been a while since I've written anything but I've been going through some personal challenges over the last few months and it's taken a while just to get to the point where I can write the column.

On Wednesday there was a contestants meeting for the WLSC and there were important changes passed on to those in attendance.

Three performances will happen simultaneously in all categories which is a necessity with 107 couples scheduled to be on stage this year.

The contestants were also informed they must check in no later than 7:15 with their partner along with valid ID or they will not perform. In other words; if you and your partner both don't check in together on time you will be disqualified from the competition.  Continued

[9/14/2012 Steppers Song Of The Day]
Slo Woman by Mint Condition
#stepperssongoftheday
Mint Condition has been together since they were students at Central High School in Saint Paul MN.

Mint Condition is an R&B band from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed in the late 1980s, its original members were Stokley Williams (lead vocals, drums, percussion), Ricky Kinchen (bass guitar), Homer O'Dell (guitar), Larry Waddell (keyboards, piano), Keri Lewis (keyboards, synthesizer), and Jeffrey Allen (saxophone, keyboards). Currently, this line-up remains intact, with the exception of Lewis, who left the group to produce for other artists.

The group is well known for its highly diverse musical style (able to play anything from traditional jazz styling's to mainstream R&B and rock-based music to funk grooves and even Latin and Jamaican-based rhythms) and also its captivating live performances. The band is also well known for their well written and produced R&B ballads, mainly in the 1990s. They mostly known for their hits "Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)" (1991) and "What Kind of Man Would I Be" (1996).  Read more about the steppers song of the day

When did steppers start to travel to dance in other cities? Personally I don't remember when it actually started. I guess I missed the memo. I've tried hard to remember when I first realized people were traveling to go to parties but I do seem to remember long before that instructors were traveling to teach.

I'm pretty sure that is how it started (with an instructor I mean) who invited students to come to a set (most probably in Chicago) after all there's no better place in the country to get your stepping in any day of the week.

It probably was an instructor who was teaching in another city, probably Atlanta or Detroit that asked their students to come to that city and dance with their other students or maybe it was just a group of people who wanted to travel and seek out steppers in other cities.

I remember in the early days of the Razz we used to get some visitors from other cities but I don't think all of it was because we had a steppers set happening. Remember, the Razz was inside of a hotel so out of town guests weren't out of the ordinary.

In the last few years of the Razz we did have some steppers group visits from cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas from the West and Baltimore and Boston from the East. There may have been others but I really wasn't paying it that much attention at that time. Continued

[6/6/2012 Steppers Song Of The Day]
One Hundred Ways by James Ingram
#stepperssongoftheday
From funk to soul to R&B to pop to adult contemporary to inspirational, James Ingram's multi-faceted talents have dazzled the American music scene since the early '80s. The Akron, Ohio, native went from playing local bars with Revelation Funk to Los Angeles, where he landed the types of gigs that most aspiring musicians only dream about: singing background vocals and playing piano for Ray Charles' recording studio sessions; recording studio sessions and playing keyboards behind the Coasters for Dick Clark; and providing musical direction for Leon Haywood, who produced Carl Carlton's famous hit, "She's a Bad Mama Jama."

Then fate brought Ingram together with Quincy Jones and to a pivotal breakthrough in his career. Up to this point, Ingram had not yet surfaced as a solo artist, but after a chance listen to Ingram's demo of "Just Once" - which had been recorded for the sum of $50 - Jones immediately recognized the man, the voice and the music as the musical triumvirate that would both captivate listeners and command the music industry's attention. "There'll Never Be". Read more about the steppers song of the day