Ron Clark Academy’s Essential Step Team in Atlanta is gaining national recognition with their success in stepping, a dance form with African roots that combines movement and music.
The team, which has won five national championships, also provides students with a lesson in history and culture.
Through stepping, the students express their personalities and connect with their ancestors, who created the art form in Johannesburg through the African Gumboot Dance.
The students at the Academy, known for its academic and athletic achievements, learn important life lessons through stepping, including discipline and the importance of exercise.
Eighth-graders at the school even have the opportunity to travel to South Africa and learn more about the dance’s origins.
For these bright students, stepping is not just a form of dance but also a way to explore their potential and pursue their aspirations, which range from becoming a neurosurgeon to studying theater.
