About Step-Alive, nfp
STEP-ALIVE, nfp (non for profit foundation) was cofounded in 2007 by Cynthia Shanks and Stanford Bailey. STEP-ALIVE is a is a living life positive mentoring group which believes that the dance of ‘Stepping’ should be done with Style, Grace and Class, but only after the basic steps have been properly learned.
Before becoming president of STEP-ALIVE, nfp Cynthia Shanks had the honor of winning and receiving numerous awards for Stepping. In 1983 on Chicago's ABC television channel 7, the Bob Walls show “Where’s Walls”, Cynthia was crowned Chicago’s Original Queen of Stepping, all while holding true to the 8 count of the dance.
Culminating her years of competition in 1996, Ms. Shanks and her partner won a $4,000 winner take all title of Chicago’s Original “Master Steppers” in the first ever “Masters” category of Budweiser’s V103’s Worlds Largest Steppers Contest.
Ms. Shanks, now president of Chicago “Style” Steppers LLP, and mentor for the STEP-ALIVE Youth Program, was a founding member and secretary to the United Council for the Original Chicago Style of Stepping, the first Chicago group to bring a united front to the Steppers community, to govern the style, etiquette and history needed to be taught by instructors.
Cofounder Stanford Bailey, has been doing this dance of Stepping since the late 1960’s when it was called the “Bop”. Learning ballroom dance as a cotillion escort in his mid-teens, Stanford (‘Stan’ to the community) has many years of couples dancing experience. He has mastered the art of teaching and is respected as a maven instructor, perfecting it in a way that makes it easy for anyone, even the most rhythm challenged to Step to the beat.
Stan is a mentoring instructor for the STEP-ALIVE Youth Program, vice president of Chicago style steppers LLP and the choreographer for the Chicago “Style” Steppers LLP instructional videos, Basically Stepping and Basically Stepping 15 Dance Routines, and the writer of the Bonus CD, SHANKS O.M.S. Stan was also an original member of the United Council for the Original Chicago Style of Stepping.
STEP-ALIVE wants to promote the art of Stepping (An African American Ballroom Dance) that can be enjoyed by all cultures. We want to arrange annual events involving this art, organize national networks to support them while standardizing the basic steps and turns of the dance.
STEP-ALIVE is committed to developing bridge programs for the youth through mentoring and leadership, along with willing and interested adults, introducing and teaching the history, evolution, etiquette, culture and basic steps of Stepping.
We can be reached at STEP-ALIVE, nfp Foundation via
email: stepalivenfp@sbcglobal.net or by phone at (773)600-3698.
