Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008

 Students from Bryan Station Middle School drove downtown to extend a hand, and students at Transylvania University took a step in their direction, too, as they learned a little more about each other Monday afternoon. 

  Kate Raitiere, who coaches the step team at Bryan Station, brought her squad to campus after an invitation from Amy Maupin, an associate professor of education at the liberal arts college.

  “Dr. Maupin felt that by giving the Transy students a little history of step, a performance and explaining what stepping means to the students, it would open more eyes to the diversity in our population,” Raitiere said.

  The William T. Young Campus Center gym was awash in red, from the carpeting to the Transy sweatshirts in the audience to the youths’ “STATION STEPPERS” T-shirts. The kids looked sharp in their black pants and suspenders as well as in their movements.

  “You have to get used to memorizing the steps and be committed to your team,” said eighth-grader Daven Florence, whose brother attends Transy.

  The college students were impressed.

  “I danced for like 10 years but never anything like this,” said sophomore Jana Stiles, who studied ballet and tap.

  Bryan Station opened with a skit (like a poetry slam) to explain step as a form of communication and entertainment, with examples ranging from slaves working on the railroad to the modern R&B group The Temptations.

  “It gives a little insight into African-American culture,” said Raitiere, who is in her second year of teaching.

  The kids described step as a mix of chants, claps and footwork that can be found in schools, churches, drum lines and drill teams around the world. In the skit, various students also piped up with answers to “Why do I step?” including:
• To prove myself as a leader;
• To feel like part of a team;
• To exercise, practice and work at something I love to do.

  “We take stepping very serious when we rock the floor!” they chanted during a performance sample as their white tennis shoes pounded the hardwood gym floor.

  “It’s just amazing they have so much confidence,” Transy junior Brittny Congleton noted.

  The Bryan Station High School step team has helped the middle school squad build a unified program, assisting with practice and mentoring the younger students not only in stepping but also with their grades and behavior.

  “It’s something really positive that they can do after school,” said Transy senior Mandy Todd, a student teacher at Winburn Middle School. “ ‘Teamwork’ is something they can use throughout life,” she added.

  One highlight of the step team’s season is the middle school Cheer and Dance Showcase; the March 15 event will run all day at Henry Clay High School.

  Last year was the inaugural outing for Bryan Station Middle School, which nonetheless earned top honors in a district-wide exhibition.

  “The exhibition really made them feel good about themselves,” said Rose Bright, Daven’s mother. “They really worked hard in a short period of time to get where they are.”

  Maupin had seen step team performances on Channel 13, and she knew Raitiere, a Transy graduate who teaches language arts. They decided Black History Month was an opportune time to introduce her middle school students to the university and vice versa.

  “Programs like this are an important part of our campus community,” Maupin said of Transy, which has nearly 1,200 students (84 percent white, 3 percent black). “We’re always looking for a chance to recruit, frankly, and expose our campus community to diverse populations and get them involved in the community.”

  She also wanted the middle schoolers to experience a college campus, meet some university students “and see that we care about them.”

  “Anytime young people of that age can be recognized and honored … that’s a great opportunity,” Maupin said.