Step Afrika! is the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Founded in December 1994, the company is critically-acclaimed for its efforts to promote an understanding of and appreciation for stepping and the dance tradition’s use as an educational tool for young people worldwide. Step Afrika! reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year and has performed on many stages in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Based in Washington, DC, the company has been featured on CNN, BET, PBS, and NPR, as well as numerous books, documentaries, and articles that seek to explore the tradition of stepping. Step Afrika! serves as a cultural ambassador for the United States, representing the nation at events around the world through special invitations from American embassies. Step Afrika! leads the Washington Performing Arts Society’s (WPAS) Summer Steps Camp, where they explore the tradition of stepping as well as its relation to other percussive dance styles. The camp explores the tradition of stepping with dance students ages 9-18. Using high energy step routines and other percussive dance styles, the participants learn the history and culture of South African gumboot dance. Members of the WPAS Choir and Step Team performed with Step Afrika! at the Harman Center for the Arts in February 2012.

The Washington Performing Arts Society’s (WPAS) Children of the Gospel Choir, formed in 1993 through a community-wide audition and featured on NBC’s Today show, is an expansion of WPAS’s continued commitment to gospel music programming and is designed to showcase the talents of Washington-area youth. Members of WPAS Children of the Gospel Choir and Step Team attend the WPAS Summer Performing Arts Academy each year. In addition to offering performance opportunities throughout the year, the camps teach disciplinary and artistic skills necessary to prepare for professional productions while creating an environment that promotes vocal and physical health and well-being, self-confidence, motivation, discipline, leadership, and teambuilding skills.