Cedar Hill team looks to make big splash as national competition Stomp Wars descends on North Texas
ARLINGTON — You might lose your socks, but the Hillside Steppers are ready to stomp out the competition.
The kids are all ages from Cedar Hill ISD – and this is their step team.
Step is a type of dance. It's described as highly percussive and energetic. Dancers use their whole body as instruments... especially their feet.
"It used to be called gum boo dancing. And it got really popular in the states on HBCU campuses" said radio personality and DFW native Rocky Turner, aka Rock T.
He founded Stomp Wars, the largest youth step competition in the country.
The Hillside Steppers are competing and want to win.
"The girls, they win every show and the middle school, we win all of them. So we're ready," said their coach, William Holmes.
He coaches the Steppers with tough love.
"My coaching style is a little different from a lot of coaches. I am very strict. I lose it, I snap, I demand excellence and they know it," Holmes said. "But at the same time, I love to have fun with them."
He's tough – but the kids respect it.
"He's a great guy. He had a lot of energy for his age. He just will always be great." said Treon Miller, one of the middle schoolers on the step team.
Coach Holmes personally recruited him to join.
"He was my teacher back when I was in fifth grade. I had a little anger issue, but he taught me how to control it," said Miller.
"I have several kids that that I actually recruited because they were having some behavior challenges just to see if it will work and is proven to work like they really need." said Holmes.
It's one of the main reasons Turner started Stomp Wars.
"Stomp Wars has helped over 12,000 kids graduate high school through the art of stepping over glass going on 17 years," said Turner. "So we've got a STEM component added to it. We have a financial literacy component entrepreneurship component. So now Stomp Wars is much bigger than just a step. Competition is literally become a college, a career pathway."
It's also a way for both men to show the world positive stories coming from the Black community.
"A lot of people do stereotype young African-American males as well as kids. Just we have a negative stereotype but is good for you. The community can actually see that there are some good things that's going on" said Holmes.
"It's always about the negative things that's happening. But what about all these positive opportunities that we're doing that we're seeing, that we see every single day?" said Turner.
Today, these kids are just having fun practicing their passion.
Stomp Wars will take place Saturday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. at UT Arlington. Tickets are available at StompWars.com