Who would have thought that at my university’s underground parking lot I would hear beats and sounds that rival the music I hear every day on my car’s radio.

I was scheduled to meet the Pretty Poodle All-Stars that were responsible for all this music making that I had heard three nights before.

As I pulled in to the parking structure, I see a quick glimpse of the Pretty Poodle All-Stars’ routine. I knew they were a very prestigious step team, but of course I had no idea all the hard work, dedication, and skill that are needed to create the beats that these young ladies produce.

So what is stepping exactly? As I stood in front, I was completely fascinated by the awesome beats and rhythms that were composed by their feet, arms, legs, and hands. Basically, “stepping” is a form of dance in which a group utilizes their entire body as an instrument to compile complex sounds, beats and rhymes—a fusion between hip-hop and syncopated beats. To be more specific, Pretty Poodle All-Star member Adrianna, describes stepping as “self-made body rhyme.”

This group of vivacious women has remained undefeated for the past year and a half under their head step-master Ni’Kysha. This team has proudly represented their sorority Sigma Gamma Rho Inc. in over seven competitions all over the United States against other sororities and fraternities.

The team is composed of eight girls from different Sigma Gamma Rho Inc. chapters. These girls drive from Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Long Beach to stomp out their magical beats. While trying to find a place for these gals to practice might be challenging (considering they come from all different cities) they rotate meeting spots to further accommodate every team member.

There is so much charisma throughout the team that their humble nature and passion to win is truly reflected through their body movements.

I also noticed a very tight bond not only between the girls on the team, but also between the girls and their head step-master, Ni’Kysha. Having been a former step dancer herself for four years, Ni’Kysha says she now likes to be the woman behind the scenes, who does most of the choreography in collaboration with the team.

As they prepare for a competition this week, their choreography has a new touch of complexity and innovation. Watching their twelve minute routine was a must see performance! I was so engaged by the sound and rhythm they were making that I just wanted to jump in and step with them. Their dynamic performance is so powerful and engaging that I could see how these girls light up the stage and win all the time.

Another thing I noticed was how much stamina and cardio build-up the team has gained through the constant dance movements. After all, the girls exhaust so much energy through the exaggerated moves and jumps I didn’t understand how they kept going. I asked Yune one of the step dancers, how they maintained such high energy levels. She simply answered that aside from practicing three times a week they also train individually at the gym, doing multiple cardio exercises to build their endurance. Yoon says, “we don’t fluff our show with unnecessary parts just to catch our breath,” which shows in their ‘go-get-em’ performance.

The concentration of these women athletes is so prominent that all you want to do is continue to watch and listen. As they wrapped up their routine with their signature prop of ‘canes’ Adrianna said to me “you have to believe you’re the best to be the best.”

I found this advice to be applicable to anyone and everything. You have to believe in yourself in order to achieve greatness, and The Pretty Poodle All-Stars live and stomp through this idea.

-Gevrina Seferaj