![Juniors Tristen Banks, Kimora Jones, Nylah Thompson and Chris Williams smile with the trophy after winning the national Stage Breakers competition on April 15. Five teams competed for the championship. “Things that we [had] were [competitiveness], eagerness and determination, because the other teams who were here did good. To be able to beat other step teams, you need to [be the best in] precision, rhythm, and know how to put first things first,” Banks said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/stepteamwinapril15dallas.jpeg)
Rho Sigma Delta became national champions this past Saturday. Competing at the Stage Breakers step competition in Dallas, the high school team brought home a 3 ½ ft tall trophy to Parkway School District.
Together with the middle school team, Beta Alpha Delta, Rho Sigma Delta makes up the Parkway School District Step Team, a group that has officially been in existence since 2014. Modern stepping originated in the early 20th century, stemming from Black fraternities and sororities who would unite to celebrate new initiations. Today, Rho Sigma Delta takes many historical elements, including chanting and percussive movements, and combines them with more contemporary components, like hip-hop and R&B music, to create their shows.
“I love being on the step team because of how much of a family they are. I think of them as my other family. There are kids [on the team] that I’ve gotten closer to over a short period of time. With step, everything in the world just clears out because only step matters,” junior Tristen Banks said.
Competing teams had to create an original step show with struts, steps and chants. Many times, a show consists of an overall theme. Some themes in the past have been Beyonce’s Homecoming concert, “Toy Story,” and “The Lion King.” This year, the high school’s theme was “Men in Black.” The steppers were judged on several criteria, including precision, vocal clarity, creativity and the show’s complexity. To prepare, the step team underwent physical and mental training to increase their chances of success.
“We do more working out at practice — there’s a lot of discipline. Once [we] get the steps, we learn our whole show before December. From December, we’re competing and doing minor tweaks and everything from each competition. But if we’re not stepping, we’re most definitely working out. Like there’s a lot of working out a lot of discipline,” junior Nylah Thompson said.
Rho Sigma Delta took first place in the competition, totaling 673 points. In addition to winning the championship, the 2022-2023 team has broken a new record: remaining undefeated champions for the entire season.
“It was nothing but God. We had worked very hard to get where we were, and this has been the first time in [Rho Sigma Delta] history that we had a whole season of winning,” Banks said. “It was big, and the first thing I did was just thank God, really, because [this win] was something that we needed, and it opened up the [idea] that anything is possible to everybody. If you just put in the work and everything on the floor, do your part and be on the team, things can [work] out for the good.”
This story was originally published on Pathfinder on April 17, 2023.