Fayetteville’s East Coast Step Show is back: 5 things to know before you go

The 18th Annual East Coast Step Show is set for the Crown Theatre at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

A pre-show with youth step teams is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. The step show typically draws thousands of people to watch college and alumni teams representing fraternities and sororities from up and down the Atlantic Coast.

More: PHOTOS: East Coast Step Show in Fayetteville

How do I get tickets?

Tickets are available through the Crown Coliseum box office. People who purchase a ticket for the main step show receive access to the pre-show.

Separate tickets for the pre-show are available at Stepshow4u.com.

What is “stepping?”

Stepping is a performance closely associated with historically Black Greek letter organizations. It involves high-stepping dance moves, chants and routines that are tightly synchronized. Many steppers perform in boots, a nod to the roots of the form, which evolved from the South African boot dance.

Tell me about this particular show.

Organizers bill the East Coast Step Show as the “biggest and longest running” step show. It is under the Stepshow4U umbrella, which schedules 10 to 11 shows annually, according to Will Hymon, marketing director. The teams hail from “Maryland all the way down to Georgia,” he said. The participating teams are considered top tier and the competition level is high. The 2022 sorority team winner was Zeta Phi Beta from Howard University in Washington, D.C.; the fraternity team winner was Iota Phi Theta from Baltimore.

What about other entertainment?

Bobby V, formerly known as Bobby Valentino, an R&B singer whose hits include “Slow Down” and “Tell Me,” is scheduled to perform. The show host will be comedian Darren Brand, aka Big Baby, a cast member of the sketch comedy series “Wild ‘N Out” and an alumni of N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro. Also scheduled to perform is up-and-coming rap artist, Mr Red Carpet, who Hymon describes as a local artist who is “pretty much the next up-and-coming artist.”

A celebrity after-party featuring Bobby V and Brand is scheduled for Uptown’s Chicken and Waffles on Owen Drive. Tickets are available at eastcoastafterpartync@eventbrite.com.

What’s the deal with the youth teams?

Stepping has grown in popularity, spreading beyond college campuses and now encompasses many K-12 and youth and community teams. One or two of the youth teams on Saturday will perform at the main step show, Hymon said. They would be teams that had distinguished themselves at the youth shows sponsored by Stepshow4U.

“We take our best-performing teams throughout the shows that we have, and we showcase them in the East Coast Step Show,” he said.

Myron Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville’s East Coast Step Show is back: 5 things to know