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Zawadi: Welcoming More Than Black History Month

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The Bowie Center for the Performing Arts stepped into Black History Month the evening of February 1 by celebrating the gifts of youth. Not only did they show off their Zawadi, or “gift of stepping,” but they promoted the ideas of staying healthy as well—even down to the youngest steppers on stage. The S.T.R.I.V.E. Program’s youth crews from Bladensburg, Kentland, Bowie and Suitland made special guest appearances, spreading the word of staying fit, eating healthily and having fun in a safe environment.
The show featured nine crews of the area’s finest high school steppers, who challenged each other for the top prize of $1000 in front of a sold-out house. Eleanor Roosevelt High’s own Dem Raider Boyz revolutionized the show by donning colonial-era attire and laying down the “Constitution of Step.” These local Minutemen won the battle, much in the same as their forefathers nearly 250 years ago. Only instead of winning their independence, they won the $1000 top prize for the fourth year straight! They, along with five of the other crews, came from local, Prince George’s County and Baltimore high schools. Not all of the crews were local, though. In fact, the runners-up and third place steppers were quite out-of-town: they hailed from New York City and Virginia Beach, respectively.

Photo Credit: Cassi Hayden