Fuquay-Varina High School recently introduced our new step team. If you attended the Black History Month assembly, you would have noticed them on stage stomping their feet, clapping their hands, and amplifying their voices of spoken word to the audience. 

The team has been brought back with the help of special education teacher Alora Johnson and assistant principal Kristi Leak, who have been helpful with bringing these students together as a team to have the opportunity to learn the art of stepping. 

Senior captain Aviana Holland draws from her past experiences in stepping in to assist everyone to be successful in performances. 

“It’s a lot of work you have to deal with as captain. It’s a lot to make sure everyone looks good, sounds good, and has their routine down,” said Holland. 

Holland has always had a love of step that comes as early as her middle school days, which gives her the drive to motivate others who have that too. 

“That’s just my thing, I like to step. That feeling doesn’t match anything else,” she said.

As a senior, she’s able to use her accumulated knowledge from years of experience to better her team as a whole. Holland makes sure to help others on her team as much as possible to be successful. 

“I don’t like being strict on my girls, and I try to be really understanding. We sometimes have new girls just come up out of nowhere, and it can be challenging teaching new people our learned routines that we have down. But, I am telling people to come to our afterschool day to come to learn how to step,” said Holland.

The step team is having an event to teach aspiring step dancers their choreography and inform new people about what they do. The event will be held on Thurs., March 9 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in room 1405, and it is open to all aspiring stepping FVHS students.

“I hadn’t done step dancing since elementary school, and I wanted to start back up again. I saw the tryouts, and I wasn’t doing anything after school so it helped to join. I just like the beats,” said sophomore Jamila Dorsey.

With their debut performance at the Black History Month assembly and home basketball game, members of the team finally had a chance to shine and show off their stepping skills to their peers. 

“It was one of our first performances and it made me nervous, but eventually we got used to it,” said Dorsey.

Although the team is fairly new to our school, they have been able to form good unity and work together to not only create a team but create a family. 

“Mrs. Johnson helps us feel more comfortable, and she makes sure to keep things honest and keep up straight. I’m really proud of her for all that she does,” said Dorsey.

This is just the beginning of this team and its journey. They hope to try new things to help strengthen their team and their popularity, allowing themselves to make a name for themselves. 

“We performed at school and on Tuesday we performed at Holly Springs, and then they signed us up again to go somewhere else. I actually thought of doing competitions or doing them with other schools. I just hope we can have more than two practices a week so we can get to that level,” said Holland. 

Check out the step team event this Thursday if you want to learn their choreography or to make new friends and have fun. With their drive and dedication combined, they’ll leave a lasting impression on anyone who sees them perform.