Student organization takes dancing to a higher level with stepping

If you are interested in trying something new and exciting and are curious about learning a few new dance moves and embracing new friendships, A Step Above Perfection (ASAP) is for you.

ASAP is a group of FGCU students who take dance coordination to a whole new level,  all done by stepping.

Stepping is a kind of dance method where the dancer uses their hands, feet and legs to make a beat.

But there’s a difference between a step team and a dance team.

“We use our hands and our feet to make music instead of dancing to a song. We are similar to a dance team because we also dance, but we step the majority of the time,” said Malissa Sanon, president and committee chair.

FGCU graduate student Clarissa Delva founded ASAP in January 2009.

“They (Delva and others) really enjoyed stepping and they wanted to continue it because they stepped and danced when they were in high school, so they felt like they should bring it onto campus at FGCU,” Sanon said.

When performing, the women in A Step Above Perfection have an image in their heads of how the performance should go.

“We try to be perfect,” Sanon said.

This dedication to perfection shows in the awards that ASAP has under their belt. ASAP has won The Talent  Rules show and they have also won the Delta Sigma Theta Step Show in 2011.

With these awards we can only expect greater things from ASAP.

Now when it comes to ASAP, it isn’t all about the glory. They also are intertwined with the community.

“For us to get known in the community is not difficult at all. Anthony Hyatt, our adviser, does a lot of networking for FGCU. We have done a lot of community service. We get invited back to different activities all the time,” Sanon said.

Some of the community services that the team has participated in are Kids in the Kitchen and Upward Bound.

But even with this community connection ASAP is still struggling to get themselves known in the FGCU community.

“For FGCU it is kind of difficult to get known. People don’t understand what a step team is or have never heard of us,” Sanon said.

But despite this obstacle, ASAP refuses to stay silent. According to Sanon, the team performed at many basketball games last year.

They have also performed at the Black Student Alliance annual banquet.

ASAP also performs at Family Weekend and Eagle Expo every year.

If you are interested in learning how to become involved with this organization, it does not matter whether you have had experience stepping or you are new to the whole scene. ASAP welcomes everyone.