Precision x Outkast
By ARYAN AGARWAL, JILLIAN CHENG, LENA KOOK, and JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN
A legion of Exonians roars as a group of dancers rush onto the stage. They order themselves into a neat arrangement, beginning their act. Rhythmic clapping and stomping echoes through the room, vibrating the floor, hypnotizing the crowd. Whether it’s at pep rallies or showcase assemblies, this talented group of people can be found entertaining everywhere, but who exactly are they? Precision (all-female) and Outkast (all-male) are two of the most prominent student-run dance groups on campus, performing an auditory and synchronized format of dance called “steps”. For this edition, The Exonian asked the coheads, members, and advisers for their insights.
Step dancing, a style with its origins found in West Africa, was brought to the United States in the late 1800s when enslaved Africans brought their inherited culture across the Atlantic. By the 1960s the style had become majorly popular, especially on Black college and university campuses across the nation. The style is unique because the choreography is a synchronized dance that uses the body as an instrument. When performing, the dancers create complex rhythms and sounds through a combination of footsteps, claps, spoken words, and dramatic movements. Precision and Outkast have brought this style of dance to Phillips Exeter Academy by replicating the same auditory environment.
Cohead of Precision and senior Layla Whitaker, said, “I would describe [Precision] as a group that teaches, practices, and performs ‘steps,’ open to all with or without experience. Our mission is to create a space where people can go and try something new.”
A member of Outkast, lower Ben Wilkinson said, “I would say the aim of it is not only to perform ‘steps,’ but also to have a stronger POC [person of color] community. Still it’s open to anybody.” The groups serve as a place for people of color to explore their culture by giving these performances, but are inclusive to all who are interested in learning.
Regarding the style of dance itself, Whitaker said, “You clap, you stomp, you hit your chest and thighs, and then combine all of that sound with visually pleasing formations.” She continued, “It’s not just something that you watch, but it’s also something that you hear. And if we’re loud enough, it’s something that you feel. You can even have multiple things going on at the same time and see them mesh together.”
Upper Kyle Kennedys’ said, “’Steps’ is important because it’s been an integral aspect of what it means to be black. For some black people, it’s a really big part of their identity. Since it is so fundamental to black culture, it’s fun to be able to do it with a lot of the other black students on campus.”
However, co-head Eliana Hall also commented that being Black wasn’t necessary to join the team. “I feel like a lot of people think that you can join Precision and Outkast if you’re only a specific race,” she said. “I think especially, like the co-heads that I work with, we definitely appreciate diversity on the team, and we wanna make sure that we’re also including people who want to be seen on stage who want to try something new. We don’t wanna limit you just to your race. If anybody’s ever thinking about joining, and they’re not black or they’re not African American, then that’s something that I highly encourage, um, because it’s open to any and everyone.”
Practice for Outkast and Precision generally occur once a week for an hour and half. “In terms of preparation for the shows, the coheads come up with steps, ideas, and themes and things like that,” Hall explained. “And then we reach out to Sarrage and we also reach out to her advisor to make sure that some of these things are possible. For example, music. We can’t just have profanity, so we go through them to make sure that everything is appropriate for the show.”
Thinking ahead to how Outkast will prepare on the day of performances, Kennedy’s highlighted, “in the past we’ve done early morning practice where we would come to the assembly hall at 6:30 a.m., just the boys, just to get our reps in.”
That dedication will go towards numerous shows and performances this year. Aside from the previously mentioned MLK day and EA pep assembly performances, Kennedy’s highlighted the annual student-run UnSilenced event as another possible venue.
Hall added that the clubs plans aren’t yet finalized, explaining that they might participate in the Spring dance showcase, or any other opportunities that come along, but that that is not yet decided.
When prompted to reflect on what makes OutKast and Precision special as dance groups, members of both highlighted the nature of their community. For one, Kennedy’s emphasized the fact that OutKast functions only because of its individual members. “I would say the most important people are everybody,” he said. “It’s the members, it’s making sure that members show up and they’re coming to practices and being able to keep each other accountable, being able to love each other and of course the co-heads, you know, they’re able to choreograph the steps and they’re able to lead meetings, make sure that everyone is understanding the movement. So I think everyone has a role to play”
As a leader of Precision, Hall noted the ability to see her community grow and find themselves through steps as particularly special: “When I see people who had originally first struggled and now they’re coming into their own rhythm and coming into their own beats — I feel like that’s the beauty of stepping.” She continued, “Just watching people come into their own confidence when stepping, but also find their own rhythm and make it feel natural, and make it feel personal and creative to themselves.”
Given that sense of togetherness, members of each club encourage all to join, no matter their experience. To those that hesitate, Whitaker sent this message: “If you say ‘I can’t dance,’ I still want you to try stepping because it’s so much more than just fluidity. If you can clap, if you can stomp, you’re halfway there. So try out.”