Dudley High School’s Male Step Team UMOJA LIVE tonight on BET’s 106 & Park

Dudley High School’s Male Step Team UMOJA will be performing live tonight on BET’s 106 & Park in the All-Star Step Team Competition.

The show starts at 6pm but the step team performances may not start until around 7pm.

When the team went in January we were able to start voting as soon as the show came on at 6.

So if you CAN…..and if you WILL……PLEASE log on to www.BET.com tonight and just click and vote as many times as you can. (some of you may be able to pull it up on your cell phones)

On behalf of The UMOJA Step Team and Booster Parents We Thank You!!!

They are trying hard to get the word out for everyone to VOTE so they can bring the WIN back to Greensboro, North Carolina!!!

Good luck to Tevin Neal and the entire team!

More info on the Step Team……

from Donald Patterson in today’s Greensboro News and Record:

Dudley’s male step team will compete on TV

GREENSBORO — UMOJA will be steppin’ out tonight. In New York City. On national television. Before millions of viewers. With $5,000 on the line. And a chance to make the Triad proud.

UMOJA, the award-winning male step team at Dudley High School, will compete tonight on BET’s 106 & Park in a segment called Wild Out Wednesday. The show airs at 6 p.m. on cable channel 22.

They’ve practiced hard. They’ve polished a new routine. They’re confident. They’re experienced. They’re ready to go.

“But we need the votes, man,” Antonio Sloan, the team’s coach, said Tuesday afternoon. “We need everybody to vote.”

UMOJA won a preliminary round in New York in January. Now, they’re going back for the all-star round, competing against teams from Florida and Alabama for the $5,000 prize.

Team members say they felt nervous the first time on the show, but they are more self-assured this trip.

“Having the (January) experience has given us a heads up,” said Khaleel Loyd, a 17-year-old senior and the team’s captain. “We have been in tight situations before so I don’t think national TV will be too much of a deal for us.”

UMOJA — it’s a Swahili word meaning “unity” — has been around since 1997. Stepping has been around even longer.

Today’s version combines an African American dance tradition with elements of hip-hop, jazz and plenty of military precision.

The team takes part in competitions and exhibitions, appearing at college homecomings, community gatherings and church events.

It gets no financial support from the school. Any prize money the team wins tonight will pay for future travel, uniforms, props and scholarships for senior members.

“We put that money back into the team,” said Desiree Best, the team’s adviser and an English teacher. “It will be gone very quickly.”

UMOJA members say they focus on discipline, working as a unit and studies. Members must maintain at least a B-average.

“It’s about growing young men,” said Sloan, who teaches U.S. history at Dudley. “It’s about making future leaders.”

Tevin Neal, a 17-year-old senior, has been on the team for three years. At first, he was shy and not very well-spoken. Today, he’s a co-captain.

“I’m just a better all-around person,” Neal said.

And he feels as if the other members are his brothers.

“With teams, it’s just teammates,” he said. “This is family.”

The UMOJA family packed up Tuesday afternoon for the drive to New York. They hope to return Thursday with another win.
Sloan won’t say what routine the team plans to perform.

“It’s a secret,” he said. “You’ve got to tune in — and vote.”

3 thoughts on “Dudley High School’s Male Step Team UMOJA LIVE tonight on BET’s 106 & Park

  1. Once again, kids from the Triad shine on a national stage! With so many nagative influences pulling at kids nowadays, it is good to see them doing something well. As Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. member who stepped in college, I know these young men put in countless hours and sacrificed weekends to get to this point.

    Once again, we should all be proud that our city shines once again!

    http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/08/26/article/dudley_step_team_wins_5k_in_national_tv_contest

  2. Once again, kids from the Triad shine on a national stage! With so many nagative influences pulling at kids nowadays, it is good to see them dedicating themselves to soemthing positive. It is great to see them do it so well. As Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. member who stepped in college, I know these young men put in countless hours and sacrificed weekends to get to this point.

    Once again, we should all be proud that our city shines once again!

    PS: Today’s Greensboro N&R has a story on their victory.

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