Steppers Night Club

                                                                  Steppers Night Club, 1994

                                                                                                                       A Old Flyer

                                                                                        Dallas Morning News Document

                 Swing Shift Dance practice the smooth and sophisticated swing-out

Author: Linda Jones: Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News

  March 29, 2000

Article text:   It's Sunday night at Steppers, and class is in session.  The dance floor is the classroom and "swing-out is the lesson.  Dozens fill this nightclub to learn this dance because they are convinced their "coolness' will be enhanced.  "One-two, one-two-three, one-two, one-two-three.  Don't make me look bad now.  "Tommy Pye is barking instructions to the eager pack of students who are hanging on every word and mimicking every step.  Twice weekly they come to their Grand Prairie Nightclub to learn "swing-out an old-school couples' dance style that has roots in Harlem nightspots of decades past.

This is a dance you can easily fall in love with, says Walter "D-Extra Bishop,  the instructor who started the free classes at steppers nearly four years ago in the summer of 1995.  He invited his friends Tommy and Lawrence "Brad" Bradley to join him when the classes got too big for one person to handle.  On Sunday and Wednesday nights the three of them teach swing-out to people seeking a fun and sophisticated dance devoid of bumps and grinds.

Swing-Out is a hand-holding spin-your-partner dance that has jazz in the footwork and salsa in the turns.  Think Jitterbug without the flips and throws.  Or the Lindy without the hop.

"We do what you call smooth swing," says Brad, the tall, tight-bodied teacher who sports a texurized ponytail and leads his partners so masterfully on the dance floor that he makes the neophytes look like pros.

Brad says that even though swing-out dance is derived from the liver, acrobatic versions of swing dancing, it is more laid-back intimate. 

"Back in the day, swinging-out was the way  you got a chance to get close to the woman, get her name and phone number and whisper a few things in her ear," he says.  "You had her as a captive audience because there wasn't far she could go."

The teacher D'Extra, 43 who  says he got his nickname for being good at stealing "de extra" bases when he played baseball, is now known more for the extra time he spends seeing that all the female students have a dance partner.  Since the women always outnumber the men, that often means he is called upon to be the extra partner.

Popularity is what motivated D'Extra to learn the dance.

His brother-in-law taught him in 1976 when he was 19.  He frequented Fort Worth nightclubs where the dance was popular and participated in competitions where he often won.

"Nobody knew you if you didn't know how to swing" he recalls.  Brad, who also participated in the contests, say swing-out competitions were fierce, but never violent.

That's the thing about swingers,  "he says".  We Are too cool to fight.

Out on the dance floor, D'Extra is taking a group of women in his beginners' class through the paces.  Before the students are taught to dance as couples, they are taught all the steps, twirls, slides and turns as a group.  Men and Women are taught simultaneously, but separately on opposite sides of the dance floor.

"Are you ready now"? D'Extra asks the women, twirling his finger over his head.  The signal means it's time to try the full turn.  At the count of three, the group manages to make a complete spin with some stumbling but no causalities.  He takes them through half turns and double turns as well.

The trio take their classes seriously that they hold graduation for stellar swingers and issue diplomas that read:  The holder of this certificate is more than qualified to get their swing on.

Deryl, 30 says he is pleased the dance is being preserved, but he wonders how long that may last.  "It has a lot to do with the times,"  The parents aren't as in touch with their kids as they were when I was growing up.  So not much is passed down, "he says".

Brad, 50 says that is what drives him, D'Extra and Tommy to continue the Swing-Out lessons at Steppers. "We don't ever want to see it die".

Mr. Ivan Jordan, co-owner of Stepper, says that this is the type of atmosphere he wants at his nightclub, and the dance lessons have done much to create it.

To read more go to: The Dallas Morning News Archives, Record Number: 4134233

Thank You

Mrs. Beverly Neal 

 The photo below, shows one of Steppers Night Club,    1ST Swing-Out Class Graduation Celebration.

 The photo below, shows Steppers Night Club "to Live Crew"......Swing-Out Dancer's featuring:   Ms. Cheryl Head, Lady Champagne, Terrible T, D'Extra and Mr. Jerry Palmer  "The King Of Swing"

              Dallas / Fort Worth   "Stepper Night Club Originators"