Nice to Meet Ya: The Little Steppers

Dripping Springs High School’s Hi-Steppers are a wonder to watch, a tradition that’s been going on since the fall of 1987. They are known throughout the area for their precision moves and dance routines.

But another part of the tradition is inspiring the girls growing up behind you. It is called the Little Steppers Program. It is open to all little girls aged six up until ninth grade. There’s a summer camp they attend with the Hi-Steppers as coaches, giving the little ones someone to look up to.

“We've just done it every summer. It's been modified a little bit. It's been shortened; it used to be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for five days. Now it's 9 a.m. to 12, and it's only four days. So it's morphed a little bit but the same concept. It's the same for the last 33 years or so,” said Tracy Neef of the DSHS Dance Program.

“The last couple years we've kind of hit that 130 mark and we have kids, on the team now, who went through as Little Steppers, as kindergarteners and first graders... They're in kindergarten until they get to middle school and we have repeat campers.“

After going to camp and learning dance routines with the Hi-Steppers, they’ll perform before home football games.

“My daughter started when she was probably around second or third grade, and now she's a senior. So we’ve come full circle, and now she's a Hi-Stepper,” said Amy Fletcher, Hi-Stepper parent/public relations for the group.

“When we moved here. And she saw the girls in the field. She said, 'Oh my gosh, Mom, I'd love to do that. That would be so fun.' So I enrolled her in the camp as soon as I realized that there's a camp for this. ... She started going, and she went every year until probably seventh or eighth grade. And then in ninth grade, she became part of the Dazzlers. That's the JV team.”

Of course, dealing with 130 or so children under high school age can present a few problems, especially with the younger ones and their short attention spans. The older Hi-Steppers, especially the seniors, are essentially trained babysitters after handling little ones.

At the camp they all arrive at the same time and practice as a group on one routine. “They'll break up like kinder, first, second, third. We usually combined fourth and fifth grade, just because there's not as many of them. We combine all of our middle schoolers, 6, 7, and 8 together. Then they learn another dance with just their group each day,” Neef continued.

“It's really just keeping them moving and busy. We play a lot of games, especially with the little ones; because they lose interest real quick... The Hi-Steppers actually are the teachers. They're the ones that run the practice, I’m here overseeing things, but the girls actually run the different groups and choreograph dances for each group.”

Modeling behavior on very impressionable young girls, about discipline, working with a group and teamwork is what it is all about. If someone does not want to learn a particular dance that day, they are not required. They can sit by quietly and watch the others practice.

The fees for the camp provide the needed income for costumes, fees and other expenses during the season. Becoming and making the team with the title Hi Stepper is a dream of many young girls in Dripping Springs and many achieve that goal. Once a Hi-Stepper, you are a Hi-Stepper for life.

For more information on the DSHS Hi-Steppers see dshshisteppers.com