Black Reign Step Team members flourish, bond rehearsing ‘Sinners’ showcase
Black Reign Step Team rehearses a scene from their upcoming “Sinners” showcase. Black Reign, the only step team not affiliated with Syracuse University Greek life, started piecing their showcase together in August. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
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The Ernie Davis Fitness Center was mostly empty on Sunday afternoon, but one sound could be heard throughout the gym: the rhythmic stomps and claps of step dancing.
If anyone investigated the source of the sounds, they’d find Black Reign Step Team practicing in the dance studio for their “Sinners” showcase.
“We’ve been working on it a lot, a lot of extra performances outside of our four practices already,” said Candace Tabb, a Syracuse University senior and president of Black Reign. “It’s been a lot of extra work going into it, but I’m really excited for it to just come together.”
Black Reign was started in 2005 by Tanira Lindsay and Mia Armstrong and is the only step team not affiliated with Greek life on SU’s campus. Since its inception, Black Reign has been taking inspiration from Hollywood movies like “Drumline” and “Mortal Kombat.”
Step dancing or stepping has been around for centuries with origins in West Africa. Participants use their body to produce rhythms and sounds using their footsteps, handclaps and words.
The team is holding their “Sinners” showcase on Thursday in the Goldstein Auditorium. The show is based on the 2025 Oscar-winning film “Sinners,” and the step team will perform an interpretation of the movie. Stacy Onwuka, an SU junior and treasurer of Black Reign, said she hopes the audience can understand and applaud Black culture.
The process started by writing a script, using some lines directly from the movie and making changes to fit stepping, said Camira Whitney, a sophomore and the team’s public relations chair. Whitney headed the scriptwriting process, which took about two months to complete. One change was switching the main character Sammie’s guitar to a pair of boots to fit with the step choreography, Whitney said.
“It’s pretty much based on the movie. We did add a bit of our own style to it, a little bit of comedy in there that’s not usually in ‘Sinners,’” Tabb said. “But our team is very unserious, so we’re excited to put our own twist on it.”
Black Reign performs a step production at their 20th annual showcase. The group has performed step showcases inspired by Hollywood movies like “Mortal Kombat” and “Drumline.” Courtesy of Mera Singh
Tabb began stepping in sixth grade; she said step has helped her express herself through creativity and collaboration with the team.
She joined a step team in high school and said Black Reign was part of the reason she decided to commit to SU after she saw them on Instagram.
“I came here, I tried out, I made it, and it’s just been a great community for me,” Tabb said. “It’s a stress reliever away from all of the work that I’m doing. I have the majority of my friends from this team.”
Mera Singh, a senior and Black Reign’s vice president of external affairs, had never stepped before joining the team. Singh joined the Kalabash Dance Troupe when she first came to campus to embrace her Caribbean roots. She accompanied a friend to Black Reign tryouts but was convinced by the rest of the team to try out herself.
Now, most of Singh’s friends are in Black Reign.
“I’ve gained a real big familial bond within them,” Singh said. “If you see one Black Reign member on campus, you’re seeing all of us.”
Singh and Tabb are both looking forward to a specific scene in the show that involves other campus dance teams like Creations Dance Company, Desi Performance Team, Citrus Dolls and Kalabash Dance Troupe. Tying in the other groups was meant to demonstrate unity, Singh said.
Stepping is a form of self expression for Onwuka, who stepped in high school before joining Black Reign in the spring of her freshman year. Like her teammates, she said she’s made some of her closest friends through her team.
“It’s definitely broken me out of my shell. I’m usually on the quieter end of people, but being a part of Black Reign, a lot of people know my face,” Onwuka said. “They enjoy seeing me on stage, so I’ve definitely been more out there in the community, more social and enjoying my time here.”
Freshman Ava Jones joined Black Reign last fall after seeing the team at the club fair. As an African American at a predominantly white institution, Jones said she wanted to find a community she could thrive in.
Jones will play the role of Annie, a spiritual and protective matriarch, in the showcase and added that she’s looking forward to the show’s comedic aspect.
“Normally when performing, we’re pretty serious and we do a couple of steps and we get offstage,” Jones said. “I’m just looking forward to them seeing us do so much more. Like we can dance, we can act and we can step. There’s a lot more to it when it comes to a showcase.”
Singh echoed this sentiment. She said the team will tap into the characters from “Sinners” to emphasize the power of the culture created through the movie.
“I hope that once the first scene starts, they just get immediate chills,” Singh said. “I hope that they’re actively engaged within the whole thing, and there’s a lot to take away from it.”
