Film Review: Step

by Linda May Grobman, MSW, LSW, ACSW 

     In the aftermath of Freddie Gray's death from injuries sustained while in police custody, students at Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (BLSYW, or "Bliss") try to make sense of their lives as African-American young women while struggling to graduate high school and win their last high school step competition. The documentary film Step follows Blessin, Cori, Tayla, and their teammates on the Lethal Ladies step team.

      The students face multiple challenges in school and at home - poverty and hunger, depression, anger, low grades, to name a few. Their mothers are involved in their lives, to the extent they are able amidst their own emotional and social difficulties.

     The one thing that unites these students, who are alike in some ways and different in others (Blessin struggles academically;  Cori is the class valedictorian) is the step team. No matter their struggles, step gives them purpose and a goal to work toward, as well as a means of expression and a sense of accomplishment. Stepping, according to StepAfrika.org, "... is a rising art form and an important part of America’s artistic and cultural heritage. In stepping, the body is used as an instrument to create intricate rhythms and sounds through a combination of footsteps, claps, and the spoken word."

     What also contributes to the ultimate success of the students is the fact that someone has taken an interest in them. The step coach, college counselor, and other school personnel push the students and push them hard, at the same time showing that they care what happens to them. They work with the families to overcome the students' obstacles to college admission. And by the end of the film, we too are cheering for them to "make it."

     As a social worker, I was hoping that one of these adults would be a social worker. Perhaps this was the case, but if so, no one was identified as such.

     Through this film, we see the possibility that education, arts, mentorship, and nurturing relationships can make a difference and bring out strengths, helping young people move from whatever hardships they face toward a more hopeful life. It is well worth watching.