It’s not easy to come up with individuals to interview for ChiStepper. Many of the people being interviewed usually have to have a connection to the steppin' industry in a historical sense, competitive rankings, promotion of the dance through their advanced level of skill, and or the like. I think this may be the very first interview that I have done that meets all of the criteria for a ChiStepper exclusive interview. In her own quiet way, Kiana Moore has paved the way for a lot of women in steppin' … especially in the humble beginnings of Anthony “Tyk Myn” Allen himself.

Tracey Bivens: Kiana, you know that this interview is a very big deal for me because I’ve watched you ever since 1996 after you competed in the World’s Largest but I didn’t find out until recently that you actually had the first female dance ties with Tyk Myn. I want to share with you this quote I obtained from Tyk Myn this morning.

“Kiana’s uncle, Ty Skippy, had been trying to work with me for the longest. Her mother, Debbie, is a talented stepper too. When Kiana started working with me she was patient and nice.I really needed that! She had a freestyle flavor mixed with an old school style of steppin. She helped me develop my style because I was “copycatting” a lot of people back then. Eventually, we decided to enter the 1996 WLSC but we got disqualified because I lifted my feet off the floor. Kiana was definitely the first woman to help me build my steppin skills and I will always be grateful to her for that.” - Tyk Myn

T. Bivens: What do you think of when you hear that statement?

Kiana: (silence)

T. Bivens: Kiana?

Kiana: (sounding emotional) That kind of chokes me up a little. You know what? I’m surprised … really. When we first started dancing, Tony Dow was the first to teach him. I felt like he was polished when I met him. We were both babies when we first entered the WLSC in 1996 because we were going up against the older people who had been steppin' a long time. Out of all the mess that has been said through the years, hearing that makes me feel that what I contributed mattered to Tyk. Nobody can take that away from me.

T. Bivens: I’m sure a lot of female steppers would like to know what it was like to dance with Tyk back then as opposed to now. Can you give us some insight on dancing with Tyk in the early days?

Kiana: I never had to practice with Tyk. We just went out and danced. We weren’t going to classes. I learned in my kitchen and my uncle told me what to do. As far as what the women are going through with him now with the counting and choreographed moves … it never happened with us. We just danced and enjoyed growing together. I have some early footage of me and Tyk that people would literally pay top dollar for now!

T. Bivens: Then there’s that infamous tape of you floating around from the 1998 WLSC with your partner, Steve Price, in which you are wearing a one piece white dress that looked as though you were “poured” into it. Was that the last competition you competed in?

Kiana: I competed with Tyrone Davis in 1999 but we didn’t make it out of the preliminaries. I wish the people had the footage of that. Hands down … we would have won the WLSC that year. I think we were eliminated because I believe the sponsor, Merry Green had her favorites. Merry Green eventually apologized for disqualifying me and Tyrone but there were a lot of people like Tony Dow and Darlinda Russell who were very upset that we didn’t make it that night. That just taught me to stop getting into contests because people will always have their favorites.

T. Bivens: Is there pressure for you to ready Tyk Myn’s 11 year old son, Jordan to follow in the competitive footsteps of his famous father?

Kiana: No. It’s just like any child who has “famous” relatives. He knows the basics but I keep him away from that pressure. I’m raising Jordan to be a gentleman who is smart and intelligent. He knows who his father is on the set. He doesn’t know the negative things that his dad has to endure with this dance but he knows that his dad is the greatest and that’s all he needs to know.

T. Bivens: Who are some of the up and coming steppers you are watching these days in amazement?

Kiana: I’ve been a pretty fair person when it comes to evaluating the dance. I started coming back out in 2006 after a long hiatus. I think Shareda Newbern is excellent. I’ve spoken with her in the last couple of months and she’s got a lot of flavor. I think she’s got the whole package. I like to watch Tabitha [Williams] and I like the way Sha [Arlicia Johnson] turns. She puts me in mind of myself when I first started coming out.

T. Bivens: I would have to say that not a lot of new school female steppers step like you do. What is your take on the new school style versus the old school style for women?

Kiana: I think that the new school females are taught to dance a certain way. To me there’s only one way. That is to strictly follow the man. Once you break away, that’s it … do your thing. The old school women could break away and dance by themselves. The new school women want to keep it sexy and I think that they feel stifled so I just see a lot of expression that is not being released. If the man lets you go, you should be able to do whatever you want. You can’t be taught style. It has to be something within you. A lot of female steppers try to copy other females. That’s why I like Shareda … she dances her dance.

T. Bivens: I have another surprise quote from Tyk Myn that I want to share with you as well.

“I would compete with Kiana again in an old school style contest. She is very good at keeping the old school style with the old school melody. She doesn’t really like the new style of steppin' with all the spins that it has now but if you play a Dramatics cut … that girl is fierce! You don’t see that a lot anymore.” - Tyk Myn

Kiana: (Laughing) Oh … he knows me better than any other dancer besides my Uncle Ty. I’m glad that he respects my dance. A big old “Muah” (blowing a kiss) to him for that! Baby … if they came out with an old school style contest … whooo! I will lose it! He’s telling the truth. It’s not that I don’t like new school … it’s just robotic and limited looking sometimes. If a man tries to turn you four times and you don’t, the man gets mad at you. I can turn like that without the man turning me. I could turn myself, by myself, 5 or 6 times off of one beat. I just get bored because it’s not enough flavor to me. I think Anthony took what he learned and blended the old with the new. Everybody is following behind what him, Maurice and Dre started. Nobody can do it any better than them!

T. Bivens: As “Kilo” on the ChiStepper forum you have made it no secret that you subscribe to the old school style of steppin' and old school ways of conducting contests. Why do you feel this way?

Kiana: Well … when I heard that Pete was going to be taking over the WLSC I felt that with him being from that era of old school ways, I think that now it’s gotten out of control with the VIP tickets and people who haven’t purchased VIP tickets sitting in those seats. I think the judging should be done differently. I didn’t like the fact that he (Pete) didn’t have a stage this year. These people get dressed and they practice and they want to be seen. I think the contest is too long. I hope they fix it next year because I was sleepy and bored. The contests back in the day had more people. They made steppers feel appreciated, the stakes were raised … it made people want to be there. Fresh faces bring more people. That Detroit couple, James and Keesha, brought that funk for me this year.

T. Bivens: Since you know that a lot of women have watched you dance over the years, why have you chosen not to teach steppin'?

Kiana: I have taught steppin' out in Bellwood. Nowadays certain instructors are teaching their way and the students want to gravitate towards those folks. I think women may not want to see me because I haven’t won any contests. If anybody was to come up to me and ask me to teach them something I would have no problem with that. I would not be teaching to put people in the WLSC but I have taught older women because they want to dress nice and come out with their husbands.

T. Bivens: I definitely hope that someone puts together that “old school” contest so that we can see you and Tyk in action. Any closing thoughts that you wish to share?

Kiana: I’ve been dancing almost 20 years. I’ve seen any and everything that you could possibly see on this set. I didn’t learn how to dance to get any credits or stats. I just love to dance. I would like to see the new and old blend to make the atmosphere more pleasant. I think everybody is doing their thing and I applaud that. I hope someone puts an old school contest together so Anthony and I can show people how it was done. I know that he would welcome that challenge himself. I hate that I’ve never been able to perform for the newbies that are out but now I’ll make sure that people will see more of Kiana … you can count on it!

Vote Result

Score: 9.7, Votes: 3