Last night's 39 & Under Prelims at Club D'Elegance were awesome. The place was packed to capacity and felt like the old "3G's." A number of great dancers graced the floor, and Pete Frazier cranked up the heat with his MCing skills. DJ Raphael agreed to spin before heading down to his hole-in-the-wall hotspot "Some Place Else" and the crowd was in for an awesome show. DJ Steve Miggedy Maestro was in the building, and steppers L. C. Henderson, Donnie Davis, Darren, Royce, James, were among the many heavy hitters who showed up and got down.

Eric Gordon and "Salsa" Tina Melendrez kicked off the contest sporting royal blue and black. They danced in cruise control ... very smooth and elegant with a few turns and a lot of footwork. Prelims time is dangerous because you want to give the people enough to advance to the finals, but you also want to save some for the big event. Underperforming however, has gotten a few people sent home, but I think that Eric and Tina will be safe.

Ernie "Baby" and Tamika came to the stage sporting red and black. If I'm not mistaken, Ernie said that it was his first competition in about 11 years. Ernie seemed a little nervous. I dance with Earnie at the 50 all the time, sometimes sharing a trio, and he's usually smiling and looking around. Last night however, this brother had his game face on. He looked straight ahead at his partner with an intense glare.

Swan & Sunshine came to the floor dressed very elegant and classy. They wore a nice yellow ensemble, reminicist of the prelim at Orbies. It is so nice to see the contestants and promoters honor the contest's tradition by dressing up for the prelims. This is a part of Steppin' tradition that we should definitely keep around. As for Swan and Sunshine's dancing, they seemed to bring the energy up a notch, although they kept the dance smooth.

G. Porgie and Tanya "Tee Tee" Nash felt like an odd combination at first. Ken P. leaned over and said, "I don't know if I've ever seen these two dance together at all before." I certainly agreed. I've never watched G. Porgie and Tee Tee dance together, but they did surprisingly well. G. Porgie sported a argyle sweater vest (which would have made me pass out as hot as it was in that joint), and Tee Tee wore a sexy white dress that was shorter on one side. G. Porgie got up and danced in his own unique style. Tee Tee, smiling from ear to ear, mimicked him from the other side of the dance floor.

The last couple to hit the floor was "Westside" Mike and Alexis. Pete Frazier says, "Westside" Mike is serious when he hits the floor. His attitude is like Tyk Myn, Dre, Smoke ... come on wit' it." Mike looked over at Pete as to acknowledge that what he was saying was true. We all looked at Tyk and Smoke, both of whom started laughing, as if to say ... "We definitely ain't bagging down." Well, in typical Mike fashion, he showed all the way out. I studied him to see if he got off beat (since this a common argument of Mike). He never once was off beat and Alexis, who gets never gets credits for her skills, never missed a beat either. At one point, Mike put his hand on his chin and waved at the judges. Steppin' legend Darlinda Russell (one of the judges) smiled in approval of Mike's showmanship. While Mike is dancing, I look over at Tyk Myn. Tyk Myn is looking intensely at Mike with a "I would have done that move a little different type of look."

At the end, the crowd roared in approval for Mike. As for the rivaly, these guys really respect each other and they motivate one another to step their game's up. I had a blast kicking with Yahir, DramaFree, and Clayton Starks (Strut Shoe Store Owner). I met Terry (for the 2nd time) and Karen and couple young ladies with the same name, Michelle Renee. I also met Macaroni's old steppin' partner and Haywood's old walking partner, Angie. Last but not least, a young lady named Katrina Taylor said she reads ChiStepper all the time, so I want to give a little of that love back to you.

Big ups to the Gents, Mike, Pete, Fish, and Moe were all in the house along with sweethearts Linda Frazier and "Q".

Vote Result

Score: 10.0, Votes: 1