Keeping In Step: The Era Footwork Collective Brings Chicago Footwork Back To Lollapalooza
Interview and photos by Dennis M. Kelly
The Chicago Made Showcase, presented by the Department Of Cultural Affairs (DCASE), returned to Lollapalooza for the fourth year in a row, highlighting some of the hottest local talent around.
Originally started in 2021 as Music In The Key Of Chicago, it quickly evolved to become the Chicago Made Showcase and has been presented on the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage since last year.
Among the many bright stars that were shining in the showcase this year was The Era Footwork Collective. As their name implies, they are a dance crew traveling the world, bringing their Chicago-born footwork steps to young people in places like Japan and Peru.
But more than that, they craft their own music and videos, and just released their “Locked In” EP on July 28th. This 5-song EP highlights some of the most uniquely blended rap and hip hop and includes guests, Brittany Carter, Frsh Waters, and femdot.
On top of that, the Era Footwork Collective is also heavily involved in community and youth programs around the South and West sides of the city, helping those in need.
Their mission, as stated on their website, is:
“The Era Footwork Collective is a multidisciplinary artist collaborative representing the dance, music, film, graphic, and fashion design culture known as Chicago Footwork. We find freedom, community, and agency through footwork, learned from artists and mentors who gave rise to the style. Our motto, Footwork Saves Lives, speaks to the power of our practice and our dedication to cultivating future generations of footworkers. The Era serves as culture bearers, featuring some of the foremost artists dedicated to preserving the craft, while continuing to evolve and grow the culture through mentorship, education, performance, raves, and battles.”
We caught up with them briefly to ask a few questions and get up to speed with these gifted individuals.
Joining me on the interview were Jamal “Litebulb” Oliver, Crystal “Queen Crystal” James, Brandon “Chief Manny” Calhoun, Jemal “P-Top” De la Cruz, and Sterling “Steelo” Lofton.
Their two-song set blew me away, from their choreography, to their footwork, and overall performance, you can easily see why they were part of the showcase.
While everyone’s footwork moves were incredibly impressive, Queen Crystal possessed a speed and technical precision that (sorry guys), excelled the rest of the collective, drawing cheers from the crowd while watching in awe.
When asked how it was for them to be performing at Lollapalooza, Litebulb responded, “We’re excited to be here to perform and appreciate the opportunity.”
As mentioned previously, their latest EP, “Locked In,” was released recently and opens with the track, “Fell Off In,” which was produced by Jana Rush and DJ Spinn.
“The video came from a fun place. We were doing a seven-day lock-in in the studio, and Jana came through and dropped us all off. It kind of turned into this fun jazz-filled, kinda footworking vibe, and it just came together,” Litebulb said.
Chief Manny added, “The inspiration for the song itself comes from, like footwork music having dance battle or tracks names said in the song, so people would come to battles and they name would be in tracks, so for us it was like, ‘how do we embody that, but take it to another level with saying our identity on the track as dancers but really just following a tradition of battle dancers that have they names on the track.’ So like, the chorus is like, ‘Chief got the cannon on him. Yeah, you know he’s shootin’ s**t.'”
Having witnessed the birth of rap and hip hop in my lifetime, I really respect their poetic and lyrical approach to this track in particular. Though repetitive, it continually builds into deeper contexts and meanings that lend themselves to the footwork dances, and for me, it is a fresh take on the rap and hip hop genre.
“It’s definitely a pleasure to hear that you enjoyed that track,” Steelo said, “even with the repetitiveness of the music. I feel like footworking has always been there, but like with us telling certain stories or saying certain things over tracks is expanding our audiences. It’s still that same repetitive thing, but like you said, it has more meaning in how we’re announcing ourselves in the track.
“It gives you part of our characteristics on how we carry ourselves in the circle as well,” P-Top added. “That would be our demeanor, in battle mode or anywhere we go, being creative.”
Steelo summed everything up perfectly by saying, “(Era) Footwork is not just dance, not just only music, it’s a multitude of things that people can enjoy and come love with our different outlets. So, with us being a collective, we want to represent Chicago, not only footwork, but dance music and fashion. We just so happen to do everything through the lens of footwork, but if we notice other artists that we can blend with or collab with or welcome into our world of footwork, to do what they do.”
The time limitations while on site at Lollapalooza did not allow me nearly enough time as I’d hoped. But hopefully, we’ll be able to catch up with them again soon.
To find out more about The Era Footwork Collective, please visit https://www.theerafootworkcollective.com/
Video:
Audio:
Links:
The Era Footwork Collective:
Official: https://www.theerafootworkcollective.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theerafootwork/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theerafootwork
Lollapalooza:
Official: http://www.lollapalooza.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lollapalooza
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lollapalooza
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lollapalooza/
