Stomp the Yard (2007)

This film is the story of DJ, who lives in a rough part of Los Angeles and hangs out with a gang (including his younger brother) whose primary goal in life (besides survival) is to win the money pot in the local weekly dance contest—called steppin’ or stompin’ depending on what part of the country you are in. A rival gang routinely wins and when DJ’s group beats them, they follow them home and jump them for the money. In the fray, DJ’s younger brother is shot and killed, and a grieving and guilty DJ is sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Georgia so that he can get out of the hood and make a fresh start. DJ enrolls at Truth University, the alma mater of many of the country’s great African American icons.

One day as he is crossing the campus, DJ is attracted to a crowd watching a stepping challenge between two fraternities and he is introduced to an activity called “stomping the yard.” Since this is very close to the performance athletics that he did with his gang back home, DJ attends some local clubs where the frat brothers and sorority sisters show off their moves—and he cannot help but get out on the floor and prove his skills. The remainder of the movie deals with his recruitment and choice of a fraternity and preparation for the annual stepping competition that has been won by a rival frat house for eight years running. DJ also falls in love with and woos the girlfriend of a rival brother, and the subplot follows the ups and downs of their relationship.

I believe that Stomp the Yard could be classified as an entertaining documentary (using fictional characters and settings) that educates about a culture that exists in universities where the predominant population is African American. The first thing I did upon arriving home after the screening was to Google “step competitions” and find out more about the popularity of these contests. Although such events are huge in the South, I was surprised to learn that there are competitions all over the country and that the winners of these contests are held in very high esteem, considered great athletes in their own right.

Stepping began with the white fraternities as singing competitions as far back as the 1920s and 1930s. It was the black male students who brought in the element of dance, and in the 1970s the women of the sororities joined in and developed their own teams. The competitions are now filled with elaborate staging effects, themes, and costumes. Dancers jealously guard their routines and enjoy having their names given to creative and innovative steps and aerial moves.

Enough for history… this film is made with great respect and love for the tradition and art of this mode of physical expression. The athletics are incredible and the entire cast is so wonderfully muscled and “buff” that the women in the audience couldn’t help but take notice. There are also no big names to overshadow the cast and require dancing doubles. There are stunt performers involved, but the direction and editing are so good that you cannot tell when they are used. Meagan Good as April and Darrin Dewitt Henson as Grant particularly stand out in their roles, but in the entire cast, there is no one who proves to be a poor or unbelievable actor. The direction and camera work of Sylvain White is so deft that many times I found myself holding my breath as I felt pulled into the movie as if I were the one flying around and moving my feet. The soundtrack is also amazing.

The content of Stomp the Yard is pretty predictable and the moral we are to take away is pretty blatant. DJ learns the hard way that there is no “I” in team and that you cannot live someone else’s life—only your own. In the end, he gets the girl and his fraternity wins the championship, but he also becomes a new and changed DJ who will be a responsible member of society instead of a gang kid dead before he has the chance to live.