By Evelyn Wall
Columnist

The Hampton Roads Soul Steppers Line Dance Group is a popular and very busy dance group in the Tidewater area.

For the last month and a half, we have been the featured group on a TV program called “Grown Folks Dancing.” Not only are we shown as an individual group performing fancy line dance steps but our name is also included in credits at the end of the program.

This show is filmed about once a month from 8 to 10 p.m. from The Comfort Zone Restaurant and Lounge at 1118 W. Mercury Blvd. in Hampton. It is televised at 12:30 a.m. Sunday mornings on WTVZ-TV Channel 33 with Bob Thomas, a radio announcer from 95.7 FM, serving as announcer.

The last program was filmed May 29 and will be televised at 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Hand and two-step dancing from the old school are included on the show. Thomas said the program will also be shown in Philadelphia and Baltimore, Md.

I have been teased by those who have viewed the program as now being a TV celebrity and as the line dance version of Arthur Murray. I say to them that I love doing what I do and am very thankful to God that I can still move as a retired senior citizen. But the most important thing is that I can still give back to the community or participate in community events.

Our group has about 75 members from ages 35-75 and is based on the fact that you do not have to be young or to have a partner to enjoy attending dancing events. I have noticed at every event we go to that there are more women than men attending.

Members come from cities in the Hampton Roads area. Members from Suffolk are Clarissa McAdoo, Shirley Lee and Mark Wall and me serving as assistant instructors.

Linda Gray from Chesapeake is the main instructor and designed our logo of dancing dress shoes for men members and stiletto high heels for women members printed on a yellow T-shirt. Our casual attire when performing is the T-shirt with black bottoms, and when we perform on the TV or at dress events, we wear black to distinguish ourselves from other groups of people.

We love participating in other events. Our last one was last month at Suffolk’s Rockin’ Relay for Life.

For more information, contact Gray at 484-7801 or the Walls at 539-5507 or go online to www.hrsoulsteppers.com.

I am just overwhelmed with pride and excitement that we are getting more exposure on TV. However, my biggest regret is that we will never now get the chance to perform on the Oprah Winfrey Show. But there’s hope that we can be exposed further in another way.

Evelyn Wall is from Suffolk and is an occasional columnist. She can be reached at evelynlwall@yahoo.com.