About Ernest Williams

I started partner dancing while stationed in California as a part of the US Army in 1999.  I've dabbled in more than a few dance styles.  I've done Salsa ON1 and ON2, Salsa Rueda, East Coast Swing, American Ballroom and Detroit Ballroom, but my main two dance forms have been Argentine Tango since 2000 and Chicago Style Stepping since 2006.

I'm originally from Philadelphia, but since 1993 my home base has been primarily in Virginia. My family migrated from Philly and New Jersey to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

Since that time I've lived in different places such as Monterey, CA; Honolulu, D.C. Metro area; and Chicago.

My Chicago Style Stepping Career

Before I started stepping I'd been an Argentine Tango instructor since 2002 and that was my only love, but one day while I was living in Virginia in 2006 a tango student invited me to do a demonstration at her birthday party.  

She also invited her Stepping instructor to do a demonstration.  I had never heard of Chicago Style Stepping, but as soon as I saw it, I knew that it would be my new love.

I started taking classes, and after several months I decided to move to Chicago from Virginia in early 2007 to immerse myself in the world of Stepping.

Two and a half years later I moved back to Virginia in 2009 and started teaching stepping in 2010.  I created an organization called Steppers Flow in 2013.  In 2015, after 6 years in Virginia, I left my organization to a trusted student and moved back to Chicago to continue my immersion in the culture of the dance.  

Seven years later I returned to Virginia at the end of 2022.  In total I've spent almost 10 years living and dancing in Chicago. 

I have since regained control of Steppers Flow and launched an online teaching platform SteppersFlow.com. 

I have a unique perspective on Stepping that makes me the perfect person to do this. 

As a dance instructor of multiple dances for more than 20 years I have experience teaching people of all ages, socio-economic and racial backgrounds including many foreigners. 

As a tango instructor I have experience living in South America for 6 months. I've also taught dance in Argentina and Uruguay in a foreign language.  

As a stepper I know what it is like to live, dance and teach in a small steppers community as well as live, dance and teach in Chicago. 

As a result I understand stepping issues as a Chicagoan and as an "Out-of-Towner". I am uniquely positioned to bring a Chicago perspective to new or small stepping communities all around the world, because I understand first hand what Out-of-Towners and foreigners go through in terms of the lack of stepping educational resources and opportunities. 

I aim to bridge that gap.

I have a lot of exciting things planned for SteppersFlow.com beyond instructional videos. I'm excited about the opportunity to expand its reach and create and maintain connections with students across the country and around the world.

I invite you to join me on this journey, because it's going to be something special.