Stepping is an essential part of HBCU and Black culture. The effortless blend of precision, talent and teamwork is a spectacular showcase of HBCU tradition. It’s not a proper HBCU Homecoming until step crews battle it out and showcase their art. To that end, we’re examining some of Hollywood’s best representations of stepping.

‘A Different World’

You know we’re starting with the classic comedy’s Season 2 episode “A Stepping Stone.” Gilbert Hall is competing during homecoming, but Freddie has two left feet and can’t pick up the routing, frustrating Whitley, who’s ready to kick her off the team. After an all night session, Freddie finally learns the steps, Gilbert dominates the competition and the mainstream was introduced to stepping.

‘School Daze’

Spike Lee’s exploration of Blackness on the campus of an HBCU features a particularly vicious step show where the insults fly faster than the footwork. Whet the veteran director gives us here is a look at the showmanship and stagecraft involved in some crews’ routines. There’s not one way to put on a step show..

What makes this such a classic episode is that it eases unfamiliar viewers into the basics of stepping. They’re doing a watered down version of what actual crews were probably doing at the time. Plus, the shade they’re throwing at their rivals shows how it’s about more than just the dancing. It’s also very ‘90s, which offers some fun nostalgia.

‘Stomp the Yard’

In the early 2000s there was an endless stream of dance battle movies. It’s no surprise that after mixing ballet and hip-hop in multiple films, Hollywood eventually tackled stepping in “Stomp the Yard.” While the story follows a predictable “new kid in town bumps heads with the best crew” format, the dance scenes are really well done. It also does a good job of showcasing how each crew uses its routines to showcase its unique personality. To the untrained eye, these routines may look the same, but they’re all very different and express some special about each team.

‘HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé’

For her now legendary headlining set at 2018 Coachella, Bey wanted to celebrate HBCU Homecoming. In a cultural moment that will never be duplicated, she brought it all to the stage, including a marching band, a fraternity line and stepping. It was the biggest star in the world showing off her unapologetic Blackness. Check out how hard she hits those steps, she’s all in and really wants to get it right.

Luckily for everyone, she filmed it all for a Netflix special, so we can revel in all this greatness over and over.

These are just a few examples of how Hollywood has represented stepping to the world. Obviously, if you want to see the real thing, the internet is full of routines from various fraternities, sororities and organizations.