For 37 years, Brooklyn Steppers has been building NYC's cultural institution for marching arts — a living pathway from a child's first drumbeat through HBCU scholarships and the professional stage. Help us keep the tradition, and the kids who carry it, moving forward.
In New York City, a kid can fall in love with drumline in the fifth grade and lose access to it by the sixth — because their middle school doesn't have a program. It happens again in high school. And again after graduation.
Without a cultural institution holding the line across transitions, the tradition fades and the kids drift. That's the problem we were built to solve.
A student's access to marching arts shouldn't depend on which school they were assigned. But in NYC right now, it does.
HBCU show-style and drum corps marching arts are cultural heritage. Without an institution investing in them, they don't survive — they get watered down.
Most youth programs end at 18. The kids need a path that reaches scholarship, career, and stage — not one that drops them off.
We're the only organization in New York City sustaining both the HBCU show-style and drum corps marching arts traditions — across schools, communities, and professional spaces at the same time.
Thirty-seven years. Alumni on Broadway. A formal relationship with the NYCPS Arts Office. A home base in Brooklyn every Saturday. A Pro Line that plays Carnegie Hall. We've built the pathway that doesn't break.
Every BK Steppers student follows a documented, five-stage cultural institution pathway. A kid can walk in at five and walk out into a career. Nothing about that is accidental — it's the model.
K–12 entry through an in-school residency at one of 8 NYC public school sites.
Community home at PS 139 every Saturday, open enrollment, ages 5–24.
Perform at the Next Wave Drumline Festival and Battle of the Drumlines.
HBCU marching band scholarships, conservatories, and PWI programs.
BK Steppers Pro Line. Broadway. Disney. Music education. Teaching artists.
BK Steppers works across two branches united by one cultural tradition. Each serves a different population. Each is funded by different sources. Together they prove that marching percussion is both an educational vehicle and a community healing tool.
The K–12 pipeline. NYCPS school residencies, the Saturday Program at PS 139, Next Wave Drumline Festival, Battle of the Drumlines, and the BK Steppers Pro Line — a complete institution pathway from kindergarten to professional stage.
See the pathway →The X-Factor Drumline in Mount Vernon, NY — violence prevention and trauma-informed wellness for 60 young people ages 10–21, in partnership with the Guidance Center of Westchester. Funded through Project RISE and the Westchester Community Foundation.
Partner with us →Our pathway isn't a promise. It's a record.
Whether you're a family looking for the Saturday Program, a school principal, a foundation, or an individual who simply believes the tradition should live — there's a door for you.
Open enrollment for students ages 5–24, every Saturday at PS 139 in Brooklyn. No audition required. This is where the pathway begins.
Enroll your student →School residencies, educator PD, masterclasses, and NYCPS-aligned program support. We work with public schools, independent schools, and community partners.
Start a conversation →Every gift sustains the pathway a student is walking right now. Foundation partners, individual donors, and the capital campaign all move the mission forward.
Make a gift →After 37 years without a permanent home, BK Steppers is raising to acquire a Brooklyn facility — a place to anchor the Saturday Program, house the Pro Line, and serve as the cultural institution's home for the next generation.
Acquisition target: $900,000–$1.5 million
Support the Capital Campaign →Every day, a place for the tradition to live — and the kids to walk in.