Join us June 2, 2026, at the iconic Howard Theatre for Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026.

On Tuesday, June 2, the iconic Howard Theatre will come alive with performances by Step Afrika!’s extraordinary artists, music from the dynamic DJ Ty Alexander, and a vibrant gathering of supporters, leaders, and friends of the Company. Hosted by award-winning journalist and beloved WUSA9 anchor Lesli Foster, this will be an unforgettable evening celebrating culture, community, and the rhythm of stepping.

This year’s Gala supports Step Afrika!’s newest theatrical production, ‘The Fruits of Our Labor’, and the Company’s year-round arts education programs across Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Expect an electric night of performance, celebration, and community—all in support of the world’s leading authority on the art form of stepping.

LOCATION: Howard Theatre

SCHEDULE: Tuesday, June 2, 2026

6:00 pm: Cocktail Reception
7:00 pm: Seated Dinner & Performance Program
9:00 pm: Dessert & Dancing

For remaining sponsorship opportunities, please contact Step Afrika!’s Executive Director, Lamar Lovelace, at llovelace@stepafrika.org.

A LOOK INTO THE VIP GALA AT HOWARD THEATRE:

 

For remaining sponsorship opportunities, please contact Step Afrika!’s Executive Director, Lamar Lovelace, at llovelace@stepafrika.org.

VIP Gala 2026 Sponsorship Levels 

Executive Producer, $25,000.00

The Executive Producer sponsorship package includes 20 tickets to Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026, 8 tickets to the opening night of Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show at Arena Stage, a commemorative 2-page ad in the VIP Gala program, and recognition on all the Gala’s event signage, projections, promotional materials, and invitations. 

Producer, $10,000.00

The Producer sponsorship package includes 10 tickets to Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026, 6 tickets to the opening night of Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show at Arena Stage, a commemorative 1-page ad in the VIP Gala program, and recognition on all the Gala’s event signage, projections, promotional materials, and invitations. 

Director, $5,000.00

The Director sponsorship package includes 6 tickets to Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026, 4 tickets to the opening night of Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show at Arena Stage, a commemorative half-page ad in the VIP Gala program, and recognition on all the Gala’s event signage, projections, promotional materials, and invitations.  

Headliner, $3,000.00

The Headliner sponsorship package includes 4 tickets to Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026, 2 tickets to the opening night of Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show at Arena Stage, special mention in the VIP Gala program, and recognition on all the Gala’s event signage, projections, promotional materials, and invitations.  

Performer, $1,000.00

The Performer sponsorship package includes 2 tickets to Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026 and a special mention in the VIP Gala program. 

VIP Gala 2026 Sponsors 

Executive Producer

Amazon
Bank of America
Ann Belkov
CoStar Group
DC Housing Finance Agency
Reg Brown & Tiffeny Sanchez

Producer

John W. Hill
International Association of Blacks in Dance
Pepco
Washington Gas

Director

Angel Brunner
Maia Hunt Estes
English Hudson Consulting
The Menkiti Group & Keller Williams Properties
C. Brian Williams

Headliner

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Coca-Cola
Dyonicia “Dy” Brown
Christopher Montgomery
Troy Patterson
Natasha Watkins

Performer

Lamont Akins
Tiane Doman
Rolanda & Clarke Fleming
Kym Taylor
Melanie Trottman

For remaining sponsorship opportunities, please contact Step Afrika!’s Executive Director, Lamar Lovelace, at llovelace@stepafrika.org.

Special Guests

We are honored to welcome award-winning journalist and beloved WUSA9 anchor Lesli Foster as host of Step Afrika!’s VIP Gala 2026. A trusted voice in the Washington, DC community, Lesli has spent more than two decades sharing stories that inform, inspire, and create meaningful impact. To close out an unforgettable evening of celebration and performance, DJ Ty Alexander will lead our exhilarating dance party, bringing her signature warmth, style, and infectious energy center stage.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

LESLI FOSTER is an award-winning journalist and mainstay of Washington news as a weeknight anchor for WUSA9 evening broadcasts Monday through Friday. She is also part of WUSA9’s Special Assignment Unit, leading our “Impact” coverage that aims to tackle community issues. Lesli joined the station in 2001 and has covered the major events of our times across the area.

Known for her warmth and ability to share impactful stories that have an effect on our wider community, she thrives on work that touches everyday living. While her work has allowed her to interview many local, national, and international luminaries, she most enjoys talking with ordinary people who use their lives to do extraordinary things.

Her career work has been recognized with Emmy, Edward R. Murrow and Associated Press Awards. Lesli received an Emmy Award for Best News Anchor in the Washington, DC market in 2012 and has been nominated for Best Anchor for three consecutive years since 2010. Lesli also earned two more Emmys for reporting on a series on the 40th Anniversary of the March on Washington and Jeep Gas Tank Fires. All totaled, she has been nominated for nine Emmy Awards. Lesli also received two Edward R. Murrow Awards for stories on the case that helped to coin the term “carjacking” about the case of Dr. Pamela Basu, and Stray Voltage: A Silent Danger. She also won three Associated Press Awards for a series on Jeep Gas Tank Fires, a series on HIV/AIDS and the “Down Low,” and the social impact of Olympic Gymnast Gabby Douglas.

She was a featured journalist in the book, Women Journalists at Ground Zero, by Judith Sylvester and Suzanne Huffman, which documents the personal experiences of 24 women journalists who covered September 11th.

Prior to joining WUSA9, Lesli reported for WBAL-TV in Baltimore, where Baltimore’s City Paper named her Best TV News Personality. Her career began in her native Michigan, where she was a weekend anchor and reporter for WEYI-TV, an NBC affiliate outside of Flint, Michigan.

Lesli graduated from Howard University and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She gives her energy to many causes throughout the metropolitan Washington, DC region, and in 2012, Lesli started an event called “Girlfriends Give Back,” which helps raise funds for a different small, but impactful charity from the area each year.

Journalism, she says, is her life’s work, and feeds her drive to make a difference in the lives of people. In her personal time, Lesli enjoys family life as a wife and mom with her husband and daughter.

DJ TY ALEXANDER is a bestselling author, speaker, podcaster, wellness blogger and DJ who teaches women how to choose gratitude over grief. In her writings and teachings, she blends radically honest stories with actionable “aha” lessons. In 2010, she created the wildly popular blog Gorgeous In Grey. Since then she has become a leading authority in lifestyle, beauty, and wellness-related content. She has been featured in notable media outlets such as Well + Good, Redbook, RealSimple, CNN, O Magazine, ESSENCE; and was a 2016 BlogHer Voices of the Year nominee. Ty has also been a digital content partner to major brands such as Dove, Anthropologie, Cadillac, Estee Lauder, State Farm, Amtrak, and ULTA Beauty.

In 2016, Ty fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a published author. Hailed as a must-read for women in search of guidance on how to make sense of their own grieving process, her debut book, “Things I Wish I Knew Before My Mom Died“, is available in bookstores everywhere.

Her first book drives home a resounding message. Women of color need a brave space to discuss their mental wellness without judgment or shame. Ty’s latest project, Self Care IRL, is a love letter to those women. This social wellness community was designed to help women cultivate life-shifting healing experiences.

“Self Care IRL: Podcast” explores strategies and ideas for becoming your best self through active healing. As the host of the podcast, Ty takes listeners on a new journey to love shamelessly beyond the guilt, the baggage, and the insecurities that life plagues us with.

While the accolades are plenty at this stage in her career, Ty continually strives for greatness in all she does. From her roles as author, influencer, to strategist, she is driven by her desire to be the very best version of herself and hopes to inspire women all over the world to do the same.