Like their leader, many haven’t stopped smiling and laughing since the class began. For a dance/aerobics class, the group’s choreography looks amazing. Still, the instructor isn’t satisfied. “Y’all didn’t get that easy step?” she laughs, presumably referring to the aforementioned “grapevine.” “We’ll do it one more time.” If hip-hop and funk aren’t your thing, don’t worry: Aerobics enthusiasts today have more choices than a couch potato with a satellite dish. You can still sign up for a traditional step, low-impact or high-impact/low-impact class, but if you want to learn some self-defense while you sweat, you can check out a cardio kickboxing class.

The original lyrics are deconstructed and reassembled at will by a rapper riding shotgun on the groove. Fitness is a good thing to have in your victoriajohnsonpowerstepworkout life. The instructor--a striking woman dressed in an oversized black T-shirt and baggy black sweatpants, with a shock of braids tied up overhead--glides effortlessly to the right in an intricate sequence of hip-hop dance steps. The 30-odd students behind her mimic each move to a T. “Turn it, turn it!” she yells, and everyone reverses field. “Grapevine! Do it!” Only by screaming into a handheld mike can she momentarily raise her voice above the music. “Grapevine, grapevine! One more, one more! Five, six, seven . . . Whe-e-e-e-e-e-e-w! All right!” After 10 minutes of this, the instructor stops the tape. By now her students are sweating rivers and sucking wind, but they appear to be having the time of their life.

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