Step Challenge By The Sea

Unknown
Year Released: 1998

Categories: Step Aerobics


This is a fun video! Two instructors, Michael Papamichael and Georgia Janos, take you through a total of 8 combinations of fairly complex stepping. There are also several background exercisers. The step portion is a full hour long. I really like the way the combos are built. Michael and Georgia take turns teaching combinations. They first show the basic moves, and then they show more complex variations. They make the steps fairly easy to learn. They teach enough to "get" the moves down, but I didn't feel that it was overly repetitive. After they teach all of the combinations, you put it all together twice. For me, there wasn't too much of "taking it from the top." Regarding the intensity level, I would call it intermediate to advanced since you are stepping for a full hour.

The moves are mostly low-impact, with a few hops and jumps. As far as the choreography goes, I would call it fairly complex but not dancy. Collage rates it as moderate, but there are enough pivots and turns to make it comparable to the choreography of Cathe Friedrich's Step Heat or Step Jam.

The music is by Music Flex--it's good, upbeat club music. It is sometimes difficult to hear above the cuing. The set is a wooden patio overlooking a Florida beach. I've always wondered how people can be so energetic stepping in all that heat and humidity! They do say at the beginning of the video that it's springtime, though!

I really enjoyed doing this video, but there is one thing worth mentioning. If you are a hater of whooping, "hup, hup, hup" noises, "owwwww!", and whistling, this video may drive you nuts. It kind of irked me when I first previewed it. I didn't notice it as much when I was doing the video, though; I was able to tune it out. I wonder if they were overly "huppy" because they were nervous. The tape reminded me of a cross between a CIA tape and a Great Moves tape. It comes in a hard plastic case, and includes choreography notes. You can definitely tell it is not a high budget production, but it's fun to do and there are some really fun moves! I recommend this tape to high intermediate and advanced steppers who like choreography and can deal with a LOT of extraneous vocalization!

Instructor Comments:
Both instructors are upbeat and seem to be enjoying themselves. The cuing is good--I was able to follow the tape pretty well the first time through. I agree that Michael's cuing is a bit better than Georgia's--hers was occasionally a little late. When I first previewed this tape, I did notice that there is *a lot* of whooping, "HUP," "Owwww," and whistling. Take note, if this bothers you, you may not like this tape much. If you are able to tune it out, it should be fine.

Kristin Aziz

02/06/1999