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Alissa To’omata, program manager for the Crunch Fitness group, says members at her gyms in Sydney and Melbourne asked for Step.
“Australia lost a lot of instructors after Step’s peak in the 1990s and at one point it dropped out, but it’s something people have been asking for,” she says.
“We brought it back with new teachers to bring it back to life, and it is now popular with many younger members as well.”
“Our top classes are all rhythmic, dancing – Zumba, Just Dance, Step. It’s all about escaping the workout and enjoying it without thinking about how hard it is, but these courses are also great for balance, cardio, coordination, and just to lose your inhibitions and express yourself.
Elle Macpherson shot workout tapes for The Body in 1995.Recognition:Polygram video
“We learned that people who feel good about who they are in their own skin will have more fun. In any fitness program we do, the most important thing is that people come here initially to lose weight, but in the process they discover that they can get lost in dance routines and connect with other members. “
Dancer Lucy Carr has been teaching Zumba in Melbourne for 10 years and has been dancing for 17 years. She recently started taking Born to Boogie classes, mostly for mothers who are all tuned to ’90s music.
“It’s the nostalgia,” says Carr. “It takes you back to a time in your life that you remember well. I have a strong group of people who have aged in their forties and fifties and then there are younger people who love this music and who all wear the clothes too … This era just never gets old. “
In their classes, students dance to tracks from Destiny’s Child, Spice Girls, and Madonna, and Carr says they often want to fully replicate the choreography of the original music videos.
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In their Born to Boogie program, classes last 13 weeks and end with a gala concert of costumes held at the Chasers on Chapel Street in Prahran. This is where all the fun for the participants often began in the 1990s.
“That’s why it was blown up – the movement from dance to fitness. It’s no longer about saying, “I never dance and I can’t dance.” It’s so much more accessible now and dance is really happiness. We have a laugh and fun and it puts everyone in a good mood. “
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