Step taught 2009-09-12

Combo 1

• R basic 2x (8)
• R V-step 2x (8)
• R alternate knees (8)
• R repeater (8)

Combo 2*

• R slow basic up, down to tempo (6)
• R double knee (6)
• R single knee (4)
• R low-kick shuffle repeater (8)
• L revolving door (8)

Combo 3

• R pump it out 2x (mambo straddle, mambo exit) (16)
• R repeater (8)
• R split step (8)

Endnote

* Directional variation for Combo 2:

• R slow reverse up, down to tempo, facing south (6)
• R double knee, facing south (6)
• L reverse hop turn (sort of a glide), returning to face north (4)
• R low-kick shuffle repeater (8)
• L revolving door (8)

Kick taught 2009-09-11

Basic combination, to keep returning to

• Bob and weave with hands in pyramid position; add in turning the body; add in punch across body. As we escalate intensity, focus on the pullback retraction.
• Plant feet; 3-and-1 leap plié (pulse down for 3, leap up on 1 while turning to face the back of the room; do an even number so everyone ends up facing front).
• Plant feet; right hand, uppercut, then left; slow, then fast.
• Jumping jacks; double pumps (hop with feet out wide 2x, then in 2x with a huge leap, knees up, to end).

Intervals of these activities

• Boxer’s dance; hit high and low, right arm, then left.
• Football rumble: fast feet, get low. I indicate which way to move.
• Plant feet; weight on left foot; right hip raises up. Turn into a side roundhouse. No arms for this introductory class. Repeat on other leg, with combo 1 and jumping jacks between.
• Right knee, left little kick backwards. Turn into forward kick and back kick. Repeat on other leg, with combo 1 and jumping jacks between.

Cooldown (all moves demonstrated with arms at or below level of heart)

• Step tap with feet; with elbows, side strike, as if going for someone’s nose.
• Squats.
• Lunges.
• Plié to side, drag leg in toward other leg for standing inner thigh, right leg, then left.
• Standing knee pulls for abs, right leg, then left.

Final stretch

Notes

This was the first class with a new batch of PHE students. I didn’t worry about being even on the left and on the right, and there was a lot of repetition. The class ran short because we had some class-related stuff to go over. We did about 30 minutes of cardio, and 15 minutes of cooldown and stretching.

I cued changes when the music started a new 32 count, but I didn’t do a particular number of anything. Because this was their very first class, I only taught a few moves.

2003 choreography found

Today I found some old choreography from a Petra Kolber master Step class. I am having trouble understanding the cryptic notes, which are from a workshop I took in 2003, but I played around with a Step today and managed to suss out, more or less, the meaning of one of the combos. I can’t tell if this is what Petra did, or if this is sort of what Petra did and I am misreading the notes. But the fun is in the 32! It fits the music and reverses, so it must be right.

This breaks the 8-count like whoa. Just move with the music and it will all work out! Enjoy.

Combo 1 (sort of via Petra Kolber)

• R slow V-step up, down to tempo (6)
• R double knee (6)
• L minimambo (3)
• R walk up, rock back; L walk down, rock back (9)*
• L basic or revolving door (8)

Directional variation

• R slow reverse V-step up, down to tempo (turning west to end up facing south) (6)
• R double knee (facing south) (6)
• L minimambo over the top (fast backcross over, facing west) (3)
• R walk up, rock back; L walk down, rock back (9)
• L revolving door (8)

Endnote

* R walk up, rock back; L walk down, rock back (9), broken down.

Beat – Action

1 – R steps up onto board
2 – L steps up onto board
3 – R rocks back onto ground (not a tap; switch the weight)
4 – L stomps back on board
5 – R steps up onto board
6 – L foot steps back onto ground
7 – R foot steps back onto ground
8 – L foot rocks back (not a tap; switch the weight)
9 – R foot steps on ground

Now you can repeat the whole thing on the left.

Directional variations might include taking the first steps up and rocking astride, then exiting; and to mambo forward instead of rocking back.

Step taught 2009-08-31

Combo 1

• R tap toes 4x (8)
• R slow over the top (8)
• R over the top (4)
• R basic (4)
• Repeater

Lunge interval goes here to drive up heart rate before water break. Slow step up, then lunge to tempo, foot tapping down on downbeat.

Combo 2

• R mambo 4x; turn into double stomp march (a.k.a. walk front, walk back) (16)
• R repeater (8)
• L basic (8)

Combo 3

• Repeater 3x
• Basic 2x

Note

I taught a brand-new student. This is the choreography I use to introduce new Steppers to the gamut of possible Step moves: basic (up up, down down); alternating knees (step, knee/hamstring curl/side out, change feet); repeater; marching; and lunging. These are the basic weight changes in Step. Pretty much everything is a speed or directional variation on these basic moves.

2009-05-24 Step

Combo 1

• R slow reverse V-step up (1–4), down to tempo (5,6), facing south (6)
• R double knee, facing south (6)
• L hop turn, to return facing north (4)
• R repeater (8)
• L double, single stomp (8)

Combo 2 (from Gay Gasper)

• R alternate glute squeezes 3x (12)
• L basic (4)
• L straddle split step 2x* (16)

Combo 3

• R mambo 3x (12)
• R pivot (4)
• R repeater (low-kick repeater variation) (8)
• L basic 2x (8)

*Straddle split step: split step is walk up, lunge (tap back) on alternating feet, and walk back down, all while facing front. To straddle the split step, you execute a half turn so you lunge astride the board. When breaking the straddle split step down, the cueing is: “Right foot! Walk up and lunge astride, right left. Exit right. Keep turning, and do it again.”

2009-08-22 Easy Step

Combo 1

• R V-step 4x (16)
• R alternate knees, one on, one off (8)
• R repeater (8)

Combo 2

• R pump it out (mambo straddle, mambo exit) 2x (8)
• R glide (4)
• L walk or spin halfway around (4)
• L alternate kicks (4)

Combo 3

• R step kick walk back, shuffle/triple step/cha-cha-cha, facing west the whole time (8)
• R step knee straddle (4)
• L step knee straddle (4)
• R step knee exit (4)
• L basic (4)

Basic Step taught 2008-11

Block 1

• R basic 2x (8)
• R revolving door (8)
• R alternate knees (8)
• R repeater (8)

Block 2

• R walk the plank 3x (24)
• R repeater (8)

Block 3 (64 count)

• R shuffle turnstep 4x (16)
• R alternate knees, one on, one off, 2x (16)
• R double, single stomp 2x (16)
• R repeater (8)
• L basic 2x (8)

Block 4

• R shuffle turnstep 4x (16)
• R walk it up and lunge astride, single, double exit (exit facing north) (8)
• L basic or revolving door (8)

Block 5

• R alternate knees 3x (12)
• L basic (4)
• L split step 2x (8) (take astride as a directional variation, so you go in a circle around the board)

Note

I’m teaching the same basic choreography over and over to a variety of brand-new people. I keep having what are basically introductory classes. I have taught variations on these blocks for the past few weeks, mixing them up, tossing in some extra directional variations, etc.

Intermediate step taught 2008-09-04

Block 1 (directional variation of choreography by GL)

• R rocking horse (8)
• L basic (4)
• LR tap toes, straddling it over and exiting to face south (4)
• L over the top (4)
• L step tap (4)
• R rocking horse (8)

Block 2 (Patrick Goudeau, Step Appeal)

• R mini-mambo/stomp corners, taking it wide (6)
• R double knee (4)
• L over the top, turn (4)
• L pause over, don’t turn (continue facing west), into R pivot (8)*
• R reverse skate† (8)

Block 3 (modified from Patrick Goudeau, Step Appeal)

• R kick rock straddle turn (8)‡
• L kick rock straddle turn (8)
• R wide mambo off the side to exit (4)
• R knee back (4)
• L revolving door (8)

Notes

* Pause over, pivot (8): The hard part about this move is not automatically turning your body, so I cue it to foreground this. PG breaks this down as an over the top, no turn, tap the inside foot, and then mambo with the inside foot (8 counts for that whole move). Then he gets rid of the tap by pausing the over the top, with the inside foot going right into a mambo.

The eight counts of the final move are as follows, on the right lead:

1-2: Facing west, R foot on board on 1 and holding it there during 2, for the pause over the top.
3-4: Complete the over the top (L up on 3, step off R on 4).
5-8: Mambo or pivot, inside (L) leg leading.

† Reverse skate (8): A skate is 3 alternating hamstring curls on top of the board, then exiting to switch feet. To reverse the skate, step up with your back to the front of the room to perform the move; the feet are exactly the same. In this combo, exit to face north again, but you can also exit facing south as a variation.

‡ Kick rock straddle turn (8): This move is not intuitive and is hard to break down. I taught 4 step kick straddles to begin, because it gets you with the same body orientation and in the same place so you can catch up with the last 16. With this move, be sure to rock your body weight back—it’s not a tap but a rock.

The 8-count breakdown is as follows for performing this move on the right lead. You will end straddling, ready to repeat the move on the left:

1: Facing west, step R on board.
2: L kick.
3: L step back behind R foot, staying on board.
4: R rock backward onto floor, lifting L foot slightly but hovering it over the board.
5: L step on board.
6: R step on board.
7: Exit L into a straddle.
8: Exit R to complete the straddle.

To turn this move, execute a half reverse during 5-6, so you face the other direction when you complete the straddle.

Step taught 2008-06-20

Block 1

• R slow step up and down (8)
• R basic 2× (8)
• R alternating knees 2× (8)
• R repeater (8)

Block 2

• R alternating glute squeeze 3× (12)
• L basic (4)
• L double stomp, single stomp 2× (16)

Block 3

• R V-step 2× (8)
• R hamstring curl (4)
• L wide mambo, knee back (8)
• R hamstring curl (4)
• L basic 2× (8)

Block 4 (cross-phrased)

• R stomp double-L (10)
• R walk up and lunge RL, single single double exit (20)
• R alternating knees 3×, last one off (12)

Block 5

• R 7-knee repeater (16)
• L revolving door (8)
• L pony (8)

Note

I made up directional variations for the first three blocks, but I didn’t end up teaching them, so I’m not providing them here. I taught the first three blocks to slow music to an elderly population.

Easy Step taught 2008-05-23

Combo 1

• RL tap toes 4x (8)
• R basic 2x (8)
• R alternate knees (8)
• R repeater (8)

Combo 2

• R mambo shuffle 2x (8)
• R alternate knees (8)
• R double stomp on board, march 4 (8)
• R repeater (8)

Combo 3

• R hamstring curls 2x (8)
• R knee off board (4)
• L basic (4)
• L split step 2x (16)

Note

Combinations 2 and 3 are the same as the Gay Gasper–based choreography here except without directional variations. I tried, in combination 3, altering the basic into an over the top, to repeat on the other side but facing the back of the room. We did it three or four times and they got it, but I let it drop after that.