Body Step 77

Normally, once a filming class is over, everyone puts any equipment away that they've used and then the other members flock to take their spots on the floor, and they then subsequently set up any equipment that they need to set up.

Generally, Les Mills is clever and don't set up classes that need equipment right after each other. For example, Pump and Step are rarely scheduled right after each other since the conflict of people putting away their steps with people trying to grab their steps gets a bit ridiculous.

This is why I was very surprised when I saw the GFX schedule that Pump and Step were directly after each other - Pump being the first filming, and Step being the second for the day. I figured that GFX would be more ridiculous than normal, so I was a bit puzzled as to why the classes would be scheduled this way.

Though when Mid and Carla started ushering everyone out of the studio once Pump was over, it made sense to me. They didn't want the participants setting up the Step gear, they wanted the Les Mills GFX Crew to set it up, and in order to do so, they wanted everyone to get out of the room.

I was waiting for the bottleneck of people to clear at the stairs to exit the studio before joining the line to get out, when Mid turned to me and said, "Hey sorry guys we're gonna need you to...", and she stopped herself when she saw it was myself, Tina and Rosita standing around. She then said, "Oh... you're members... you can just stay there."

Sweet!

I wasn't going to be participating in the Step filming, so it seemed a bit ridiculous for me to leave and reenter the room when I wasn't going to be using up a Step, but hah, I probably should've been made to leave like everybody else.

It was a good idea to get everyone to vacate the room though - we were asked to put away our Pump plates and bars, but to leave the Steps behind. Normally after a filming class, putting the steps away often leaves many people with bumps on the head with all of the pushing and shoving to put them away. It's probably the only glitch when it comes to filmings, unfortunately - people being very aggressive with their spaces on the floor and with equipment when the classes themselves are not in progress. And this even goes for non-equipment classes like Combat, Jam and Attack. Balance is the only constant exception, even Vive has had its problems!

There were five presenters this time around - Mark Nu'u, Craig, Sarah Robinson, Lisa Osborne, and an international presenter; a guy with long-ish brown hair... his name escapes me right now, is there anyone currently reading who'd be able to help me out with a name?

The boys were wearing black and grey, and the girls were wearing pink sleeveless tops with black shorts (although Sarah Robinson may have been wearing a skort, I couldn't tell from down the back), and Lisa Osborne was wearing a pink cap.

The reason why they were in pink?

Body Step 77 is a commemorative release, dedicated to all those who currently have, and those who we have lost to breast cancer. This theme ran throughout the class, and for one of the tracks there is a guest presenter who is a breast cancer survivor who comes on stage. The particular song they selected for the guest presenter to be onstage for is very fitting, and I can't tell you how proud I felt standing there watching that track being filmed. The guest presenter used to be a regular feature at Les Mills New Lynn - she was an instructor for several classes and was also a membership consultant; she slowly disappeared like a lot of people do from time to time, though I honestly had no idea that she was battling breast cancer. I've always thought she was awesome, and seeing her on stage with the Step presenters today only confirmed that awesomeness.

I must say, there is one track in particular that had me going "Oh you CANNOT BE SERIOUS?!", because of the similarity it had to a previous Jam release. Any of you who are both Step and Jam instructors will know EXACTLY which track I am referring to when you see the release. Not only is the music the same, but even the choreography is very very similar. Sarah Robinson presents this particular track, and she would've been a perfect personality to present the Jam track as well (in fact, for workshop and local launches, she was generally the one who presented the Jam block I'm referring to).

But anyways. During the class, Mark Nu'u asked everyone in the room who had known someone who they had lost, or was battling with breast cancer to go downstairs into the second studio and write their name on a piece of paper. Those pieces of paper were transformed into lanterns, and during the cooldown track, the Les Mills staff placed the lanterns at the base of the stage, the name of the cancer victims lit up with the Les Mills stage as a backdrop.

Body Step 77 is a very inspirational release. I can't speak for whether it's challenging cardiovascularly, since I only watched and I'm not a regular Stepper so I can't make any comparisons.

Even so, as an outsider, I could see that this release was something very special. The world is going to love Body Step 77, though the world might be surprised by the reasons why.

It's a compassionate, beautiful and powerful release. It moved me, and I didn't do a single knee-repeater.