Crunch's imagination in designing and naming classes can make exercising feel like a trip to the county fair or an adult video shop: The Long Ride. Spectrum Ride. Hard Core Cuts. Virgin Yoga. Rear Attitude, to name some.
The new cardio workout African Dance, however, can make you feel like a Broadway hopeful auditioning for a part in The Lion King.
AFRICAN DANCE **½
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
African Dance, conducted by Ishmael Syed, 35, is a dance routine featuring eight distinct moves. You learn each part independently and then add them to the mix until you are doing the complete movement in an hour-long class.
The class features African drumming with live drummers; on the night we visited, however, the drummer wasn't there. Pre-recorded music offered the same stylized African and Afro-Caribbean rhythms.
''It's a combination of movements, getting the mind and body in coordination. It's challenging,'' said Syed, a Cambridge, Mass., native whose parents were musicians.
''Challenging'' is right. I'm not a trained dancer. African Dance hurled me back in time to 1975, when I was 12, struggling to understand 'A Chorus Line' and its cast of Broadway aspirants at the former Jackie Gleason Theater. Should my right arm be moving now? Or left? Is it twice to the right with raised knee or was that one kick forward and two back?
Syed moves fast and with the agility of a panther. I turned to ask an accomplished classmate how long it took her to master these choreographed movements. ''About two months,'' she said.
I had 60 minutes.
FUN FACTOR
African dancing is about ''the expressiveness,'' Syed said as his lean, muscled body moved in decisive, aggressive patterns. ``Exaggerate the movements.''
Individual movements began to gel -- but not all eight at once. African Dance certainly is a workout. We were sweating; a line quickly formed at the water fountain afterward. Syed was always encouraging. If you're an experienced dancer this class is designed for you; novices might be enticed to master it.
