I am just barely coordinated enough to walk without tripping.

So dance aerobics could have been extremely difficult for me. Dance aerobics at 7 a.m. – treacherous.

But at the HealthSteps class, I was happily surprised to find I could handle many of the choreographed step-turn-kick moves. Not all. But many.

And it was a solid workout without the pain of pulled muscles or aching joints.

Nearly a dozen men and women – most in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s – had been dancercising together for months at Bates College’s Merrill Gym. They’d already burned calories through the Charleston, disco, salsa dancing and an Irish jig. Country line dancing had been on the program for weeks, so when Instructor Jennifer Smith called the class to toe tap or half turn to the front, they knew what she meant.

While lively country music blasted from ceiling speakers, Smith lead the class on microphone. For those of us who didn’t have a clue what we were doing (okay, just me), she started slow.

Walk in place. Step side-to-side. Swing your arms.

It was all very neatly choreographed, and when everyone was in sync it really did feel like dancing.

Someone yelled “Yea!”

But after a quick water break the steps went from basic to advanced, and that perfect dance fell apart. I could manage a step forward double hop. I could do the toe tap and the side step and the half turn. I could swing my arms to the beat of the music.

I just couldn’t put it all together.

The others swiveled and hopped and whooped with glee. I kept my eyes firmly fixed on Smith’s feet, hoping to catch up. A few people modified the steps so they could more easily follow them – replacing the double step-kick routine with a simple walk – and I tried that from my place in the back. Still, I resorted at least once to marching in place, looking confused.

“Don’t worry,” Madelyn Given of Poland told me during a second short water break. “We were all just like you in the beginning.”

By the end, I had some of the steps down and my embarrassment had started to ebb. I also realized that I had been moving constantly for 45 minutes and, even through I wasn’t winded or in pain, it was a good workout.

And I didn’t trip once.

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