Aerobics With Pepper Von

I hurt tonight: I think my electrolytes are out-of-whack. Nevertheless, you've got to hand it to Pepper - few people can lead an aerobics class quite like him, and make the hurting feel good ('Step One', Tuesdays & Thursdays). Cardio pumpin'; new school jumpin'; syncopate, five-six-seven-eight!

And an unusually youthful and comely class it is too: all that effort pays off! But it makes you wonder... Are the beautiful people attracted to the class because other beautiful people are there, or is it the class that makes them beautiful in the first place? A chicken-and-egg dilemma that can't be solved. I tried to solve the mystery on Tuesday. I was dazzled by how *alive* everyone looked, and wondered how that could be, but all that the wonderment did was make me lose my place in the blistering hot routine.

You can't argue with the results, though: Kelly D. came into class briefly in the summer, got whipped into shape by Pepper (with the help of Pam and others), and now off she goes to headline in Vegas in February! Heather B. ('Cassie', DMTC's "A Chorus Line" 2003) lets step aerobics on Tuesdays keep her reflexes sharp. And others with that fetching model look are plentiful. What do they know that others don't?