New workouts pop up every day, and wouldn’t it be nice to try before you buy? In our “Last Night’s Workout” series we sweat, stretch and shimmy our way through the latest exercise crazes and report back to you so you can find the best one for your skill level and fitness goals.The workout: Bokwa is the perfect class for those who can’t dance yet want to reap the cardio benefits you get from bustin’ a move. More of a dance-aerobics hybrid rather than an actual dance fitness class, each step involves moving your body in a specific pattern across the floor to form a letter or number. For example, the L move looks like this: taking a few steps backward, bouncing in place twice, taking a few steps to the right, bouncing in place, and then retracing the letter back the other way to “erase” it. The instructor calls out the move by its letter name—which creator Paul Mavi started doing so students in the back of his huge dance classes could know which move to do next. He realized how effective this was and applied it to a new workout program he was developing.Kathryn Blaze, a Bokwa instructor at New York Sports Club in New York City, says that they try not to refer to the class as a dance fitness class because it scares away a large segment of people who are intimidated by the d-word. But she points out that it’s actually a good fit for both dance prodigies and the rhythmically challenged alike.”There are set steps that you learn and then start combining them and remixing them. So you can just totally step through it and you don’t have to make it dancey—but it can be really, really dancey and you can add a lot of flavor and style, so it really gives those people that do like to dance the opportunity to be creative,” Blaze says. The foundation of Bokwa is just 12 steps, and as the class levels go up, the steps are simply strung together to form more complex sequences. No memorizing moves with specific music cues required.The goal: A fun cardio workout that can be tailored to your fitness goals and capabilities. It’s up to each person to make it high or low impact and to add personal flair and style. Case and point: Blaze knows a Bokwa class in NJ with two 78-year-old women and one who’s 84. They follow all the moves but keep them small and low impact to fit their activity level. Blaze herself goes all out and throws her dance background into every move, giving herself 60 minutes of intense, heart-pumping cardio. The bouncing movements in each step also give your calves a great workout.The location: We tried it at New York Sports Club, which just started offering the class in Manhattan at its 86th & Lexington Ave location. NYSC also offers Bokwa at Staten Island, Queens and New Jersey locations. But you can find Bokwa all over the U.S.—and even the world! In fact, you can go to any class in any country, and the number/letter moves will be the same. Visit the Bokwa website to find a class near you.The price: At NYSC, the class is free for members. Non-members can purchase a 30-day pass for $30 to the club, which would allow you to demo the class as well. Class prices at other gyms may vary.

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