charlene
Hi Ness,
I did mostly charlene step tapes before I discovered cathe. I must have about 4-5 of them. Her chattering is a bit much at times (I agree about the participants; the annoyance level varies by tape). But overall, she's a pleasant personality & her tapes aren't too bad.
I have found that the tapes I have provided me with a decent workout, especially with a 10 inch step (which I could never do with cathe's tapes). An 8in provides a pretty good workout, too (less intense than Cathe, but not bad). Her tapes are usually long enough (around 40 min exluding w/u & c/d), and some incorporate propulsion to increase intensity.
Her choreography does get monotonous,and she tends to use many of the same moves (along with the same music)on several tapes.
"Life's a Bench" is a good one. I think "benchmark" and "step it off, Step it all off" are her best & most challenging. "The Next Step" is easier, but not bad. Her "Get the Fat off" is short (only 22 min) & designed to complement a 20 min floor routine found on the same tape. neither is a big challenge, but they are quick and easy for days when you need that. I found "A MAjor Step", which I bought last year, to be a total turn-off. It looked like they filmed in someone's apartment--evrything looked so cramped. I felt claustrophpobic everytime I did it. found it really boring as well.
ANyway, just my $.02. sorry to ramble.
Michele