As an instructor myself, the more complicated the choreography, the harder it is to break down and cue, especially in right foot/left foot verbage. In this phase, the learning process is mostly visual - the more you watch it and practice it, the easier it becomes.
One very important factor in learning any type of choreographed workout is hearing and feeling the 8 count beat. Many participants concentrate so hard on watching the instructor and following her footwork that they lose the music, either rushing it or remaining a beat or two behind. My advice would be to tackle the step workouts in small, doable chunks, one combo at a time. Each combination (finished product) is 32 counts, so 4 sets of 8 counts. For example, the second combo in HIS: step kick walk walk triple-triple = first 8 counts. Reverse hop turn richochet pony = second 8 counts (pony starts on the back foot - a big help right there!), rocking horse = third 8 counts, scoop-scoop, scuttle back = fourth 8 counts. Practice each combo in blocks of 8 until you've mastered the moves - it really works!
Step has evolved immensely since the early days and I often see very experienced steppers become tripped up on modern choreography. Here in AZ, tapless step routines are very popular. I relocated from the east coast last January and received many dirty looks from participants when I first started teaching and doing moves with a tap, like an A step, charleston kick or hop turn. I had to change a lot of my routines to accept the tapless craze (which I think is completely ridiculous!). I can always tell who has been doing step for many years when they automatically tap down.
