Véronique de Villèle, hyperactive and proud of it. Photo courtesy of the owner.
“Marie was completely wrong. Sabrina, wrong! Hélène, perfect… Raphaël, not bad for a guy.” In the middle of the class, the comments fall like drumbeats. Laughter erupts. Véronique de Villèle switches off the speaker, fires off feedback to her students with a grin, then resumes the disco music within seconds.About 30 women, former viewers, all regulars, are gathered in a Paris gym near Montparnasse. Like 12 million others in the 1980s, they once followed Gym Tonic every Sunday on Antenne 2.Though the cult show she co-hosted with Davina only aired for four seasons, from 1982 to 1986, Villèle never stopped. Now 77, she still leads a high-energy, almost military-style aerobics class. Think boot camp — with Born to Be Alive as the soundtrack.At the slightest misstep — a knee bent too far or an arm too soft — she halts the class. “Looks like a...
“Marie was completely wrong. Sabrina, wrong! Hélène, perfect… Raphaël, not bad for a guy.” In the middle of the class, the comments fall like drumbeats. Laughter erupts. Véronique de Villèle switches off the speaker, fires off feedback to her students with a grin, then resumes the disco music within seconds.About 30 women, former viewers, all regulars, are gathered in a Paris gym near Montparnasse. Like 12 million others in the 1980s, they once followed Gym Tonic every Sunday on Antenne 2.Though the cult show she co-hosted with Davina only aired for four seasons, from 1982 to 1986, Villèle never stopped. Now 77, she still leads a high-energy, almost military-style aerobics class. Think boot camp — with Born to Be Alive as the soundtrack.At the slightest misstep — a knee bent too far or an arm too soft — she halts the...
