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 The Ballet Workout
ASIN: 6301556011
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent for Toning Legs!
Comments: I love the workouts on this tape. I've been using this tape for a year now - which is proof that it works, it's easy to stick with, and the workout is as challenging as you make it (there's always a technique or position to improve). You see and feel results right away. Whenever I see that I'm gaining a couple of pounds or my legs are losing their shape, I just follow this workout for a week or two, and I fit into my jeans again. I can't wait to try the second video by Melissa Lowe!
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 The Ballet Workout II
ASIN: 6302870305
Customer's Rating: 3
Summary: Get your pink tutu on
Comments: Oh my goodness Melissa Lowe is goofy... the leotards, the explanations, the pudgy assistants, the dancers' blank expressions... That said, I think this is a pretty good *ballet class* rather than a workout, so you really need to have had some prior dance experience. Since I've got over 10 years of ballet experience, I thought it was easy to follow and fairly challenging to keep up with (she moves pretty fast--either you know it or you don't), but without experience I would have been totally lost, as the moves and steps are pretty complicated. While I broke a sweat and my legs ached, it was kind of a drag to keep one eye on the screen the whole time, because Lowe's cuing is bad, and I was always a beat behind the dancers. Furthermore, Lowe never really explains what you should be looking for regarding form or how it should feel and where, so the potential for injury is high (especially during the jumps!). Watch out ankles! The workouts are short, which is also kind of a drag. I really wanted to keep dancing a bit longer!
Apart from the goofy look and feel, my main criticism is that while this workout would be great to do in a real ballet studio, it's hard to do in your living room; the floor work requires a lot of space, and you really need a barre for the barre work. For a better workout I'd probably turn to the NY City Ballet Workout. Not only is is more attractive (the music and staging is better and the dancers are completely gorgeous), but it's a lot easier to follow. Also, it's more ideally suited to the home video format than Lowe's bizarro home ballet class.
And no fuschia leotards!
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 The New York City Ballet Workout
ASIN: B000056MO2
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: A good workout for people with ballet background
Comments: This video will give you a good workout if you stick with it and try to improve each time. You will see results in stregth, posture and flexibility. I have some background in ballet so I didn't have the problem that i think the average viewer would, which is that he uses ballet terms without describing them. It's basically a "watch and do" video, but is inconsistent in that it takes greater time with some things and less at others. I find it helpful because I need a class or tape to follow along to or I just won't finish my workout. It won't make you sweat, necessarily, however you get out of it what you put in. If you take the time to stretch a little bit further each time, and push yourself then it's a great video. I'm trying to get back into shape for dance and for me it really serves my purpose. I thought it was a little too "Presentational" for my taste, showing off the dancer's moves and bodies (in smoke backgrounds) more than actually helping you to achieve proper form. The narrator's cues are often way off from the movements that the dancers are doing, which I find pretty annoying, but I still think you can get a lot out of this DVD. I recommend the DVD over the video because you can skip the introduction easily or skip to any part of the workout, in case you decide to only do certain parts each day or want more conditioning in one area. For ballet dancers: It is comprised of basic exercises, from a basic warmup, to some stretching, then tendu, degage, grand battement, plie, passe, etc. For non ballet dancers, it's a chance to learn (by watching) what all of those things I just mentioned are.
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 The New Ballet Workout
ASIN: B00005YURI
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A good video if you have had ballet experience
Comments: I agree with the other viewer that you must have had ballet experience to do this video. The exercises here are more comlpicated then her other videos. The only thing I did not like about the video is that it does not have a ton of center exercises. Unlike the other viewer, I like the fact she does not spend hours demonstrating things and explaining exercises. If you have had a couple years of ballet experience the video is easy to follow, and you do not have to wade through hours of explanation on how to do a plie.
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