The New York City Ballet Workout

Rating:
Summary: An excellent DVD
Review: The New York City Ballet Workout offers is a great program
combining toning, flexibillity and even a little cardio with the ballet combinations and "little jumps" section. The hour it takes to complete seems to pass effortlessly- while the other tapes I have tried seem to drag along and leave me with a headache, instead of the renewed energy that this one gives me. Sure, its a workout, but it also leaves you feeling with a great sense of accomplishment and energy (and even after the first workout I felt "fitter" and it left me looking forward to the next time I would be able to play it).
I especially enjoyed the floor barre section- the stretches are hard (some of the things that the dancers can do seem impossible) but rewarding if you practice them, and your abs, back and arms get a really good workout (you'll be burning). I found that one of the hardest things about the DVD was keeping my arms up during the combiniations- it got kind of hard to concentrate on the steps when I was focusing on having the proper position with my arms.
Some of the draw backs on this DVD are that if you dont have experience in ballet your might have trouble with some of the steps- they arent explained by the narrater (the steps were easy for me because I have about five years of previous ballet experience). Actually, the narrater doesnt really explain anything- you mosltly just have to follow the dancers (who are amazing, by the way). I reccomend watching it over once before doing it so that on the floor bar you dont strain your neck by trying to do the excercise and watching the screen at the same time.
Another surprisingly thing about the DVD is that the extras are pretty cool- there are diaries of the dancers, interviews, and a "behind the scenes" section. They all offer an insight into the New York City Ballet Company.
In conclusion, I reccomend this DVD, but only to people who have a little experience in ballet.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Impressed
Review: I think that this workout is pretty good. I really felt like I had a good workout once I was done with it and I will continue to use it.

The only problem is that there is no talking. You have to keep your eyes on the screen every minute to make sure you are doing things correctly. I am not very good at just following along visually, I tend to need a little bit more instruction. So if you are like me this DVD might take some getting used to.

You also may need to have a little ballet experience to use this DVD, but if you don't you should probably be able to keep us after trying it a few time.

Overall I reccomend this workout.

Rating:
Summary: Get the second one instead. . .
Review: Greetings. From the title of this review, you probably think I didn't really care for this workout, which isn't entirely true. Despite its relatively quick pace, it's a great introduction to ballet. The exercises will make you stronger and more graceful. However, I have two major issues with this DVD that force me to give it a three-star rating.

1) There are 17 sections of this DVD, each separated by a 15- to 30-second pause. I don't know why there isn't an option for the workout to run continuously because this pause is a real downer. Imagine this scene: you're doing grand battements. . .un, deux, trois, quatre. . .you're really starting to feel the burn. . .un, deux, trois, quatre. . .all of a sudden, the section is over and you're left staring at the practically blank screen while the next section is introduced. Fifteen seconds later, the workout begins again, but not after you've lost a lot of the energy you just acquired. Too bad.

2) This one is really unforgivable. Anyone who's ever taught a exercise class knows he or she must mirror the students not only in action but also in words. For instance, if you're facing the class and you ask them to do a tendu on the right, you must do it on the left BUT still say you're doing it on the right. The instructor on this DVD, Peter Martins, does not do this, which leads to a lot of confusion. You always have to remember to ignore what he's saying in order to perform the techniques correctly. This is a real disappointment because it's really a beginning instructor's mistake. I learned to stop doing this when I was 15 - a 40-something ballet master-in-chief should be skilled enough to have done this correctly.

Luckily, both of these problems are corrected in the second DVD, which also offers a challenging sequence from Balanchine's Tarantella. Skip this one and move on to that one. Trust me.

Rating:
Summary: Vive la danse!!!!
Review: Okay, so I have no illusions about ever becoming a prima ballerina but this DVD allows me to pretend I could be:-) I have no dance experience to speak of so it took a couple of viewings (and research on the web) before I became familiar with all the terminology but I found that rather fun and very interesting. I picked this workout because I started to have back problems (I'm a sysadmin and spend most of my time crouched over a computer) and needed to build up strength. Also, because it isn't a workout specifically aimed at weight loss it suited me well as I am naturally slim and didn't want to lose what shape I have. Ballet seems to be about self-discipline and control. Obviously, I knew I wasn't going to be able to do the splits like the dancer does in the stretches section straight away but day by day I am getting closer. I first just started off doing one of the sports options but quickly found that I *wanted* to do more. It really doesn't feel like an hour at all and I find myself practising my tendus and plies when going to get a cup of coffee or cooking dinner (much to the amusement of my partner). Even after a couple of weeks, my posture had improved and my back stopped hurting. People rave about the photography and the beauty of the dancers - and I am not going to disagree but what I think is the best thing about this DVD is that it gives scope for daily improvement. Yes, if you are klutzy (like me) you will wobble about a bit with some of the exercises but when you manage to do your first arabesque raise properly you feel fantastic. In addition the classical soundtrack is so lovely, you can do this workout with someone else in the room and they won't object (unlike some of the high-burn-go-for-it-girlfriend workouts available). This DVD has inspired a love of ballet in me, I now read about it and am looking forward to attending a performance soon.

Rating:
Summary: A good Pick
Review: This DVD was not what I was good for, but I did work up a good sweat.....It's a Little bit of Yoga,Pilates, and Baic ballet warm-up. I can really tell you that my arms are look slimer. So if your getting tried for your reg.. yoga and pilates and would like a change, this would be very good to do..

Rating:
Summary: You Want A Choppy Workout?
Review: If you want a workout that stops and starts and stops and starts, then you should get this one via DVD. Your fingers get a GREAT workout because you have to continually hit the play button, even though the instructions say you can hit the "Workout" mode and you will be able to continue going through the program. That doesn't happen for me. I get to sit through all the introductions and credits while my heart rate drops, and then see the first warm up, and then have it go back to the main menu. Perhaps it's a defective DVD. I'll never know, though, because Amazon does not let buyers return open DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: Ballet Experience Needed
Review: If you've even seen a video and thought to yourself "what a fantastic concept!" Only to search it out and be immensely disappointed? That's how I felt with The New York City Ballet Workout. There's no question that previous ballet experience is needed/recommended to do this "workout". I've done yoga for quite a while I found this video to be much too advanced. Section 1, the four dancers stand prepared, even spaced, feet parallel with their arms in position (port de bras) ready, against a blue backdrop. Martin's soft, warm voice begins to talk us through the exercises as the classical music begins. The first problem becomes instantly apparent: the technical ballet terms are not always explained. It is left to the person watching to figure it out for themselves if the do not already know. If you're co-ordinated and can follow what somebody else does easily then you'll work out pretty quickly that plie means knee bend. This part of the exercise involves mainly the upper body and an awful lot of bending sideways.
You then move on to the main part of the exercise video and the simplicity ends here. This is probably the most difficult and painful part. A dancer lies on her back with her legs raised at a right angle to her body then moves her legs out sideways, toes pointing towards the ever nearing floor, until she has lowered them into the splits! How many people do you know who can do this? Pass on this video.

Rating:
Summary: work-it!
Review: if you want a good workout, take it from me, this dvd kicks my a@#!

Rating:
Summary: okay but not great
Review: okay, i just bought this and the secong workout
it was okay i guess. i mean, the steps are really easy and the workout is not tiring at all. i do not really consider it a workout but i guess if you just want to tuch-up on some basic stuff then it is a good video. but i being an advanced dancer at the age of 13 (a pre-proffesional) think it was a waste of time /money. it would be grteat for beginners though. that is all i have to say. hope that this review helps you. (oh yeah, my favorite part was the interviews and bonus features at the end of the DVD)

Rating:
Summary: From a non-dancer
Review: I was referred to the NYCBW by a school gym teacher who let me borrow the video for a weekend. Although I do not have any past experience in dance, I was hooked because I had been looking for a workout which addressed stretching and toning to complement my running program. This video workout is one of the better routines for all-around toning, stretching, and strengthening.

I'll let the other reviews discuss the workout's contents. Overall, my take is that the warm-ups get the blood flowing and the muscles going. The strengthening and toning exercises work several muscle areas at a time, you really feel the burn. The remaining content works the entire body. You really feel invigorated at the end. I was impressed by how keeping your arms out works your upper body muscles. Make sure you do the reverence at the end. I found it made a difference in how you come out of the workout. The bonus features provide a behind-the-scenes look at the video's making, as well as features of each dancer in the video which I found informative.

I gave a four-star rating because my content criticism would be a desire for more stretching exercises and a bit less toning exercises. The technical editing of the video left something to be desired in that there are a couple of video editing goofs as well as some spots where the audio doesn't quite match what's on screen. Also, film was selected over video, an odd choice to me in this digital age. It's a workout video, not film noire. As for the music, you have a choice of classical music or soft pop. Haven't heard the latter, always choosing the former which is probably more appropriate for the genre of the workout. The dancers demonstrate the exercises in an exemplary manner. It's easy to think you look like them as you do the exercises.

Overall, this is an excellent video for someone looking for a toning/stretching/strengthening exercise video. Doing the workout three times a week has resulted in toned legs, abs, shoulders, and pecs, stronger arms thanks to the push ups, and improved posture. I liked it so much I bought Volume 2. See my review of that one as well.