Customer Reviews

Jean Butler's Irish Dance Master Class

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This DVD has virtually everything you need to learn Irish dance as an amateur, or practice as a serious dancer. You learn the most basic movements by themselves, then in the context of dance, with lots of close ups and explanations so that you can back it up and practice a single move as many times as you need. For those who already have a good handle on Irish dance, or who have practiced the simple moves enough to master them, there is a full performance that you should be able to watch and imitate if you're at that level. There's even a section in which Jean demonstrates each foot position and movement by itself in case the move or even just the vocabulary is difficult for you. The music is also great, and on top of all that, it's an intense workout with a few "core stability" (serious ab work) moves included to aid with performance as well as appearance. A+

I absolutely hate practicing technique on my own at home. We do drills in class and we're supposed to do them at home as well, but it's hard to get motivated, and if there's no one else around me doing the drills, I tend to slack off and not push as hard as I should. So this dvd works for me because I can watch good dancers doing the drills correctly, and I can practice along and imitate them. I also like that she stops to stretch throughout the workouts, that is something that I definately need to do more. And I also particularly liked the warm-up section, it kind of reminded me of a Richard Simmons workout routine, only not so irritating :) The dvd also has a nice feature where you can turn off the commentary and just do the exercises with the music and watch the dancers.

Don't get me wrong, though. This requires practice. Serious practice. As an absolute beginner in Irish Dance, the first thing I discovered when trying this DVD was that what looked difficult to watch was actually TEN times more difficult to do! The first time I tried this program, I was dismayed to find that I couldn't progress beyond the "Point Pull Back" exercise. However, I practiced a bit each day, for several weeks. Now, I've nailed, not only "Point Pull Back," but also the jumps. It's true, though, that this DVD was not designed with the absolute beginner in mind: the 20-year-old girl who never set foot in an Irish Dance class. But that doesn't mean that she, or anyone else, can't still do it. Besides offering numerous extras , this phenominal program allows the dancer to create their own routine of up to twelve exercises. What does that mean? That means, if you want to practice nothing but "Clickwork," you can select "Chickwork" up to twelve times (which winds up to be about an hour, as one "Clickwork" session is five minutes). And, if you don't like the Warm Up, you can skip it altogether and do "Clickwork," "Fast Trebles," "Jumps," whatever! The possibilities are endless! Personally, I can't even manage "Slow Trebles" just yet. With time and practice, however, I know I'll one day be able to Irish Dance with the best of them! This DVD is perfect for those (like me) who haven't been dancing since they were three, but still want to get on the bandwagon. By the time you've mastered this program, you will be able to convincingly assert that you've been dancing since age three! Regardless of your level, though, this DVD is an invaluable resource. I'd give it a ten if I could!

I have read the reviews of this DVD and I found them to be mixed, but I purchased this DVD anyway because I have always wanted to learn Irish Dance. I am 30 years old, I have never had a dance lesson in my life, and there are no Irish Dance classes where I live. I found this DVD to be excellent! Jean Butler has divided up the steps and techniques into individual DVD chapters, so you can learn as you go. You also can spend as much time as you need on any technique. This is a DVD you have to commit to. If you hope to learn Irish dance within the 100 minutes of DVD time, then you will probably be dissappointed unless you are already very adept at the craft. If you are like me, and you have no previous experience, then you will be working very hard to master each individual section, but it is very doable. I spend over a week just improving on one technique, and that is just what you have to do with this DVD. You have to treat it as though you were going to Irish dance class. It takes baby steps to learn to walk, and that is just what you have to do here. Jean shows you what to do, but then it is up to you to practice until you can do it well. There is everything on this DVD: from soft shoe (or barefoot, if you prefer) dancing, up to the very advanced hard shoe techniques. I am no where near ready for the hard shoes, but I hope to work to that point. Also, this DVD has excellent warm-up and core excercises. I thought I was in fairly descent shape until I started some of the core exercises, and then I realized I had a lot of improvment to work on - which this DVD encourages. Just seeing Jean and the other professionals break into their routines is enough to encourage me to keep pressing through the techniques and the exercises. I would recommend this DVD to anyone interested in this dance. And if you are like me, and do not have the benefit of Irish dance classes being taught in your community, this DVD brings those classes to you, and what better teacher could you possibly have than Jean Butler?

As an irish dancer, I am always on the look out to improve my dance and movements. Jean Butler, provides the ultamit video for this!
You can use one of her work outs, or you can build your own. The music is great and keeps you going during some of the more diffcult work outs ( like the jump section).
The brilliant part of this video is the fact that you can creat your own workout, which allows you to tailor it to your needs. Plus you won't get bored doing it.Really helps break up a prctice routine quite nicley.
It is also brilliant for any stage of dancer, from beginers to open, there is something for you.
There is a glossary section that is a huge help when trying to figure out how to do some foot work. Plus as any irish dancer knows everyone calls one step a differnt name, rally's are a prime example of this.
Jean puts an emphanises on warming up, cool down stretching. Which is so important and often over looked at times in dance class. She also has some great core stability workouts that kill your abs! Her interview with some dancers from Dublin is really cute too!
It is stated taht this is also good for someone who really hasn't had any irish dance training. I would find it a bit hard for people who don't know the sport, or the basic steps to keep up with some of the work outs.
Jean has also thrown in some of her new dances, which is fine, they are okay, more modern then irish, but brilliant none the less.
If you are a irish dancer and you are looking for a good way to practice and improve your technic then this is the DVD for you. It is well worth your money!!
My teacher noticed a differnce and I am sure yours will too!

I am an adult advanced level irish dancer and I love this DVD. I use it all summer when we are on break from class to drill the basics and stay sharp. The combinations are challenging and fun. All the dancers who are demonstrating are technically fabulous, each with their own style which is fun to see. The music is really nice. A refreshing change from our normal accordian etc.... But a word of caution. This is NOT for beginner dancers! This would be so frusterating to try to use as a beginner because Jean does not spend any time teaching the combinations or explaining the steps themselves. You just have to follow along. Sometimes it is hard to see exactly what the dancer's feet are doing because of the black shoes black floor and black pants combination. The glossary at the end goes in to more instruction of basic moves used in the DVD, but in my opinion still falls short of the kind of guidence a beginner needs. There is no section on leaps or on pointe work (Block, toe, overtoes, whatever you call them) which I think was probably wise since these moves, epecially pointe, can cause injury if you don't know what you are doing. A good investment for the intermediate and above dancer.

I bought this DVD for my daughter and I who have been taking Irish Dance classes for a year from an extremely reputable touring dance group. I thought this DVD would reinforce what we have been learning. However, it didn't reinforce even one step at the beginning level. It seems like it would be great when you get to the hard-shoe level. However, we are both still working with Ghillies (soft-shoe) and I didn't see her teach one dance step that we have learned in a basic Reel.

I was also a bit disappointed in the music. I was expecting traditional pipes and just couldn't seem to get into... what at times seemed like Asian music that didn't fit the dance.

If you are a dancer that is more advanced than we are, then this might be great. However, if you are a novice like we are, then I would look into purchasing some of the DVDs that are offered on some of the Irish dance and piping websites.

I've never danced at in my entire life, but I found this to be very helpful. She explains the moves slowly at first and then does it at a fast pace. Naturally, if you don't have any dance experience, you will need to repeat a section many times. For example, I couldn't get passed the ""point pull back" section for about a week and a half, but now I've gotten pretty good at it. What I found really helpful was that you can play the same section over and over again until you've gotten over it and if something seems too fast, even if she explains it slowly, you can use the slow motion fastfowarding on your dvd. The glossary is also very helpful, where she explains the vocabulary and different moves in detail, for example, all five jumps, which can be very hard to do. I think this DVD is very good for beginners but it may be helpful for people who have had alot of experience and just want to practice.

Really great workout and awesome technique tips. It has more hardshoe instrution but is still great for the softshoe beginner. I highly recomend this DVD.

I just finished watching this dvd once through and am so excited to get started. I love how anyone can use this dvd whether novice or pro. The glossary is my favorite. It goes through each of the twenty something steps SLOW. Once you get better at it there is a whole routine about 30 minutes. Very fun! I enjoy the stretching which includes pilates, yoga, and dance specific stretches that are more extensive than you get on a lot of the other work out videos. There's bonus entertainment footage too. It has my vote.