Customer Reviews

Dancer's Body Workout With Patricial Moreno

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to agree with "YogaGirl" about the music, but it's all a matter of taste! I find the music so awful that, I too, quit the workout. I only got 15 minutes into it. I love to dance but the music has to inspire me. If I want to move my hips, I think I'd do better to put on a Prince or James Brown CD and forgo any instruction!

I thought, from the description on the DVD box, that this was more of a ballet-type workout, so I was dissapointed.

Anyway, if you feel you need instruction in simple jazz dance, want a workout and aren't picky about your music (or like "Broadway style jazz", you'll probably like it. Obviously, other reviewers do.

I doubt I'll ever use it again, and even tho' I didn't pay much for it, I feel like I've wasted my money.

I wanted to write this review, because I've bought various workout DVDs based on reviews, and I've come to see that it's SO VERY MUCH a matter of taste. One person's fave workout could be another person's nightmare, and it isn't neccessarily because of it's merits as a workout.

Ok, from the comments on the other reviews, I will attempt to be very specific in my review. Got this DVD today and only previewed it. UPDATE: Just finished doing part of the DVD. The music is so horrible that I was bored to tears. The routine is good but I can't dance to such crappy canned music. If I could change my rating I would give it 2 stars. Hated hated the music. Stopped the DVD half way thru the routine. The music is so bad that if Patricia didn't count you wouldn't know what the beat was. Anyway here is the rest of my review.
Setting: 4 dancers + Patricia in a hard wood floor dance studio. They are in sneakers and jazz dance shoes. 3 of the dances look like professionals. One of the dancers looks like she has had quite a bit of Fosse jazz dancing.
Music: Elevator jazz. This is the most disappointing to me. I love music and this choregraphy would have been so much better if the music were louder with a more defined beat. Perhaps afro-jazz or latin jazz would be better. I didn't know quite what it was, but I didn't like it. As I was watching the dvd I kept thinking how can I do this with my own music. Even just plain percussion would have been better than this generic Kenny G stuff. A couple of times they got off beat because of the generic canned music. Patricia dear, next time use a live percussion band or real jazz or real broadway 'Fosse' music!! UPDATE: I watched the dvd while listening to some Michael Jackson music. I think that it will do okay with almost any MJ music. Why didn't she use this to begin with!!!

Choreography: She has a warm up and cool down. Think Bob Fosse type jazz dancing. Lots of jazz hands, shakira hips, step ball changes and turns. Like I said, great moves, but the music was uninspiring. Patricia goes over each step many many times. She also adds on and goes back to the top. I have carpet so I don't know if the turns will work for me. At the end she goes over the entire routine once and then 4 times without stopping. The choreography is quite fast. If you live in New York and have heard of Broadway Dance, think of one of their jazz classes and you will have a good idea of what the routine is like.

Overall thoughts: I liked the routine. I'm sure I'll sweat up a storm, but I hated the music. Will I do it over and over? NO. Hate the music. I can't dance to music I don't like. This goes in the back of my closet.

YogaGirl wrote a great review. I can only add:
Patricia has a GREAT personality with never ending patience & passion for dancing. She really makes sure you get everything right to really copy the dancers down to keeping that arm really straight, which knee should be bent, etc.
The set is simple hardwood with the back wall being one big huge fake window showing a tropical jungle view & huge stone underneath.
There are two workouts: the main hour & 3 min one that has a great warm up & cool down & teaches you the moves calmly & then 1/2 time, then full time, she will then add on to that move more to it's finished look & then goes normal speed a few times& when the credits roll, all the stagehands get on the set & dance with the dancers which is very cute & fun.
The other workout is 30 min w/o a warm or cool down & again builds up the moves, but a bit faster.
Bonus Section:
About Patricia (11 min) she is one of 7 sisters & 3 brothers... no wonder she has such passion, you have to! lol
Teaching the Moves (60 min) her teaching alone all the moves: posture, catwalk (walking around sexy/confidently), posing, bus stop, snake (plie, sexy), quick step, shakira, flash dance, arms, jazz. She spends even 8 min alone on posture, 3 min on the catwalk...
The moves are cute, old style broadway with a couple dance video worthy moves, nothing complex.
I love her style of teaching, even the 30 min alone was enough instruction to keep up EASILY for me right off the bat. I wish all dance instruction videos had her passion & style of teaching. I hope she makes more with more complex club or dance video style dancing. With the 45 min almost anyone with even 2 feet could get it. With the extra hour tutorial... maybe for perfectionists or those who like instruction extra slow & over think.
Yes, the music is the cheap electronic style, kinda the tinkling w/single beat "pause" part of a club style music, but I've heard much worse & it's on par with older aerobics gym workouts. Most dance instruction has NO music, so I'm happy with anything. Other reviewers playing other songs during is a great idea.
I took off 1 star for the music & wishing more moves were more up to date.

Gaiam makes this & usually they do previews of their DVDs so maybe they'll make one soon.

This DVD is great. Not only are the routines fun but she has a step-by-step section so you don't have to fumble through the actual exercise routine. Her cueing is fantastic. You can't break it down any better than this. Even her passion for dance can motivate you. I would highly recommend this. I did, however, think this was a ballet DVD at first glance but I am not disappointed.

I have to agree with some of the previous reviewers. I'm simply disappointed that after a couple of times trying out this dvd I found nothing else to do except for fastforwarding to the end (the 5-time repetitions of the routine), BECAUSE, my bad, I remembered the rountine. Unfortunately, the instructor forgot that we had that ability... Oops...

I haven't found a better beginners workout for lovers of dance who want to learn "step by step". Patricia Moreno is dynamic and open hearted ... what a joyous combination!

I have been doing intermediate/advanced intensive types of aerobic exercise for 15+ years and switched to more dance dvd's over the past year to have more fun. I thoroughly enjoy Patrica Moreno's Kickbox Core Cross Train and appreciate her refreshing style. This workout is not what I would have hoped, yet because I think the dance is a fun one, I found it can be worked with. The 30 minute version was a little fast in some areas but in the 60 minute version I often found the slow pace to be 'over-thought'. I need to just do it and if I think too hard, as she demonstrates, it doesn't work. I marched in place or tried extra reps while she was demonstrating the slow version. What really saved things is that the chaptering allows you to easily repeat the too-brief 'let's put what we just learned together' as many times as you like while you get it down. I wouldn't pay full price for it but if you can get a bargain (or get it at the library as I did), it's worth adding to your collection.

The music didn't really bother me but it wasn't dance music if it wasn't for the music I would of given this dvd five stars....as for dance it was quite good better than many others..I will use different music to make it feel more like a dance routine...She is a very good instructor and you will learn some cool jazz moves...

THE VIDEO IS OK IT IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED.I EXPECTED MORE OF A HIGH IMPACT. IT'S MORE OF A VERY LOW IMPACT VIDEO. THE VIDEO IS GOOD FOR THOSE DAYS WHEN YOUR REALLY NOT UP TO SWEATING INTENSELY. OTHER THAN THAT THE VIDEO ARRIEVED VERY QUICKLY.

After taking a 3 year hiatus from dancing, I've decided to make my way back to it again by taking a ballet class this coming January. I saw this DVD at the store when I was poking around and picked it up, thinking it would help me get back in shape so I wouldn't be a complete failure when I start dancing again. Well, I wish I hadn't. It's evident that Patricia is a very dedicated instructor and I admire that, but the bad far outweighs the good on this underwhelming DVD.

Like others have said, the music is absolutely terrible, the choreography is not terribly exciting, and my biggest problem with it is that the vast majority of the DVD is slow-moving instruction on how to perform the moves. You're not really working unless you're actually doing the routine, and that happens very rarely with the DVD. Once you've done this a few times and have memorized the choreography, the disc will become useless. It's not like a yoga/pilates DVD where almost everything you do is useful for your body in some way or another. In all, this DVD was a terrible disappointment and, like another reviewer said, it's going right in the back of my closet.

(It doesn't help any that her dancers don't know what the hell they're doing. Sometimes they're so off-the-mark, it's distracting to watch.)