Product Details

• Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd
• DVD Release Date: November 7, 2006
• Run Time: 210 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (143 customer reviews)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000HRMAR2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,019 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #11 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > General
  • #11 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > General AAS
  • #76 in Movies & TV > DVD > Sports

Editorial Reviews

A deluxe edition DVD set comprised of the best-selling fitness videos New York City Ballet Workout Volume 1 and 2. The videos are designed to help you develop the strength, grace and poise of a dancer. An excellent alternative to fast paced, high-energy workout routines, this unique exercise program balances art, life and fitness into the perfect workout for any age or fitness level. Whether you love ballet or are simply searching for an alternative workout regimen designed to produce a strong, graceful body, this program will deliver exceptional results.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

301 of 314 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ballet from the Viewpoint of a Dancer February 9, 2007

By Rebecca of Amazon HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Workout 1

Ballet improves your posture and gives you a sense of grace even when you are not working out. The New York City Ballet workout presents exercises in a formal ballet style setting. Your body becomes a paintbrush, sweeping along walls and floors in beautiful choreography like an artist painting on black art paper.

For minutes at a time you forget you are not a ballerina as you work through the warm-up with first and second position. Fluid movements follow as you move from side to side and then put a spring in your step. A floor routine follows with leg stretches and then you work your abs in every possible way, although each movement is so precise you are getting double the workout in half the time.

The unique and challenging postures and dance steps are explained as you are doing them, although at times the choreography takes center stage as the narration lessens and you focus more on the dancers instead of following the cueing.

This is a well structured, intermediate to advanced workout that requires a sense of determination, some experience with Pilates and possibly Yoga. The jumps are the most challenging and the entire workout fine tunes your balance. There are 17 exercise sessions and bonus programs including video diaries, behind the scenes footage and interviews.

Back exercises appear during the floor workout, but you are using your entire body at all times because most of the workout requires you to be super focused and keep your balance so you may feel this the most in your back after the workout. Throughout the exercises classical music guides you into a peaceful space where you feel relaxed even though you are working out at a fairly high level that requires patience and endurance....

Workout 2

With frequent pacing changes, you are working out slow one minute and fast the next. The rapid movements get your heart beating faster, but the graceful flowing movements make you feel more relaxed.

The narration made me feel very relaxed, so the entire first two-thirds of the second workout seemed more relaxing and centering than invigorating. The exercises begin with a warm-up and progress to dance steps, floor exercises for the abs, legs and arms. During the exercises you do have to count for yourself and there are bonus exercises later in the program that you can add in to your own routine.

While I found it much easier to follow the first DVD, the second DVD has much more complex moves and you need a much higher degree of intense concentration and precise balance to enjoy the exercises. Having some split-sole sneakers might help with the jumping, but you can do most of the workout in bare feet or with ballet slippers.

The booklet in the second DVD shows more of the exercises and has a glossary for Turnout, Demi Plié, Grand Plié, Releve, Tendu, Dégagé, Passé, Fondu, Grand Battement, Changement de pieds, Pas de Basque and Piqué Arabesque. On the DVD, all of these are shown in detail in a section in the special features.

After trying the workout a few times, you may also want to personalize it and there is a way to select specific exercises and then play them all at once for your own personalized routine. The sections you can choose from include:

Upper Body
Lower Body
Comgined Movement
Stretches
Abdominal Strengthening
Floor Barre Supine
Floor Barre Side Lying
Floor Barre Prone
Plié & Tendu
Dégagé
Passé & Fondu
Grand Battement & Little Jumps
Reverence

An inspirational "Born to Dance" segment features all the dancers in their daily life and there is also a behind-the-scenes bonus feature as well as a number of promos for fitness studios in New York. What do dancers do after exercising? The first DVD gives a more detailed look into the dancers' lives, but this DVD has a combined section that briefly explores the dancers' interests when not dancing. Overall, the second workout is more complex and progresses into real dance steps so you can feel like a real dancer.

~ The Rebecca Review Read more ›

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great workout - a few tips October 25, 2009

By Jen Showalter

Format:DVD

First, you need to know this DVD was released in 1998 or so and isn't a super-fancy disc. There aren't any subtitles and it's difficult to skip around. There are 17 sections in the workout, and I've read where some people complain that you have to watch everything and can't skip.

You can't skip chapters, but you can fast-forward through a chapter by hitting >> a few times (2x - 30x) and it will skip to the end of each section and stop at the next section's title. So you really don't have to watch Sarah Jessica Parker's intro every time. You can also do individual exercises by going to the Exercises section.

Second, I've found after 6 weeks of consistent use that it's better to do as much of the workout every day as you can. I've made the mistake of skipping the ab work, and it is harder to balance if you do that. The ab conditioning reminds you where your muscles are and helps you pull up correctly.

For anyone who has never had ballet (or like me, last had it around 4th grade), try Classical Stretch on PBS for a couple weeks before you do this. You'll get a good foundation in some ballet concepts without having to know much, the stretches will be familiar, and you'll have an easier time standing on one leg. I had trouble following the warmups too, so I did them every day regardless of whatever workout I did till I got better. I still mess them up but the point is warming up. You aren't being judged.

If you're just jumping in for the first time ever in ballet, just try to follow along and remember that your entire body needs to be engaged for the center and leg work (chapters 9-16). If you slouch or let your abs go or don't hold your bum just right, you won't be able to balance as well.... Part of the work of doing the workout is learning this stuff and it doesn't all happen at once or even after a few months. If you need pointers on this try checking out this page: [...]- it won't all make sense, but just try to keep your body pulled up while you're working. This will also help you to avoid getting injured. You want to use your muscles rather than momentum. You'll be able to think less about what you're doing and relax into the workout more.

I am completely in love with this workout. My balance, coordination, strength and posture have improved dramatically. I've lost inches and my clothes are looser and I sit and stand straighter with less effort. I love that it's divided into sections so you get a small break in between the work. The work is efficient and thorough and you feel relaxed and strong after.

You don't have to be interested in dancing to do this workout - I'm not, particularly. But if you do it regularly and work on the details of doing each move correctly, you'll be stronger, leaner, and feel great. Just don't push too hard and be careful to do the moves as correctly as you can. It's better to be correct and not turned out than to force a turnout and put torsion on your knees.

Anyway. This workout gets my vote. Read more ›

110 of 117 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging January 16, 2007

By Keishunda Terrell

Format:DVD

I enjoy the challenge of learning ballet moves while strengthening my muscles. I can feel a big improvement after just one week of completion. The proof is in the visible results of my legs and arms, and the way my pants are looser than the week before I began. I strongly recommend this series for anyone interested in toning, burning excess fat, and improving your posture.

168 of 190 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent workout but the structure of the DVD sucks December 21, 2008

By Addie A. Evans

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was really excited about this DVD because I heard really good things about and I was looking for a way to supplement my weekly ballet classes. Unfortunately, I found this DVD to be really annoying and I never use it. The set up is this: there are several different stretches, exercises, et cetra that are shot individually and you can either do all of them or just pick a few from each section. The thing is, if you only want to do some of them, you have to go back to the menu and select each exercises you want to do, YOU CAN'T JUST SKIP AHEAD BECAUSE THERE ARE NO TRACKS. So I felt like I was wasting so much time just navigating the menu when it would be way easier to just hit the button to skip to the next track. If you decide to do all of the exercises, they waste so much time fading out of the last exercise and into the new one. I am a really busy person and I don't have time for pretty fade outs while I'm working out. The fade outs practically increase the length of the exercise by 150%!!!! Also, what the dancers are doing in the video is not necessarily exactly what you are supposed to be doing. For example: for one of the exercises, they show the different dancers switching legs at different times then you really are supposed to. To top it off, I find both the dancers and the narrator annoying, I don't care who he is. It's too bad though because several of the exercises and moves would make a good ballet workout, but this DVD is executed really poorly.