Customer Reviews

New York City Ballet Workout [VHS]

5 star:		(113)
4 star:		(80)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

This DVD is excellent for toning and lengthening your muscles, and will definitely work up a sweat. The workout is divided into 17 segments, which can be viewed all at once, one at a time, or as part of four sections. Exercises 1-4 are warm ups, includes some dance steps that get your blood pumping and some nice stretching. 5 & 6 work your abdominals. 7-9 are "floor barre," which means you lie on your back and keep everything stable except the moving leg -- very effective. 10-16 are leg work, such as degagees, tendus, and grand battements. Finally, 17 is a cooldown with some stretching. Note that there is no instructor-led dance segment after all that barre/center work, as there is in a dance class.

There is one main thing I don't like about this DVD -- the verbal cuing is terrible. At the very end, the narrator says, "Rather than follow my instructions, follow the dancers, the music, and listen to your body." Yeah, well, tell me how to follow the dancers with my face in my knees. A few viewings should make this much less of a problem, but the first times through may be frustrating, especially during the (almost silent) cooldown, when your neck is craned around to see what's going on.

I don't know if someone with no ballet experience would find this DVD very rewarding. Although no special equipment is required, there is no explanation of technique, and the narrator makes frequent use of ballet terminology. Perhaps in conjunction with one of the ballet instruction videos or books, this would be better for beginners, but I think a semester of ballet classes would be more reward for the money in that case.

Given those caveats, this is a great workout to intersperse with your other strength and aerobics workouts.

After experiencing a serious exercise burnout in the last year, I began looking for workouts to supplement my usual step aerobics/weight training regimen. I added yoga several months ago, and then a friend mentioned the NYC Ballet Workout book. Since I'm not one for exercising out of a book, discovering that a video would soon be released was very exciting. I have not been disappointed.

I have never studied ballet formally, but was familiar with the five basic positions and many of the other common ballet exercises. As a result, I fell in step quite easily and was able to concern myself more with proper form than might otherwise have been the case. The three warm-up segments had me laughing at my own clumsiness the first time around, but were much easier the second time I did the tape.

This workout won't be especially difficult for anyone who's either studied ballet or is in fairly good shape. I found certain things challenging (like holding the arms in second position for the whole of the tendu segment), but overall, I think this tape is aimed more at helping the viewer develop flexibility and strength without taxing the cardiovascular system to any great degree. I have found that I can do this tape at 9:00 in the evening and fall easily asleep at 10:45. You will be perspiring but have an overall feeling of tranquility at the end.

Even though I love this tape, I gave it only four stars because of what I perceive to be some minor problems. There is one bad edit in the stretching segment that threw me off at first. Peter Martins's cueing leaves a bit to be desired, and his instructions of "right" and "left" are from the dancers' point of view -- not from the perspective of the person following along. (I'm used to simply mirroring the people in workout videos and disregarding the narrator, so this is not a problem for me -- but could be confusing for others not experienced in doing that.) And finally, the dancers aren't always shown full-length, which makes it harder to know what the parts of their bodies that aren't being shown are doing at that particular moment.

But, as I say, these are minor matters in an otherwise terrific video. They certainly do not keep me from recommending the New York City Ballet Workout!

I've wanted to buy a workout video for some time now, but I was put off by the blonde, perky, caffinated aerobics instructors that seem to saturate the market. I bought this DVD with the hopes that it would be sophisticated, relaxing, challenging, and inspiring. It did NOT disappoint. The dancers are beautiful, the music soothing--not that you're listening when you're trying to hold an arabesque or do the dreaded abdominal segment.

Like other reviewers, I have to agree that this workout doesn't live up to its claim that everyone can do it. Not only are the movements not explained, I don't feel that the video reminded you enough to straighten your back, tuck your tummy in, not stick out your rear, keep your arms held up, head straight etc. etc...all fundamental elements in ballet form (and really important for building strength, balance, etc.) I'd recommend that anyone using this video have had some basic ballet training in the reasonably recent past. (I took four years of ballet while in college...I stopped about four years ago, when I graduated.) Also, I consider myself as having above-average coordination, and the second warm-up movement taxed it a bit. (On the other hand, it's nice to know that I'll have something to grow into.)

That aside, the DVD was wonderful. The options to turn off the audio commentary and change the music are terrific, and the interviews with the dancers are fun. I hope that any other workout video that I buy is as entertaining as this one!

Some of the reviewers are saying this is too hard to follow. I disagree. I have never studied ballet in my life and I found this very simple to follow. The exercises are broken down by name (DVD) so its easy to learn what the fancy names mean. The moves are clearly shown and are very easy to follow. Proper form takes a while, but I am starting to notice how my body is moving and how it should be moving compared to the dancers on my TV. And I am noticing results already. I only wish the there were MORE excercises on the DVD because I love it so much, even though there is about an hour already. ...The cinematography is gorgeous, and the dancers are amazing.

The DVD version is amazing. I love the interviews, diaries and behind the scenes footage. For someone who studies ballet or wants to dance professionally, this is is a must have over the VHS version.

The reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the 2nd and 3rd warm up sections are like intermediate or advanced ballet dance routines. I try to follow as best I can for someone who never took ballet. But, its just the warm-up so it does not ruin the workout at all. And the hype about Sarah Jessica Parker is aweful. She talks for just over a minute and it does not have anything to do with the workout at all. I was hoping for a bit more with her on the DVD.

But I do LOVE this workout!

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.

I usually don't like excercise videos because the instructors are annoying and talk to much, but the NYC Ballet Workout is wonderful! It has left me with more strength and toned muscles, especially my legs and arms. I've also noticed my posture is better. I've seen a few reviews here complaining about not enough intruction being given...all you need to do is watch and follow what the dancers are doing. Thats the point of the video. The music is calming, and I always look forward to doing this workout. I took ballet when I was little, but barely remembered anything from it when I bought the tape. I found it was fairly easy to learn the positions, and after a few times, you will know exactly what the positions are called and how to do them. Don't be discouraged by the warm up segments, they are like little dance routines, but the rest is much more simple.

The New York City Ballet Workout is an excellent workout, however challenging it may be. Even for me, a teenager who had almost 10 years of ballet experience in my life, this video has it's challenging aspects. The exersices are fairly simple, but take a lot of effort and muscle strength to perform them. If you haven't had any previous ballet training, the workout can be hard to follow as well, being as how they simply say the name of the move, and then do it, without any real explanation on how to go about performing it. However, after a few times of doing the workout, I think just about anyone could catch on. It's also a rather lengthy video, it takes about 60 minutes to get through the 17 exersices, so it may be more practical to do half of the workout at a time. Also, the ballet dancers who do the workout on the DVD are more flexible than just about anybody that might buy the DVD, so when they go through the stretches, it seems impossible to copy their movements exactly, but it's easy to modify the movements to your own strength and flexibility. This workout really strengthens and tones your muscles, as well as improves your flexibility, posture and balance. After just a week of doing at least half of the video each day, I was already noticing differences in my muscle tone and flexibility. I definitly recommend this video, more to people who know at least a little bit of ballet terminology, but anyone can get the basic jist of the workout if they do it a few times and put in the effort to learning the proper form of the moves.

This is a different kind of workout but one that you don't have to be a dancer to do. Although it was difficult to follow at times, I found that I still enjoyed doing it, even when I knew that I looked nothing like the dancers on my screen. There were two male and two female dancers dressed in workout clothing; at times they were wearing shoes and at other times not, but this was not explained. An accented voice gives voice-over instructions, although these are often pretty minimal and the cueing is poor. The music is classical. The workout itself broke down into 17 sections as follows:

1-3: Three short warm up sessions. #2 especially had some complicated choreography, but the warm ups were pretty easy overall.
4: Stretches.
5: Abs. This is mainly traditional crunches.
6: Floor Barre 1. This moves on to some nice leg stretches for things and buttocks.
7: Floor Barre 2. This part continues with butt and inner thighs work then moves on to some Pilates-like exercises.
8: Floor Barre 3. These exercises are for upper back and chest, including push-ups; it was hard to keep an eye on the screen.
9: Pliés.
10: Tendu.
11: Dégagé--basically lifting your toe off the floor.
12: Passé--similar but lifting knee.
13: Front Attitude--balance moves on one leg.
14: Grand Battemant Front--leg lifts to the front.
15: Arabesque Raises--similar lifts to the back with some balance work.
16: Little jumps--moving from pliés to toe raises to small jumps; the instruction is especially poor in this section.
17: Reverence--this means "bow," and it's a stretching and relaxation sectin that includes yoga-like bends and lunges. The voice-over says to "just follow the dancers," but again, it's kind of hard to see the screen from some positions.

Overall, I found this to be a fun little change of pace; it's doable for anyone with some basic coordination and flexibility.

I bought this video after buying the workout book. I would definitely recommend that over the video if you are planning to use this as a guide to strengthen and tone your body. While helpful, the exercises are done by professional ballet dancers and are not easy to follow. Dance terms are used to tell you what to do and are not explained. The shots are not designed for people to follow, unless you have a background of ballet.

However, I gave this a 4 star rating because it does have wonderful qualities to it, as well. If you have the workout book and are familiar with the stretches and movements, the video takes it up to another level. It helped me to take what I had gotten from the book and continued to improve upon it. The music used makes it easier to flow with the movements. One last caution, this is a fairly difficult workout. It may not leave you huffing and puffing, but it definitely gives you a good run for your money. One final thought-has a beautifully done dance segment at the end. Well worth the cost just to see it.

I watched the trailer on [...] and it looked like it was perfect for me.

I am tired of my videos with perky instructors telling me I can do it and all of the glitz. I wanted something lower key. I have the firm series 1-2-3 and I think they are great but I was looking for a change because I was a little burned out with that kind of workout. Also, I find working with weights boring.

I have never done ballet and I couldn't tell you what position 1 or 3 is. There are some reviewers who were upset about that. I don't know what the big deal is. I just looked at the dancers and did what they did. I don't have to know what it is called to do it I can easily figure it out by watching.

I loved the music! I don't listen to that kind of music but I loved it here. It made me relax and think about what I was doing--calmly--instead of being franic and trying to make sure I was doing it right. It made me more introspective.

What I like:

*I am toning my body without high impact aerobics in a relaxed yet focused way.

*I get a good stretch and feel better after the workout than before. With other workouts I didn't feel as energized as I do with NYCB.

*I feel taller and stronger.

*the dancers look so strong and inspire me.

What I don't like:

*I don't like the pauses between sets.

*I wish that I could just do part of the workout in the morning and the other part after supper. There aren't any chapters and really there isn't a good stopping point.

Anyway, there are only a few minor things that I don't like. I am not a dancer and have no coordination at all but I can do it and I must be doing it right because I feel stronger.

I recommend this video to anyone who understands there is going to be a learning curve. You wont get it the first time but after a few times you will and you will be stronger and more flexible because of it. Also, I recommend this workout to anyone who is a little tired of the typical home workout videos with all of the rah rah and hoopla.