7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I would be better off taping MTV, August 3, 2005
This review is from: Off Da Hook Hip Hop Series (DVD)
I am a relatively coordinated person who has taken dance classes and studied music (I have rhythm), and I am struggling to get through the first video. The instruction is generally too little and too fast. I think the instructors forgot that they aren't learning the routines for the first time, and the videographer wasn't given good instruction on what to tape. Many times the camera misses the feet so you have to wait until they run the 4 count over again to see what the legs are doing. There is very little instructional detail about what the instructors are doing in with each movement and unfortunately they face the viewer, instead of letting you follow what they are doing from behind. I know noone wants to videotape themselves from behind, but it would really expedite learning. The added subtitles and chorus of dancers aren't helpful to learning. It would be helpful if they took advantage of DVD technology and broke counts into subunits better...You have to wait almost 10 minutes to get into the first routine. If you watched me learning the routines, you would see I have to press pause and rewind over and over again and practice with the video on pause. I am hoping it will get easier once patterns in the moves emerge, but this is tedious. I could just as effectively learn a routine from watching music videos.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Off Da Hook for everyone, February 5, 2005
This review is from: Off Da Hook Hip Hop Series (DVD)
I was a little nervous investing in 5 at once (and cross border shopping). But it was definitely worth every penny.
This video series leaves us with something for everyone. My 6 year old boy and seven year old girl are able to follow along.
The steps are broken down into 8 counts and taught thoroughly one section at a time. There is plenty of slow practice as well as a section showing back view which gives us an easier means of following. Then they bring us up to speed before a final performance.
Any amateur would need to rewind segment several times before moving on to the next one. In other words the choreography is challenging and completion is an accomplishment.I think I won't need to order another video for a good long time with the quantity of excellent choreography.
As a dance student myself (tap and jazz), I am thrilled to learn stylistic moves that can be used on a real dance floor. It is not always easy to find instruction in smaller towns for such funky choreography.
Only thing that they could improve on for instruction would be to constantly show the back view in a smaller window. The instructors dance facing the viewer, therefore dancing in the opposite direction for all but one stage of the instruction. This can be confusing even for an experienced dancer.
Definitely no regrets. I could pay 30$ a month for weekly lessons, or dance anytime I want for under $100.
Great purchase.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not that great, March 3, 2006
This review is from: Off Da Hook Hip Hop Series (DVD)
The choreography is not very creative. Most moves are repeated over and over and over; this DVD series will not teach you much of anything but it might help you if you're in a pinch for quick choreography.
Well, it MIGHT help you... but the choreography is taught facing front the ENTIRE time. More often than not, the choreographers never tell you what foot you are on, which arm to use, which direction to turn, etc. Additionally, they teach the choreography quickly--and they do not talk you through each step, they simply do the 8 counts, the other choreographer says "got it!" and then they either move on or repeat those 8 counts at a quicker pace.
The DJ for this album was apparently a young child. More often than not, he continued to let the music play after the dancing had stopped and the choreographers' talking began. It was difficult to hear the choreographers when the "DJ" made this mistake (and it happened numerous times).
The students on the video make multiple errors in the choreography. That might be expected, but the choreographers often make errors...sometimes never doing a chunk of choreography the same. Oddly enough, on one of the DVDs, someone in the editing process POINTED OUT that one of the choreographers did not snap his head to the front on count 2 like he said we should.
Often the camera angles cut out the choreographers legs ENTIRELY.
Much, much, much of these DVDs is spent talking... and not talking about dance or hip-hop, either. They will waste your valuable time by having mini-conversations with each other about how one student doesn't want to stand next to another student, what so-and-so thought so-and-so said, etc. The DVD put together for the Kids hip-hop is actually the best in my opinion...and it was taught by a kid. More often than not, however, the kid forgets to tell you the counts... and since she's teaching the choreography to you facing the camera, you're probably taking notes on which leg to use or which arm to fling, but it takes her a while to remember to tell you which count to do it on.
While there is a lot of choreography on these DVDs, very very little of the choreography is any good. Here, I can give you a run down of the moves:
arms straight out to the side
two steps to the front
three steps to the back
pick up your knee
punch, punch, punch punch punch
cross one leg behind the other and spin around
None of the choreography has any sort of personality. All the moves are basic and you feel positively silly teaching them to your students.
It's not entirely terrible, but I found it of no use in teaching any of my hip-hop classes. I used 4 8-counts for a warm-up once, but I think the choreography lacks fun, individuality, and creativity. The camera angles are pretty bad, the quality isn't too great, the choreographers do not talk you through the steps, the choreography is taught to the front without Left or Right verbal signals, neither the choreographers nor the students know the choreography very well, the "DJ" causes severe disruptions in hearing, often the dancers legs are cut out of the camera shots, and so on.
In other words, these DVDs are of no use to choreographers and impossible for non-teachers of dance to learn from.
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