Customer Reviews

World Dance Workout: Bellydance, Bollywood, Salsa, Samba, Flamenco

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a very fun little program that will definitely get your heart pumping and put a smile on your face. There are a few key moves from each style of dance shown and drilled with a great selection of upbeat music. Don't expect to become a dancing diva from this DVD because the variety of moves is small, but it IS so much fun. The steps are simple enough throughout all of the styles for even a klutz like me to follow, though it will take some practice. I should think it would be good for people interested in dance fitness but scared of some of the choreography out there. As far as features go, I like that you can pick your own sections and that there is a separate section for learning the steps. It is also wonderful that you have the option of turning the narration off. Once you watch an exercise DVD so often and learn it by heart, it is nice to be able to go along with music only. One negative to this DVD is that I think Elsa has appalling form sometimes. Her hip movements are very big and very bouncy which can be troublesome for your lower back. Her students, however, stay more understated and move more safely, so it's best emulate them. Worth the money for people who enjoy dancing but need simpler movements than usually available in these types of programs. If you're completely new to this type of movement, though, it might take a couple of runs through the DVD. I'm still learning it, but I don't find it frustrating at all. Just fun!

This is a nice little dvd. Leandros gives basic rundowns of a number of dance styles: Bellydance, bellydance shimmies, samba, salsa, bollywood, flamenco.
She gives decent instruction on how to do popular steps and moves with each type of dance, and explains, for example, bellydance moves are more isolated. She shows examples of wrong moves, too, which is just as helpful as seeing moves done the right way.
She dresses in simple shirt and flowy pants, so the moves are not obscured by a flashy costume, and she does the instructional moves in front of a mirror so the viewer automatically gets another viewpoint. During the workout portion, she has two girls dancing with her in the background (though I believe there are four and they are substituted for various styles, edited in, if you will, as all have long dark hair and more olive-skinned complexions, such as the girl who looks like she has more of an Indian heritage is in the background of the bollywood segment) , and their moves are a little toned down, so novices can eyeball their moves as a guide.
The dance segments can be done all one after another or you can customize what order you want or what you want to skip or repeat. The tutorials are one section of the dvd, and you can jump around those, too, to focus on one more than another, and the lessons can be a workout in themselves. But it's nice that you can customize your workout to do whatever in whichever order you wish, so it's nice to be able to, for example, do 8 minutes of samba and 7 minutes of flamenco if you want a quickie, which is what I like about the DVD.
She has a warmup (which is mostly bellydance inspired moves, but you get a good stretch and warmup with them) and a cooldown (again, mostly bellydance inspired) and you can watch her dance in different costumes to the styles featured on the dvd. On this I just want to say I wish she had chosen not to dance in that dress which looks like a crazy craft project, some sheath with pom-poms of many colors attached. It only makes me think of fabric store scraps,dollar grab bags for kids and hot-glue guns and not particularly of dance.
If you're well versed in most forms of dance you may not find this helpful, but if you want a bit of variety in workouts and want to learn a few salsa, samba, flamenco, etc., moves, this is a good place to start. If you feel like you have two left feet it's also a good place to start, making what may have seemed impossible a little easier to grasp. And I like the option that you can work out to the music alone, as the selection is very good, and it's nice to hear the different styles and dance along to just music and forget about the voiceover once you get used to the moves.
I only have a couple of complaints: One, her bellydancing is by no means the greatest. (I can't judge Latin dance styles so well, but the bellydance lacks something, fluidity perhaps -- compare Elsa's dance to someone like Jillina's, for example, and it's leagues apart). Two, her facial expressions are a bit distracting, as she looks a bit crazed during some segments, like the bollywood part, where her face almost looks masklike and forced, and smiles way too hard sometimes, to the point where it looks painful. I imagine she fancies herself looking theatrical and getting into the spirit of things, but for me it took a bit to get past it.
But overall,I really enjoy this dvd. If I'm feeling lazy I do a segment and get a jolt of energy, and doing the whole thing feels good just to move for the better part of an hour and I get to have a bit of fun in my basement.

I couldn't decide what dance styles I'd like to learn, or which I can do half way decently, so I bought this "all in one" deal. Well, almost all, I know it's missing the Polynesian, and the African and what not, but it does offer a whole bunch of different dance styles! I like the fact that Elsa repeats each movement over and over, and then you go back to the basic steps in between. It prevents me from stopping the workout and pausing and going back to get the steps right and figure out what I'm supposed to do. Also, the ladies (the instructor and the others) are not wearing tight clothes showing their perfect bodies, making me feel less than adequate in the physique department. They are all slim and attractive and they wear these comfortable outfits, like something I could wear. I'm still indecisive about the styles, but I do know I love to salsa!!
Now that I've gotten my feet wet, by myself in the privacy of my own home, I'm going to get myself a partner and buy one of those other DVDs that teach you the whole thing so that I can go out dancing!!!.....

I must be the queen of dance-based DVDs. I bought too many and promised myself "never again, enough". However, when I saw Worlddance Workout, I figured, being a multi-tasker and cost-effective type of person, to give it a try, because of all the styles it offers.

Unlike most of these women making comments, I am not a professional dancer, or dancer what-to-be. Never took a bellydance class and never will. Like to watch flamenco but never picture myself doing it. Took a few salsa lessons that where disastrous, zero experience with samba and never heard of the term bollywood until now.

That being said I will just tell you that I truly like this DVD. For one thing, it did make me feel like following it rather than grabbing a bucket of popcorn and watching it. The reason? First of all, the music is great.

The changes come right on time before I get bored with each style, and neither Elsa nor the people dancing with her are obnoxious. Most importantly, I don't have to hear somebody repeat the same thing over and over and because it's all a voice-over, I don't see Elsa moving her lips when I choose music only. To those who go on and on commenting on her performances, I have one word for them: BONUS, sort of a freebie done at the end of the workout. You don't look at a gift horse in the mouth. I couldn't care less if Elsa was the greatest dancer in the world or not. All I know is that I can actually move to this workout and that's all that matters to me.

I was pleasantly surprised with this DVD. At first I thought Elsa was going to mix all the styles in the whole routine, but, she chose to keep them separate, which it's great for those of us who care more for some of the styles, and nothing for the others. I'm from Brazil and I've taken bellydance classes, and I go salsa dancing with my boyfriend all the time. Elsa's energy is just perfect for these styles that I'm very familiar with, actually, her hips are awesome, that's how it's supposed to be done. The section I liked the least was the flamenco workout, but I do understand that it's a workout, not a learning technique for those who want to perform. Her performances were right on. She kept the personality of each style intact. Her bellydance performance seems easy, but when I tried to learn it I realized it has a lot of stuff in it, the mazmoudi portion is the best I've seen. In spite of some technical boo-boos (her performances in total darkness, some overexposure here and there) I think this DVD is a 5.

I was so thrilled to receive this DVD. It is just what the Universe ordered for me. Since I am busy teaching bellydance several hours a week it is so wonderful to put a DVD in and have someone teach me. I absolutely loved all the dance forms in this DVD and how they were presented. And I worked up a sweat working out with Elsa. She is very very good. And extremely talented as shows when she is dancing at the end of the DVD.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who wishes to learn how to bellydance, bollywood, salsa, samba or flamenco dances. And it is a great workout also. Before you know it the DVD has ended and you get that wonderful chance to watch Elsa perform for you.

Worth every penny and thanx Elso Leandros for doing such a wonderful job on this DVD.
Dawna Robertson
Sarnia, Ontario

I got this dvd because I was interested in learning some very basic, but authentic, steps in different dance styles, and get a fun workout at the same time. If you are seeking the same things, don't waste your time with this dvd. I've studied flamenco dance for several years, and the "flamenco" she demonstrates is not only partially authentic at best, but her style is not good. I figured that the other styles were demonstrated in a similarly flawed fashion, so lost interest.

If your goal is simply to get a new and fun workout, the dvd is somewhat more successful. I had a problem however with her demonstration, because she does it facing the viewer - and anyone who's taken dance classes knows that the instructor faces the mirror, not the viewer. This way you can imitate the steps easily without have to transpose them in your mind first. Personally, I found it frustrating.

I am very pleased with this purchase!

I was a bit apprehensive about buying this particular DVD. It just seemed like too many styles. I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. The selection of steps for each style are great. I actually took the time to check Elsa Leandros' biography on the internet because I did not want to rely only on the reviews, whether positive or negative. Her background speaks for itself. This workout is a great "sampler". It was a good purchase for me.

I really enjoyed the variety of dance styles and the quality of the teaching(thank goodness it's not cheesy).

The DVD has separate "teaching" sections where she demonstrates each move (it was slow enough for me, but my mom uses the slow-motion feature on our dvd player to watch this section), and then a separate "workout" section where you are constantly moving . I like how the demo section is separate from the workout so the workout doesn't feel slow and bogged down.
Also, the DVD has the option of doing "music only" during the workout so once you get the hang of the moves you can perform them without the verbal cues.

I liked how the instructor was in form fitting but not overly-revealing or gaudy clothes. It was easy to see her body movements without feeling like watching a stripper.

Two minor things that I found annoying about this video:
1. The instructor doesn't talk at all, she has a plastic smile and gestures with her hands like an airline stewardess while a voice narrates what to do. (But the voiceover does give clear cues).
2. The two girls in the background look very awkward, but it is easy to ignore them and instead just focus on the instructor who has decent form.

[...]

I use this for days when I don't feel like working out and yet know I need to get off the couch and get my body moving. It's highly accessible, simple and sooooo much fun. Moreover, although it's hardly a full scope of all the styles it's made it easier to step into other world dance classes. (I'm the star of my salsa class for example, and am now really into flamenco). Elsa is very apprachable and really seems to be enjoying herself and aesthetically it works very much like a real dance class...the dancers aren't overdressed, exorbitantly skinny and their smiles are genuine rather than caked.

Of all my workout videos this one definitely gets the most mileage!