Product Details

• Actors: Jessica Sherwood
• Directors: Alex Charpentier
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: Isis Video
• DVD Release Date: October 15, 2003
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000USUO8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,122 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A challenging and fun sequence of dancers' toning exercises followed by fluid dance patterns. Motivated by the classical orchestral soundtrack, you'll feel like you're an aspiring dancer in a "real" ballet training session. To help you focus, Jessica Sherwood breaks the toning into specific section(e.g. "balance," "abs," "center barre-work"). Then, she carefully - but quickly - demos each move one-on-one before moving into the full class workout. The ending cardio segment features a non-stop series of graceful, flowing ballet movements. Throughout, the terminology and attitude is pure ballet ("now we'll add a weight transfer..."). Music by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Bach. Note: Different exercises, a little less "artsy" and slightly more intense than the original "BalletBootCamp." ©2002. (87 min.). For a slightly less intense workout with different exercises, see the original BalletBootCamp

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

211 of 213 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Boot Camp" for Ballerina Wannabes, August 9, 2004

By	blueyed puella (CT, USA) - See all my reviews

Workout Description: 16 minute warm-up / stretch, 52 minutes of ballet moves used for toning (37 minutes of floorwork & 15 minutes of standing ballet work, focusing primarily on the lower body, with some ab and minimal upper body work), & 13 minutes of aerobic ballet routines for a total of 81 minutes. This is not a true "boot camp" workout, except for the fact that everything is counted out in 8s. However, it is, more or less, a real ballet workout.
Workout Level: mid-intermediate to low advanced; aerobics contain high impact and fairly challenging choreography
Instructor: Jessica Sherwood (Has a degree in ballet performance; certified ballet instructor who has worked with Crunch Gyms). Jessica is clear in her instruction, particularly in the one-on-one tutorials previewing upcoming moves. There's not much instruction for the standing ballet moves, though; she uses ballet terms liberally without much explanation. She works both sides evenly and intends for you to mirror her movements. She sometimes gets distracted by her students or the camera, but it's nice to see an instructor smile genuinely. Her flexibility can be a little intimidating, but overall her technique is good.
Class: some instructional segments with Jessica & 1 student only; other segments vary from 3-20 students of various ages and sizes; mostly women but some men figure prominently
Music / Set: The video uses classical music. (Some selections also appear on the NYC Ballet Workouts.) It appears to be set in a large gym with monochromatic walls and floor. (Apparently the producers decided this video would not be labeled "too artsy" in any way, since that was a common complaint about the first Ballet Boot Camp.)
Equipment Needed: optional mat for floorwork; can be done barefoot or with ballet slippers
Caveats: Although the cover states that this exercise is intended for all fitness levels, true beginners should not attempt this program because of its length and the difficulty of many of the moves. Familiarity with ballet and Pilates is highly recommended, but you do not have to be a dancer. There is no cool-down, so you may want to skip or repeat the warm-up / stretching segments from the beginning after you finish.
Additional Comments: This program is comparable to the NYC Ballet Workouts, particularly #2 with its dance routine at the end. I personally like the NYC Ballets a tad better, mainly because of their superb production and shorter running time. That said, all are in my rotation (for my "ballet week") and are used almost equally.
There is a strange "infomercial" at the end for a piece of strength-training equipment. Unfortunately, it seems to have taken the place of the cool-down. Besides that, my biggest problem with this program is the timing. Jessica takes time to demonstrate floorwork moves before doing them in full, which is great if you're just starting out but annoying if you've been doing the program for a while-although I've found I needed this time to stretch muscles used in previous segments and/or set up for the next move. The transitions between sides are very quick, and you may find yourself still setting up when the class has already begun the next exercise. There are a few pauses while Jessica waits for someone to push play for the music, which can be amusing or annoying, depending on your mood.
Most people probably won't have time to complete this program in its entirety. A natural breaking point is right before the "Paquita Waltz" ballet routines, which gives you just over an hour of ballet work. I reluctantly stop there; as much as I've tried, I'm too tall (5'8") to comfortably fit all of the waltz movements into my space (approximately 8' by 6'). The rest of the workout fits, though.
The DVD doesn't have a great menu, so if you want to skip forward or back you'll have to just use the buttons on your remote. There are no extras.

101 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great DVD!!!, March 20, 2004

By A Customer

This is a wonderful workout DVD, it is not your typical high quality production, but the workout delivers!. Jessica Sherwood is an excellent instructor, during the workout, she makes sure you do the movements correctly by showing you a quick demo just before each exercise. Her students all have different body types and levels of flexibility, so you get so see how they all do the same movements according to their own body type.

The workout is for your whole body (warm-ups, stretches from neck all the way to your toes, exercises for the arms, back, torso, hips, core strength, inner thighs, buttocks, legs), the first time I did it I was exhausted and thinking "how long is this thing?", but it is worth it and you'll see the difference in your body if you stick to the workout, leaner and more flexibility.

Towards the very end, there's a nice choreography, the instructor repeats the movements a lot, and they are divided in sections, so that you don't feel lost and you do them correctly. The only thing is that you need a large space for this, for example, I had to move my furniture around a bit. It's a great choreography to make you feel graceful just like a ballerina

If you are a ballet lover, want a good ballet workout and don't mind the plain studio background, then this DVD is excellent. I highly recommend it.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the better ballet workouts., August 28, 2005

By	Migraine "TTFN" (New York) - See all my reviews

Love this one!!!!! Well, as much as one can love a workout DVD. I surely own enough of them, mostly collecting dust. I actually use this DVD when I cant get to class.
I have about 30 years of ballet class experience and am still able to find a challenge each time while enjoying myself. My daughter, who doesn't take ballet, bought this DVD for herself, and loves it.. (she made an attempt to swipe mine...)