Product Details

• Actors: Elsa Leandros, Tanna Valentine, Gaby Kabul, Debbie Saliyah Mangual, Angel Burgos
• Directors: Elsa Leandros
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: WorldDance New York
• DVD Release Date: April 25, 2006
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EUKRIQ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,528 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #9 in	Movies & TV > Special Interests > Dance > Salsa
  #28 in	Movies & TV > Special Interests > Dance > Belly
  #40 in	Movies & TV > Fitness & Yoga > Dance Fitness

Editorial Reviews

About the Actor
Elsa Leandros is a dancer, choreographer and master dance instructor with an unparalleled expertise in a wide range of dance arts. A choreographer and performance coach known for her enormous dance vocabulary and visionary approach to developing new and existing dance trends, Elsa's expertise is in demand among star performers of traditional ethnic and ballroom dance, as well among dancers focused on the cutting-edge fusion styles that blend dance arts from around the world. Born in Venezuela and raised in Madrid, Spain, Elsa Leandros is a world traveller who pursues her spiritual and dance education in Europe, India, East Asia, and both Latin and North America. She has performed dance for over 20 years. Based in New York City, Elsa teaches world dance classes at the United Nations for the UN staff, and at NYC dance and fitness studios.

Latin dance is a vital part of Elsa s cultural roots, and she teaches both social and performance Latin styles.

She studies samba in Rio de Janeiro, traveling there regularly to attend Scola do Samba do Rio.

Elsa started her flamenco dance career at the age of 6 in Madrid, with Laura de Santelmo, the #1 flamenco instructor in Spain at that time. Elsa's flamenco teachers include Spanish gypsy legends La Repompa de Malaga, Concha Vargas, El Mimbre, La Pelua, as well as Jose Molina and Estrella Morena. Elsa performed flamenco for several years with La Repompa de Malaga and her family. She also performed with Paco del Puerto, and with the world-famous Gypsy Kings. Today Elsa teaches flamenco and creates exciting flamenco choreographies for performing dancers.

Elsa has performed bellydance in concert at Lincoln Center and Camy Hall in NYC, worked for many years at such famous NYC nightclubs as Darvish and Cedars of Lebanon, and toured with performances and workshops across the US and overseas, including Japan. Elsa holds master classes and workshops in bellydance, and does choreographic work. Performed by star New York dan

Product Description
Burn calories and energize your body while learning dance movements from all over the world! This unique, multi-cultural program offers an all-in-one dance workout, plus instruction in some of the most alluring and popular dance styles. Sample diverse flavors and rhythms of dance, learn authentic steps - from basic to more challenging - and take them with you to the dancefloor!

World Dance Workout is designed by Elsa Leandros, a sought-after New York City dance coach and choreographer, based on her 25 years of experience as a performer and instructor of different dance styles. Elsa uses dance movement to improve your flexibility, enhance your natural grace of motion and deliver cardio benefits. The workout is accompanied by a tutorial section where Elsa breaks down dance steps to make it easier for you to follow. Many dance moves seem challenging only until you see how they evolve from the most basic steps.

The workout includes 7 segments: warmup and cooldown, salsa, samba, bellydance, Bollywood and flamenco. Not much time to exercise? Select individual chapters to create your own, shorter program - exactly what you need to save time and fit your mood. Leaving for a party? Go straight to the dance steps you want to try on the dancefloor to refresh your skills! FEATURES:

* TUTORIAL section - 30 min. - detailed breakdown of dance steps
* Warmup and cooldown
* Workout duration: 45 min.
* Individual 5-7min workout segments for each dance style: salsa, samba, flamenco, bellydance, bollywood
* Join Elsa for the entire workout, or design your own program by selecting individual chapters
* Select music+narration or music only version of the workout
* Elsa Leandros in performance: 20 min. - Elsa performs "Bollywood Medley," "Flamenco Rumba," "Egyptian Cabaret," "Vintage Salsa," "Club Samba."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun!, June 23, 2006

By	Bianca (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews

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!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chance to dance, December 25, 2006

By	Basbenee (USA) - See all my reviews

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.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indecisive, September 7, 2006

By	A. ZAKHARY "AnnZakh" (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!!!.....