New York City Ballet Workout

1) There are 17 sections of this DVD, each separated by a 15- to 30-second pause. I don't know why there isn't an option for the workout to run continuously because this pause is a real downer. Imagine this scene: you're doing grand battements. . .un, deux, trois, quatre. . .you're really starting to feel the burn. . .un, deux, trois, quatre. . .all of a sudden, the section is over and you're left staring at the practically blank screen while the next section is introduced. Fifteen seconds later, the workout begins again, but not after you've lost a lot of the energy you just acquired. Too bad.

2) This one is really unforgivable. Anyone who's ever taught a exercise class knows he or she must mirror the students not only in action but also in words. For instance, if you're facing the class and you ask them to do a tendu on the right, you must do it on the left BUT still say you're doing it on the right. The instructor on this DVD, Peter Martins, does not do this, which leads to a lot of confusion. You always have to remember to ignore what he's saying in order to perform the techniques correctly. This is a real disappointment because it's really a beginning instructor's mistake. I learned to stop doing this when I was 15 - a 40-something ballet master-in-chief should be skilled enough to have done this correctly.

Luckily, both of these problems are corrected in the second DVD, which also offers a challenging sequence from Balanchine's Tarantella. Skip this one and move on to that one. Trust me.

It starts off easily enough, but before you know it, the dancers are leaping around the stage with little verbal instruction for the at-home klutzy novice (i.e., me). After the initial warmup confusion, though, it gets a bit better - the ab work was excellent, and on par with a good Pilates workout. And the finishing "Little Jumps" segments did really get my heart rate going.

This video will definitely improve flexibility, core strength, and posture, if you can follow the moves and get past the lack of instruction in some parts. If you've had some cursory dance training, it will help. On the whole, though, it's a pretty good workout video, especially if you're looking for something different than the standard Kathy Smith or Denise Austin aerobic fare.

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.