VHS Videos: The New York City Ballet Workout Video

Average Rating:

Rating: - A wonderful change of pace!
After experiencing a serious exercise burnout in the last year, I began looking for workouts to supplement my usual step aerobics/weight training regimen. I added yoga several months ago, and then a friend mentioned the NYC Ballet Workout book. Since I'm not one for exercising out of a book, discovering that a video would soon be released was very exciting. I have not been disappointed.

I have never studied ballet formally, but was familiar with the five basic positions and many of the other common ballet exercises. As a result, I fell in step quite easily and was able to concern myself more with proper form than might otherwise have been the case. The three warm-up segments had me laughing at my own clumsiness the first time around, but were much easier the second time I did the tape.

This workout won't be especially difficult for anyone who's either studied ballet or is in fairly good shape. I found certain things challenging (like holding the arms in second position for the whole of the tendu segment), but overall, I think this tape is aimed more at helping the viewer develop flexibility and strength without taxing the cardiovascular system to any great degree. I have found that I can do this tape at 9:00 in the evening and fall easily asleep at 10:45. You will be perspiring but have an overall feeling of tranquility at the end.

Even though I love this tape, I gave it only four stars because of what I perceive to be some minor problems. There is one bad edit in the stretching segment that threw me off at first. Peter Martins's cueing leaves a bit to be desired, and his instructions of "right" and "left" are from the dancers' point of view -- not from the perspective of the person following along. (I'm used to simply mirroring the people in workout videos and disregarding the narrator, so this is not a problem for me -- but could be confusing for others not experienced in doing that.) And finally, the dancers aren't always shown full-length, which makes it harder to know what the parts of their bodies that aren't being shown are doing at that particular moment.

But, as I say, these are minor matters in an otherwise terrific video. They certainly do not keep me from recommending the New York City Ballet Workout!

However I do have a few complaints.
-Not much safe dance practise at all!!! None in the narrative and almost none in the notes. The demonstration, camera work and instruction both verbal and written assumes a lot of background knowledge about dance. For a person who did not know their body very well, this video could actually be dangerous (despite the repeated warnings in the notes that you, not they, are responsible for your own body).
-Peter Martins' narration is nice, his accent and voice are pleasant but to me, his arrogance (and body obsession) came over in his interview, and during the workout, his use of ballet terms and lack of instruction. He says to watch the form of the dancers, however the lighting is often not good enough to show all the correct form.
-The camera work is too artistic ' it is undoubtedly beautiful, however this is essentially an exercise video, and the glorification of the bodies of the dancers occurs at the cost of clarity for the viewer/exerciser. Sometimes you just can't see clearly what the crucial leg (or other limb) should be doing.
-The focus on long lean bodies made me want to vomit. The product gives the impression (which I suppose they do in order to boost sales) that by doing this video you can end up looking like the dancers on the video. This is a fallacy, as these dancers are not only *born* with coltish (and, it could be claimed, unnatural) figures, but also they have trained heavily from a very, very young age, which (especially for the girls) holds back the development of a more womanly shape.
-The menu selections were not very clear ' you can't see a list of all exercises and what they are, and this isn't in the notes either.
-There is no 'play all' option for the features. Also it's not clear what some of the features are.
-The shooting is very gorgeous, that is a big plus, and just as well!

1. there is not alot of instruction- you watch and imitate which can be dangerous if you do not how the technique involved. alot of the shots are framed that you are unable to see quite clearly what you are supposed to be doing
2. it focuses on leg and abd exercises and emphasizes the long lean physique- not at all realistic fo the average viewer
3. the exercises are done to classical music, which while soothing, is not the upbeat tempo most would prefer during their workouts.

All in all, i enjoyed watching the exercises and the end features a biography of the 4 dancers which was interesting. i certainly appreciate the soothing quality and beatiful arrangement.

for a workout video, i think that fellow dancers would appreciate this but the average user should probably pass. the exercises are too specialized.