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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Salesrank: 24566
Released: March 27, 2001 |
| Our Price: $11.50 |
| Used Price: $9.95 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 05/27/2003 Rating: Nr
Description of New York City Ballet Workout:
Do you envy ballet dancers their long, lean bodies and graceful, elegant movements? This beautifully produced exercise video was developed by Peter Martins and the New York City Ballet with the New York Sports Club. First you watch the rippling muscles of four gorgeous ballet dancers (two men and two women) performing warm-up moves to classical ballet music. Martins uses ballet terminology in his cuing and no technique is taught, so it's look-and-follow if you have no previous ballet training. Next you get down on a mat for slow lower-body stretches. A difficult abdominal series is next, followed by "floor barre" exercises to tone the thighs and buttocks while still using the abdominals. After introducing moves to strengthen the back and upper body, Martins runs through a series of standing exercise segments using various ballet movements to strengthen the legs and postural muscles. The workout is divided into 17 short sections, which may give it a disjointed feeling if you're used to more continuity. At the end is a bonus sequence with profiles of the four performers, all dancers with the New York City Ballet. We get to watch them performing, practicing, and eating. One dancer makes the point that ballet is very athletic, but because it's supposed to look ethereal, the hard work stays hidden from the audience. If you love ballet (even just watching it), you'll enjoy this workout. (By the way, Sarah Jessica Parker introduces the video but does not have any other role in it.) --Joan Price
New York City Ballet Workout Reviews:
Awesome,changed my posture after one week of everyday workout! 
2009-12-18 - This is a great ballet WORKOUT. Broken unto sections,makes you sweat.Works almost every important muscle.Makes you lean ,not bulky.Will be challenging for beginners for the first week or two.After first week going through this workout every day once I feel a HUGE difference in my posture and shape.I would highly reccomend this workout!
DVD problems overshadow workout value 
2009-11-13 - As a swing dancer I wanted to try to expand my repertoire a bit while working on developing my core muscles. This ballet workout seemed to be a great idea to introduce me to that world and attacking my strength from a different perspective.
However, while the exercises themselves are interesting, different, and are in fact working different muscles than I'm used to, the DVD itself is extremely problematic.
The organization of the DVD is erratic. The "Sections" seem to move in random order, and even though they are numbered 1-17, they are not organized in that manner even within the menu items. For instance, the menu for sections 13-17 are ordered in the sequence (from top-down, left to right, the way most English speakers read): 15, 17, 16, 13, 14. Attempting to run the sections in order fails miserably, as there is apparently some randomizing element (e.g., the last time I did this it took me from Section 2 "Warm Up 2") direction to Section 7 ("Floor Barre 2"), skipping two more warmup and stretching sections). As noted elsewhere, you simply cannot fast-forward or rewind to the next section, but rather have to exit to the menu and then return (supposing you don't have the patience for rewinding 2+ minutes of exercises to the beginning).
The menus themselves are problematic at best. Often times selecting "Menu" changes to a sub-menu, and it becomes a crapshoot as to whether or not you wind up at the place you are expecting. For instance, moving into the sub-menu "features" brings up sections for interviews, "sports ballet", and a couple of other items. After trying 3 different DVD players I've verified that it's not working as one might intuit. Sometimes I've exited an exercise to find myself at the interview sub-menu. Trying to click on "menu" in the interview sub-menu just refreshes the menu *or* brings me back to the Features menu, but clicking on the only "menu" option on *that* screen returns me back to the Interviews submenu! The Sports Options submenu (with Football, Skiing, and Racquet Sports) simply doesn't work at all and merely brings me consistently back to the Features sub-menu.
As noted elsewhere, the narration is quite poor. While the tone and tenor of Peter Martins' voice is soothing and even, it is often late with instruction (e.g., dancers have already begun the move on screen by the time he directs the viewer), incorrect (e.g., he describes working the left side when the dancer is working the right), or missing altogether (e.g., some exercises require you to be face-down and unable to see the screen, and thus unaware of what the exercise is that you are doing because there is no accompanying narration). This can get quite frustrating when you remember that the DVD will not let you navigate back to the beginning of the exercise to see what you missed!
Additionally, for someone who comes from a different style of dancing with its own terminology, the lack of definitions of terms was problematic. Some terms, such as plié, are defined only in their own section (in this case, it's the ninth!), long after they are introduced in the warmup. There is no instruction on how to do them properly, nor what each exercise is designed to do. I was fortunate that my girlfriend did ballet for many years and was able to translate for me and show me what each movement was and term meant.
Now, having said all that (and the frustration with the DVD itself is huge), the exercises *are* good. There is no question that they're demonstrated in proper form (and with incredible precision, as one would expect), and even the most dedicated dancer can aspire to the strength, flexibility, and grace demonstrated. Truthfully, if you're not breathing heavier after doing this, you're not focusing on the form properly.
The video itself is beautiful, soft lighting (though it does tend to interfere at times with seeing the actual forms, but only in a minor way). The music is, well, "meh," doesn't do much to add or subtract to the exercise (though some of the contemporary options are more likely to put me to sleep rather than motivate me to work harder).
My recommendation: If you already know the movements and are looking to improve form, flexibility and already have a workout that you use, this is a passable third or fourth-string backup. The DVD navigation issues will likely hold you back from daily use (because, after all, becoming motivated to work out is hard enough without having to add in the mental preparation necessary to fight with the menus). Finding this in a $10-or-less bargain bin is the best option, but anything more than that would be unwise.
Not great
2009-09-28 - While the dancers are lovely to look at this in not a workout tape. Lots and lots of slow stretching but no cardio at all. If you are looking for heart pumping excercise this tape is way too mellow. For a better challenge just take a ballet class or look for other low impact aerobics. My tape was donated to Good Will.
Where would we be if we never tried something that we couldn't master immediately?
2009-06-19 - It is definitely a challege (unless maybe you're an experienced dancer in shape) and a great workout. The great posture, lean bodies, and strong cores of the dancers are something to strive towards. Will try volume II if I ever master this one. It probably helps that I have a tiny bit of dance experience in my past, but I think any new workout is going to be difficult (I can never keep up when I first try a new type of group class or video workout). Non-dancers need not be discouraged to try something different! Where would we be if we never tried something that we couldn't master immediately?
Great excercise, gets easier the more you do it 
2009-04-22 - I'll agree that the cueing isn't exactly accurate, but that doesn't mean that this product is inaccessible. I really think that this is a workout for those who are looking for more than monotony. I love the classical soundtrack and nearly everything about the dvd!
