Search - Dance - Core Cross Train on DVD

Good, But Difficult

Amber Sunshine | 04/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I enjoyed Patricia Moreno's new DVD, but it was confusing at first. Each segment focuses on jazz, Latin, and hip-hop, and runs about 20 minutes each. It runs a lot quicker than her previous dance DVDs, and the jazz and hip-hop dances aren't really broken down as slowly as before. There is a ten-minute opening which shows the basics, but it moves rapidly in the last ten minutes. It may take a few tries to get the dance steps down to do it without feeling tripped up. It's good to do new routines based on different dance styles (and as the title says, most of the dances focus on the strength of the stomach and flexibility of the hips). The music for the Latin segment is good, but there should've been a better hip-hop music choice. The hip-hop dancing reminded me of Jennifer Lopez's style and it's fun to imitate. The jazz dancing is focused on isolations and precision and is the most difficult in my opinion on the DVD.

There are good dance routines on this DVD, but it's not as slow or simple as Patricia's previous DVDs. Maybe she assumed that people familiar with her dance DVDs wouldn't have too much of a problem, and while there are familiar moves, it still was a little confusing. Hopefully, as I continue it it will feel better."

Great body awareness, fun workout, but dizzy camerawork for

Lena, LMT | Nassau, NY | 07/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love Patricia's body awareness & patience on her first two dance workouts. Most complaints was that she over taught when given 60 min to do a routine & 30 min faster instruction was fine. Well, some producer took that too far to heart.
Here, Patricia still has great body awareness, and does remind you proper alignment when she can & that was one of the only reasons I could follow. While the production is professional, the camera is zoomed into Patricia's face/shoulders too much or keeps slowly circling around her or different angles on to the three backup female dancers or the one male dancer. I kept curing because as I'm trying to learn, it never shows the feet at first, when it does, it's only for a few seconds then goes for another "artistic" shot. The backup dancers who though never speak, seem like they are having fun & enjoying the moves which helps.
As other reviewers said, she also seems rushed. Patricia seemed to realize this & tried to incorporate learning the moves & how to move the body nice & slow so it's easy to learn into the warm-up section which is brilliant, but she still ran out of time. The rest of the sections is a breezed through, very short routines, though she still teaches well here considering how fast she has to teach, good choice in cues, one of the better dance instructors, but the camera & time works against her.

Bonus Section:
has an alternate music track that is the same music but turned up louder so it almost completely drowns out Patricia for those who get tired of the instruction. Another thing some reviewers had complained on her first two dance workouts.
Jazz:
9 min warm-up, 12 min routine. I LOVED the warm-up, I felt very relaxed, it does tone, stretch you out & few cardio seconds here & there, but the routine was a bit fast & I didn't enjoy the moves.
Latin:
14 min warm-up, 8 min routine. She incorporates pelvic muscles a lot which help any "pouch", triple steps, samba steps, flamanco arms, teaches undulation, little shimmy, kick ball change, kick, pivot turn (doesn't instruct, only shows), and more. I liked this one more, but still the warm-up does a great job, the samba really gets the heart-rate up & she teaches it well.
Hip Hop:
11 min warm-up, 11 min routine. Here, in the warm-up, she really teaches some of the routine more since hip-hop has much less repetition & bit more complex to learn a new routine. She really does help you feel the bounce/chest thrusts as basic beat. I only had trouble w/the arms at one point, but again, by the end, I had no problem following.

I did get my heart rate up & felt toning in my core & arms a bit even after the first section, but I did all three w/distracted breaks in a row. I exercise only semi-regularly, so this is not challenging for those who are like me. This video is best for those who've taken a few dance classes, or have tried at least a few dance workout or instruction dvds & used to being taught basic moves. I don't blame Patricia at all, except for a couple rare moves she didn't have time to teach, I didn't have any problem following along the first time, except for the .... constantly moving camera.

video clip of part of the Latin routine portion: totalfitnessdvds com or on youtube "Dance Core Cross Train""

I wish there were a zero star option

Mary Raine | timetoread | 09/06/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am an exercise video addict. I have about 60 excercise videos and I would say this rates in the bottom 2. The instructor explains a few of the basics badly and then rushes into a confusing dance routine that only a practiced dancer could follow. So who is this DVD for? Not for dancers who don't need to learn this. Not for those like me and I bet most average people who can't follow it. This isn't easy to follow, has no warm up, thus probably could give one a bad back or a knee injury. If you enjoy dancing for fun like I do this is not the tape for you. It is like the humiliation you would suffer if you signed up for a dance class for dancers and aren't one. Don't fall for the instructor's winning and relaxed smile on the cover of the DVD package. She doesn't care if you can follow her routine. Even the people on the tape with her are all doing different routines."

Not good.

K. Pratt | Knoxville, TN | 07/21/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This was the worst dance DVD I have ever had. The moves are confusing and she does not explain them. Far from getting a good workout and feeling cool about dancing (as I usually do) I mostly just felt spastic. Like the other person said in her review, I thought it might get better with practice but mostly it was just frustrating. I'm returning this one."