Search - The Samba Reggae Workout on DVD

Wow! Wow! Wow!

YogaGirl | san francisco, ca United States | 10/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say right at the top that this is a great dance workout. It is energetic; the music is hot and you will sweat. You can see a clip of the dvd at the worlddancenewyork web site. What you can expect:

Setting: Quenia and 2 dancers with 5 drummers behind her. She has to talk quite loudly because the drummers are right behind her and any one who has been in a live drumming samba class knows that the drums are pretty loud. The video quality is good. The sound could have been louder. I had to turn my tv up quite loud to get the pounding beat of samba reggae.

Choreography: There is a really nice warm-up before the workouts. In workout 1, she goes over each step many times and does add on and goes from the top. The 1st workout goes over the entire routine once at the end; however by that time you have gone over the routine many many times from the top. I was sweating and had to stop and drink some water.
Workout 2 is just the choreography at a much faster pace with no instruction. She does it 2x through. The last section of the dvd is the bateria playing as it would do in a real class where the students dance in front of the bateria. By that time I was so tired all I could do was wiggle from side to side. My only complaint is that it would have been nice if the 2 background dancers had started free style dancing, like in a regular class. There is no cool down.

One caveat, don't skip the welcome section. It starts with the bateria and then Quenia dances on stage doing part of the choreography and free style. In my opinion, this litte section should have been at the end of dvd when the bateria is playing. So if you have the energy, after the bateria section, you may want to play part of the welcome section again and dance with Quenia.

Overall: I loved, loved this dvd. Will do it again! It is a great aerobic workout. Will probably add a cool down next time. Get this dvd. You will love it!"

Wanted to love it

Rachel J. Morgan | Washington, DC | 03/18/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this based on the many great reviews. I love the instructor for her energy and spirit, loved the live music, loved the dancing but was majorly disappointed by two things: 1. There are basically only 2 combinations on the entire DVD and they are the same combinations just at different speeds (very slow, very fast). The combination is a good one and the fast version IS a good workout but there's no variety beyond that. 2. There is no cool down. If you do the fast version, you need a cool down involving stretching. This instructor is so great, I just wish the DVD offered a few more sections because I'm not all that motivated to do the same 2 combinations all the time."

Quenia is Dynamite!

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 10/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The samba Quenia Ribeiro teaches us in this sensational DVD was birthed in Salvador, Bahia, and has deep African roots. It has found the perfect interpreter in Quenia, who dances with dazzling speed, strength and control. What Baryshnikov is to ballet, Quenia is to samba. Watch her and be amazed!

After Quenia and her Grupo Ribeiro give us a "Welcome," Quenia shows us some "Basic Steps," and then we get a terrific "Warm-up," which is slow and powerful. We next move to the "Workouts:"

In "Workout #1" Quenia shows us a set of steps, repeats them and then adds on the next set of steps, until we have a lengthy combination that gives new meaning to the word aerobic. Quenia says it's "a great way to exercise and burn calories," and have lots of fun too! If you don't have the necessary natural abilities (sense of rhythm, agility, etc.), muscular strength and tip top aerobic conditioning you may have trouble keeping up, but do what you can, and enjoy it.

In "Workout #2" the pace is picked up, and it's continuous, with the kind of energy that would leave some of our million dollar athletes panting in the dust. After the "Workouts," we meet the fabulous 5 man Grupo Ribeiro led by Nick Birmelin and dancers Ana and Nao.

Quenia is one of the most dynamic performers you'll ever see, and she will motivate you to try this fire-in-the-soul/fire-in-the-soles-of-the-feet dancing, expand your horizons, and learn from the best. Challenge yourself and the rewards will be worth it!
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