Top Ballet Exercise Videos

Here it is guys! This is my top list for ballet videos. All exercise videos that had little to no ballet will be booted off immediately. These list will mostly be based on my final opinion of the exercises, not by the overall score I originally gave them. Reasoning is: 1) the overall score is based on the factors I was grading on. Though these covered most bases, didn't cover everything, and 2) I feel like if I had to review some of these again, I would give them a different score after viewing better/worse exercise videos after them.

Let's begin!

Eliminated: Pure Barre and Yoga Booty Ballet

7. Attitude: Ballet & Pilates Fusion

This exercise gets the bottom of the list, but perhaps this is because I'm not the target age for this exercise. This exercise is geared toward women over 50, and I'm only 20. Since I found this exercise far to simple, I gave it the lowest spot on my list. Still, others may find it of great use. 

6. Balocity

This exercise made me sweat, but it was just too jarring at times! Though I loved the studio they performed in, the jarring exercise, the ultimatum, makes me score it lower.

5. New York City Ballet I

 

Though the exercise was really great, the confusing main menu and narrator make me but this around the middle of my list. It's just not as good as its sequel. 

4. Trudie Styler's Scult & Tone Ballet

I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted this as third or not. This video is better for beginners, but not as long. Also, it can be quite deceiving about how many exercises it has on the DVD. 

3. Ballet Bootcamp

This had a strong ballet based workout, but the floor exercises will need a lot of practice before you can keep up with her. I highly recommend this video.

 

2. New York City Ballet II

This DVD took all of the errors of the original and improved them. If you want a ballet DVD, this is one of the ones I would recommend you try first. It's well worth your money and has a great instructional video for beginners. Fabulous!

1. Element: Ballet Conditioning

I love, love, love this DVD! It's the one I look forward to the most when selecting an exercise DVD. It's cheap, it's well-made, it has a strong ballet exercise, and is just the right length. The only thing I wish it had was a section specifically for learning proper form. Otherwise, this is my favorite exercise DVD that I would recommend to all looking for a ballet fitness workout.

Manga-- Doll

Another ballet manga! There are many of these! This particular manga is called Doll is is written and drawn by the same mangaka as Mars. It's about a New York ballet company and a young amateur dancer auditioning for the company. This is a short story, only being five chapters long, but it's a nice story that I enjoyed reading. So let's take a look into the story of this manga.

As usual, spoilers ahead!

A amateur dancer named Muriel Blaire tries out for a musical. When she accidentally kicks her dance partner during a tricky move, her partner is replaced with a famous Russian, dancer named Alosza. They dance so well together, that the company decided to fill the recently vacated leading role to her.

Unfortunately, the person who Muriel replaced comes back to haunt the partner. Her name is Ginger, and she likes to put Muriel on edge, especially, since she is jealous of Muriel's closeness with Alosza. She interrupts their dinner together to basically make them uncomfortable. Despite Ginger's set backs and the looming doubt of other dancers, Muriel fights her own fear of falling to keep up with Alosza.

Though they are improving, their practices are getting harder. Articles in the newspaper doubt the casting. The directors try to push the dancers further by trying to have them dance from emotional, past experiences. Muriel has trouble with expressing emotions and goes to take a break. On her break, she overhears Alosza say "I love you" in Russian to their ballet director, Ira. Muriel is so upset when she hears this that it throws off the rest of the rehearsal. Her jealousy costs her the role, and they end up asking Ginger to return and play the part.


The musical they put on, Doll, is similar to the ballet, Coppelia. Ginger plays the Doll and Alosza is the boy who falls in love with it. However, as all performances go, there are set backs, and Ginger leaves the stage in a huff. Muriel is asked to replace her mid-act.

Muriel is in the costume closet when Ira, the ballet director, runs in the room. She begs Muriel to dance. When Muriel comments on her begging, saying that Ira must really love Alosza, Ira admits that Alosza is actually her son and that she had to leave him in Russia years ago. Since Alosza was kind enough to forgive her for leaving him, she wants to make Doll perfect for him, and that would require Muriel to dance.

Muriel decides to dance, and of course, it's a great success. Alosza, during the doll's death scene, confesses his love for her and then the curtains fall.

Muriel and Alosza are now a couple, and can stay together since Muriel is offered a part in the company due to her great performance. Now there are new problems, such as competition. Not only are there talented dancers, but Alosza's new partners are threatening their romance.

This ballet would be the new Da Vinci Code

The company is putting on (and I laughed for a good five minutes over this one) a ballet featuring Jesus and Judas. Did I mention that the dance company wants gay-undertones since it's an all male cast? Hahaha, could you just imagine?

This production is a success (though it makes Muriel jealous of men now, as well as women) and the next ballet they put on is a rendition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Muriel, since she dances so well with Alosza, is given the principle role. Her competition wonders why she was given the part when she's a weaker dancer, but when they see her with Alosza, it becomes clear. But the director decides later that the roles they've been given are too mismatched, and so Muriel must swap dance partners.

Muriel ends up hearing from the grapevine that it was not the director's idea to swap partners, by Alosza's own planning. When she confronts him about it, he tells her that he didn't tell since he knew she would cry, and he thought them dancing separately would help them grow as dancers. She starts crying and arrives to practice the next day looking terrible. Her new dance partner, though mean to her before, shows a more sensitive side.


Though Muriel doesn't take the heartbreak well, she does manage to connect with her partner more as he tries to cheer her up. Her and Alosza split more and more, and though her new partner tries to lift her spirits, she just can't imagine dancing without him. She thinks about quitting the company, but her partner tries one last time to keep her dancing by explaining to her that she should dance for herself, not for Alosza.

She takes this advice and dances for herself. Once she was able to dance strongly without Alosza's support, he dances the final act with her on stage. Muriel and Alosza make up when he tells her that he split up because he didn't want to make her into a doll that obeyed to his every word. The story ends with them together.

*end spoilers*

I'm suspecting that this mangaka, author of the manga, knew a lot about American/Western culture, and I'm guessing she may have lived here for sometime. She does a great job with English, cultural influences such as Shakespeare; for instance, their ballet, Twelfth Night, is being performed during Christmas. I wouldn't expect someone from Japan to get such a small detail, which not many English-speakers even know about, correctly.

 This was a really nice story. I loved how the dance was drawn and the story was sweet. Despite the fact that this wasn't a pure ballet manga (there were other forms of dance here, too, like gymnastics), I still loved the dance sequences since there was still a strong ballet vibe. And even though there were some places that made me raise an eyebrow, it really wasn't too bad and I highly recommend reading it if you're interested in this type of thing. Since this isn't released in the US, you can read it here for free.

More ballet-themed exercises to come!

I was browsing eBay and found some exercise DVDs for great prices. I just couldn't pass it up. So now I have three more workout videos to add to my growing cue. Let's see how they measure up. Granted, I'm probably not going to need these DVDs at all since my college offers free yoga and pilates classes and I'm taking ballet classes outside of school, but they are still nice to have around in case I don't have the time.

The new DVDs I'm going to receive sometime next week are: Balocity, Trudie Styler's Sculpt & Tone Ballet, and Attitude Ballet and Pilates Fusion. I'm most excited for the Balocity since it features an ex-New York Ballet dancer.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to find time to review the other items I have planned, such as Ballet Boot Camp. I have taken some screenshots, though I haven't completed the exercise yet. Here's a little snippet of what's to come there:

I have ballet class in an hour so I'm going to get ready! Have fun at your own dance classes and keep up the passion!

Review-- The New York City Ballet Workout II

This is a review of the second workout DVD created by the New York City Ballet. Immediately, the second DVD proves better than the first. I can run this DVD on my computer without any issues. The intro is also much better, less trippy, and interviews the "ballet master" instead of the actress.

The menu is much more organized; no more exercises out of order. Plus, there's an added glossary for those new to ballet. The glossary is a list of ballet moves, each featuring a thirty-second clip and demonstrating the correct form for the chosen movement. Also added are some special features. These are "Special Exercise Programme" (this is where you create your own order for the workout from selected segments), "Quick Fix Target Practices" (additional exercises to hit target areas of your body), making of the video, and clips with the dancers speaking about dance. Also the music, again, can be changed to with or without narration, and there's a choice between contemporary and classical music. I still prefer the classical music, but the contemporary's not too bad.

 Immediately I noticed that the title cards before each exercise looked much more professionally animated. Before, they sort of looked like they were made on Windows Movie Maker or something. I didn't really mind since it wasn't a significant part of the workout, but it definitely shined up the edges in the second DVD.  I also noticed that most of the dancers from the first one have returned (I think there's one new male dancer), which is awesome since I really liked them before.

The intro also explains to mirror the dancers, but then sometimes, especially during the abdominal workout, it has you mimic the dancers instead of mirroring them again. Why the inconsistency? Oh well, it's really not that big of a deal since they've stated to mirror the dancers, and that's exactly what I do.

The into also explains the proper alignment for a neutral pelvis and bracing before beginning the exercises. Though there are still some errors in regards to narration, the narration no longer sounds like a Discovery channel documentary.

Talented dancers still lead us during the exercise.

The workout has some differences but follows a similar pattern. There's warm ups, then some brief floor work, quick floor stretches, abs, and then some floor ballet moves. I do have to say that I felt a better cardio from this DVD, though I prefer the ab workout form the first DVD. Still, both have a decent workout that has strong ballet roots.


Also, they improved the camera transition between instructors. This comes into play during abdominals. The camera will fade smoothly between male and female instructors.

The shoes are highlighted with light for the most part.

I enjoyed this effect. It was subtle, but nice. Also, they improved the location of the ab workout. The light comes from above, no longer from an angle. This highlights the feet a lot better than the first one. Though they still sometimes blend in, there's always just enough light to tell if they are pointing their foot or not.

 This DVD is much better than the first one. The sets are better, the narration is better, the workout still gets me pumped and keeps to its ballet roots. I really enjoy this DVD. The workout is about fifty minutes long again, just right for starting my day. I loved how they introduced us to bracing our abs and reminded us to do so throughout the exercise.

Workout: 9/10

Instructor: 9/10

Setting: 9/10

Camera: 9/10

Level: Beginner - Advance

Is it actually ballet? Yes!

Overall: 9/10

I love this DVD much better than the first. If you tried this DVD and still didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't recommend buying the first one at all. 


Click here to read my review for the New York City Ballet Workout I

Review-- The New York City Ballet Workout I

Here is yet another ballet inspired exercise series, this time from the New York City Ballet. I had some trouble with my usual program so I had to get screencaps a roundabout way. Anyway, here it goes!

So the video starts off with an introduction by Sarah Jessica Parker. I have no idea why she's telling me about dancers. Apparently she used to dance or something... maybe she's sponsoring this video? I don't know. The video intro after her speech is, well, trippy. My first thought was that maybe it would make a lot more sense if I had some marijuana. My second thought was "I wonder if this links up with a Pink Floyd song...." Yeah, the editing made me raise an eyebrow.

The exercise itself is sparse, but it helps because it makes it easy to see the dancer's bodies. The only problem with the sparse setting is that floor work tends to be in a spot light. The dancers wear black shoes and it's hard to see if they are pointing or flexing their foot. What I do like about the exercises is that they have both female and male dancers. This way, guys can also have an instructor to mimic.

Sometimes the shoes disappear into the shadows.

The narration drives me crazy, though. It's like a Discovery channel episode on wildlife animals. "Now, let us observe the New Yorker dancer as she warms up for exercises. With these exercises, she can develop her muscles so she can catch her prey." Yeah, I don't care for it too much. It's nice in that it reminds you to breathe every once in awhile, but other times it doesn't alert you to changes in the workout. Also, it's confusing since the narration changes on you so sometimes you are mirroring the instructors (their right, your left) and other times using the same side (their right, your right). The nice thing is that this DVD comes with options. You can turn off the narration. Heck, you can even change to contemporary music if you don't like to exercise to the classical music.I don't know how to describe the contemporary music. Sometimes it sounds like a Chinese string instrument and then other times it's jazz. It's a large medley of different sounds.

They are pretty good about showing alternative ways to perform stretches in case certain moves are too difficult for you, but they don't always show them or keep them on the screen. The demonstrators tend to show the ideal way to perform it instead, which is fine by me. The exercises are really nice, using real ballet to work the body. The abdominal section is nice because not only does it work your abs, but it works your legs, too. By concentrating on the legs, I didn't think about the burn in my abs, which makes me last longer and build more heat in my core.

The DVD case comes with a pamphlet. Inside are instructions, ways to use the DVD, best ways to exercise (don't eat, remember to breath, wear lose clothing, etc.), which is rather nice. The pamphlet also includes some nice pictures of the dancers performing. There are interviews and photo albums included on the DVD, but for some reason I wasn't able to access it. I'll have to try it on a different DVD player. I also have problems running this DVD on a computer with both Windows Media Player and Windows Media Player Classic. This must be run on a DVD player. Otherwise, certain items in the menu can't be selected and you won't be able to fast forward and click next. Other problems with the menu include that certain exercises are out of order. "Reverence" is listed before other exercises on the menu list even though the title placard says it should be the final exercise.

The DVD also offers a variety of exercise chapters that you can jump to from the title menu. In total, there are four major sections. In these sections are individual exercises that are about three minutes in length each. In total, there are seventeen exercises you can do. So if you do all exercises, it will be about a fifty-minute workout.

Workout: 8/10

Instructor: 5/10

Setting: 8/10

Camera: 8/10

Level: Beginner-Advanced
Is it actually ballet? Yes

Overall: 7.5/10

Not a bad DVD overall, could use some improvements, especially the narration instructor. It made the exercise confusing at times. The people actually performing the exercise routine are professional dancers and can definitely perform the moves, saving the score from dropping significantly low.

If you are looking to buy the DVDs, it is best to buy them together with workouts one and two. This review was only on the first one, the other will come later, but if you think you'll like it, buying the two together will save you money in the long run. Amazon - New York City Ballet Workouts 1 & 2


Click here to read my review for the New York City Ballet Workout II