Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom

I received this and two other dvds (DWTS Latin Cardio and Dance off the Pounds) a few days ago after ordering from Amazon. I love Julianne in DWTS and think she's an amazing dancer, so that was one of the reasons I bought this dvd. To be honest, I'm 20 years old and am what I like to call a casual intermittent exerciser. I do pilates workouts every once in a while and though I have some muscle tone, it's really not very much (I'm not like pudding, at least!). I'm also from Latin/Hispanic descent and so, you'd think dancing would come naturally but it doesn't. I DON'T DANCE. Seriously. So going in to this workout, I knew I'd have difficulty with the steps but I didn't think it would be THAT hard. Boy was I wrong! This dvd is a real workout. I mean, the warm-up alone makes you work up a sweat! The moves are difficult to learn, but there's a special segment called 'Dance lessons' where Julianne breaks down the moves, and haves you repeat them. The good thing is, since it's not part of the work out you can re-play all you want without fear of losing your place or lowering your heart rate. The dances themselves incorporate real moves, although of course a bit stylized to suit the whole workout dvd idea. The Cha-cha really works your abs and hips. It's a lot of figure eights and hip action. The Jive will KILL your legs. And the Paso Doble will make your arms ache. If done right it can also help with obliques. Again, I'm NEW NEW NEW to dancing, and so the steps are SUPER HARD for me, but I find myself practicing the steps everywhere, the kitchen, bathtub (not safe) etc. And I've gotten quite a few of them a lot sooner than I expected. If you can't do them correctly the first time, don't give up!! Keep practicing, just like the stars in the real show do, and trust me with time, you'll learn them and you'll be able to keep up! It's a real cardio work out and it really works your legs and abs. Plus, Julianne is really cute in a sweet sometimes a little dorky kind of way. It's not boring at all! And if you can't keep up or feel waaayyy too tired, don't worry! One of the backup dancers was having problems too! You could just see she was REALLY tired half-way through the Jive. So it's not like they're super people either :D Definitely get this workout if you want a fun cardio alternative to working the treadmill and want to learn a few sexy, cool moves at the same time! EDIT: These workouts are killer! You don't stop moving and you don't slow down for one bit! If you think this is a sissy workout, you're sooo wrong. The Jive alone will MURDER you. Out of all the dance workout dvds I own, this one is by far the BEST and the HARDEST. You may need to pick a dance and repeat it over and over until you get all the moves down. Once you do that you can move on to the next.

I really like Julianne and was very excited to see that this dvd was coming out. I have absolutely no dance experience other then other workout dvds with 'dance inspired' moves. I can say that this is really fun to do and she does a really good job at breaking things down so you can understand. It will def. take some practice for me to get through the three dances seamlessly, but I think someone with experience would have an easier time. The cha cha is really fun to learn and I think the addition of her "Private Lesson" section really does help with technique. I did that part first and then went through the rest of the dvd. When I felt I wasn't getting things right, I went back to the lesson and sure enough it made a difference when I went through the routine again. I like her teaching style. She isn't overly chatty and cheesy which is great. I don't want an instructor to be my cheerleader, I want them to show me how to do a workout. She does a good job of breaking things down and repeats things so you get a chance to get it down. Sometimes I think its pace is a little fast for a beginner, but I just rewind the section and do it over until I am comfortable with it. It got my heart rate up and I was breaking a sweat which was great, and I was sore the next day after doing it too! I do think the addition of the dance lesson is one of the best parts of the whole dvd, it does make a difference in your workout and although it is only 12 minutes, she gives you a few tips to get the moves right for each of the 3 dance routines. The dance routines are 48 minutes long and the dance lesson is 12. I really hope she puts another dvd out, she is a great instructor and this is a fun way to get a cardio workout in at home and to tone up at the same time. Def. a keeper!

I have many dance workout DVDs, and this is by far the best one that I own. It isn't plagued by all the problems that typical dance videos have (boring instructors, ineffective workouts, etc.) Julianne is very engaging, motivating, and fun. And the routines are great exercise. I even found the warm-up and cool-down portions to be effective and much different from what you usually get on these types of DVDs. Pros: - The workout is fun. It's one of the only ones I do where I am not constantly checking the time to see how much longer I have to torture myself. - Most of the steps are real dance steps, so if your goal is not only to get in shape but also to learn Latin ballroom dance steps, you'll love this video. Julianne doesn't turn everything into dance aerobics moves that you do 50 times and then you're done. She teaches real moves that you've seen on Dancing with the Stars countless times. - She puts the steps into actual dance routines that flow from one move to the next. She doesn't just take a few basic steps like mambo breaks or grapevines, do each one 3 or 4 times, and call that a "routine." - She has one of the backup dancers demonstrate some modifications of her moves that may be easier for people who have bad knees or are really out of shape and can't do everything exactly the way Julianne does it. Cons: - Julianne's "personal dance lesson" doesn't go through all of the steps, and some of the moves not included in the lesson are difficult to pick up on without rewinding a lot or playing in slow motion. I know it will take a lot of practice to get these steps down regardless of how well she breaks them down, but I just feel like if you're going to add a section to the DVD where you explain how to do specific steps, you could explain a lot more of them than she does. - The camerawork is not the best I've ever seen. It frequently will show only Julianne's face, and that's not what you need to see to be able to pick up the steps. At other times, it only shows her hips or the top half of her body so you can't really see what her feet and legs are doing. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I want to learn how to do the moves correctly from top to bottom. The camera angles make that difficult sometimes. - The individual dance routines (cha cha, jive, paso doble) are grouped together so you can do the entire workout without having to manually switch from one dance to the next, and they are also available in separate chapters if you only want to do one at a time. But the warm-up and cool-down portions are only available if you choose to play the entire workout. That makes it more of a pain to try to do the warm-up and cool-down with just one or two of the routines when you don't have time to do the entire workout. Overall, this DVD is more than worth the money. It has its flaws, but it is MUCH better than any other Latin cardio DVD that I've tried. You will come away feeling like you got a great workout, and the dances are so fun that I actually want to keep going even after I've finished my workout. If you liked Julianne on DWTS, you will really enjoy this workout.

Disclaimer - I have a heavy background in jazz and ballet dancing. She basically teaches you three combinations - Cha-Cha, Jive, & Paso Doble. I'm worried that after 3 or 4 times (I've only done it once), I will get bored because I'll already know the combo, and she teaches it one 8-count at a time. You repeat the 8-count several times in a row, she adds on another 8 count, then you put it together. Some of the moves require a lot of coordination! It's fun to learn and practice some of the social dancing moves you see on "Dancing with the Stars", and she certainly has a body that motivates you to work out and try to look like her. But honestly, this did not get me sweating enough to be worth the 40 minutes. After 40 minutes of working out, I should be sweaty and sore. That didn't happen. However, this would be a great beginner workout for someone with good coordination but is out of shape. Too bad, because she was my favorite on the show.

I must say, my girlfriend is a big fan of dancing and working out. She decided to get this DVD considering she wanted to try something new, since she and I have been working out to Jillian Michaels for months now. We love that kick ass Jillian but we wanted to try something different. Since this DVD was on sale, we just decided to go for it. And plus it was a cheap buy, so we asked ourselves what have we got to lose? Well, the answer is...more so than we wanted. First of all, Julianne Hough is a GREAT dancer and she kicked butt on DWTS. However, this DVD is horrible! My girlfriend and I have been working out hard core for months and just wanted something fun to work out too, so what better than dancing and working out right? Yeah, I feel like with this DVD, I am not working out whatsoever. My girlfriend felt like she was just standing there the whole time, moving all over the place, wondering what the heck is Julianne doing. She is a great dance but she's no dance teacher. Her directions are all over the place, and both my wife and I cannot seem to get the moves down. It was so uncoordinated, and all of a sudden she'll spring on new moves without explaining them in the beginning, causing a whole lot of confusion. As soon as we were done and attempting to dance, we concluded that this is hardly a work out, that it was a waste of money, and Julianne Hough is definitely not a great exercise/dance teacher on DVD. It was a huge pile of mess. The only way to do these moves is if you already know them and are a professional dancer. We wanted something to workout to. This does nothing but cause frustration. Julianne Hough's voice is also a bit annoying on the DVD. Will not be doing any DWTS workouts again.

Ok so! I used to weigh 300 pounds. A couple weeks ago I went 100% raw vegan and am now down to 256 pounds. So, when this came in yesterday, I thought I was in deep poopy for thinking I could have a chance at doing anything in this dvd, as I ordered it on a whim, without reading the reviews or watching a preview... All I knew is that I love her attitude, and that was enough for me... Now, before I tell you how it went, let me say that AFTER I did it, I came on here and read the reviews. A recurring thing was that it was too fast, hard for beginners, focused too much on her face, etc. Now let me say, I've been known to be a high energy, high endurance person with good coordination. I cannot stay still. I despise the thought of failure and if Im told that Im doing something wrong, I do it my way anyways (such as peeling fruit, or, in one case, sliding across anaa ice rink on my bumsy, or making paper fans when I sit under an A.C. Unit). Let me remind you, I am 256 pounds, with an inverted cocyx and tendonitus. Now, heres the sad, pathetic, mind blowingly stupid part of it aaall... I was able to do this video. WITH EASE. I,think the jive was my favorite, with all the kickies n flickies. The moves were easy to learn, and youd be amazed at how a pause button and a mirror can insure that your doing it right. I loved the on tempo, its very fun and invigorating. The fact is,your doing repitition for a lil bit. When your doing the moves over and over (not too many times though) it doesnt matter if you can see her feet or not because its THE SAME FREAKING MOVES. If you cant do it with her feet, then how does showing only her face affect you? It doesnt. All in all, agreat, fun, easy, happy workout experience!

first off let me just say i'm no dancer but i do love dance workouts and i love dancing with the stars. i definitely have two left feet but i think dancing is fun and a good way to lose weight. i love watching ballroom dancing and i always wanted to learn some basic moves(for kicks). this workout will make you sweat and get your heart rate up. you will have fun and it won't even feel like you're exercising. Julianne is sweet and fun to watch and surprisingly easy to learn from. now it will take a few times to get the moves down(definitely check out the tutorial first) but it's fun to learn and you will still get in a good workout. i mean the point of this is to have fun and burn some calories not to become a professional dancer. so i wouldn't worry if you don't dance like Julianne because she is a pro and this is a workout dvd not private ballroom lessons(which by the way would take several lessons before you could get a routine down#. plus you got something to work up to and it will keep you coming back for more. i would recommend this to any fitness level and any level of dance experience (the moves really aren't all that complicated and you can add in your own flair or modification. i mean you're at home not performing in a recital). typical ballroom music but the production is very well done and julianne looks great (perfect dancer body). honestly, if i can do this workout anybody can!!!!

Julianne Hough is an incredible dancer and I am certain a good teacher IN PERSON!! As an absolute novice to ballroom dancing the steps and moves on this video are way too complicated and fast for me to learn in any reasonable amount of time. I think it would take me weeks using it on a daily basis. Did I get a good work out? Yes. I certainly got a cardio by just throwing in my own dance moves when I wasn't getting it with her which was most of the time. I did watch the teaching section and again, so fast it didn't help me much. Will I use this video? Rarely. I do not have the time it will take to learn the moves. I may pull it out every so often on a Saturday night just to have fun, but for me, I will stick to my Leslie Sansone videos for my daily morning workouts, which require no learning curve, can be done the first time you watch them and give me incredible cardio and strength training all at the same time.