I Hate to Exercise, I Love to Tap - Tap Dance Instruction for Beginners

this dvd is so perfect for beginners and you will be able to do different types of dances, she explains very well easy to understand, at first i couldnt figure out how to go to next lesson but if you just wait it will automatically go to next lessons and it shows her doing the full dances so you can tell what its supposed to look like when you put it all together. i would definatly reccomend this dvd

A good way to learn tap dancing

This video is EVERYTHING I expected and MORE! Bonnie really is clear with her instructions and does a great job of helping you understand what you are doing. Through the routines, you enjoy yourself, you learn, you sweat and you pant, because she really does give you a good, healthy, cardio workout. I would suggest that anyone just starting out go at a slower pace. Don't try to do the video all at once, especially if you have health issues. Learn where your limits are and go further as you develop your stamina. This video is definitely worth the money! You would pay many times the price to learn the same thing in a studio. Plus, you have the ability to practice at home, every day. No gasoline prices, weather extremes, heavy traffic, or schedules to deal with. Practice when your lifestyle permits. Taking classes along with this video would be beneficial, but during spells when no studio classes are available, this video will definitely get you through the season! If your goal is to lose weight, stick with a regular routine of this workout and watch your diet (just because you want to eat healthier) and you *should* be able to lose weight and have fun at the same time!This IS a good video for the beginner or even for the middle-of-the-road level dancer. It is a FUN, GREAT workout.The only other instructional video I've found that even comes close to the same fun and learning is Bella Dancerella's Tap is a Snap video, which is focused more on children, but also a very good beginner's learning tool, if you are afraid you need a little slower start-up, or if you want to find an instructional video that will keep your child's attention. I would suggest owning BOTH programs.

There are many things to love about this video. I'll just name a few:1. Pace. She doesn't spend an agonizingly long time on the steps, but she does take long enough to show you exactly what you need to know with some repetition. This makes the video easy to use over and over, whereas some go too fast and others take so long in the beginning you have to fast forward all the time.2. Her Outfit. I have owned dance videos in which the instructors wear entirely inappropriate clothing - like black pants, tights and shoes - so that you cannot properly see what their feet are doing. Bonnie wears an outfit that would get her laughed out of town if she wore it on the street, but that makes it SO EASY to see what she's doing! Every single piece of clothing is a different color.3. Her Enthusiasm. The title is right on. She may hate to exercise, but she LOVES to tap, and that makes the video that much better.4. Her Connections. It certainly doesn't hurt this instructor's credibility that she has danced with Donald O'Connor...5. Her teaching style. It may seem minor, but some people find it difficult to mimic dance steps from a video. If she is facing the camera straight on, she moves her right foot but says "left" so that she is a mirror image of you, rather than you having to remember to use your right foot when she uses hers.Definitely a good buy if you want to learn to tap (though, until you get to the routines and get good at them, it is not strenuous enough to replace your regular cardio workout).

Let me say straight away - I HATE TO EXERCISE. OK I yelled it, but I really do hate it. And I have two left feet and I am your general oaf.Why do I confess this? Because Bonnie taught me to tap. I adore it! I did not think it was possible to teach me to tap to be honest. I started just wanting to learn the basics, but started to realize I was tappping and when I finally got all the way thru without making a mistake I nearly passed out from excited hyperventilation!Bonnie makes no assumptions that you know a thing about tap so this is really a great DVD for the flat out beginner. She dances thru a number and then she breaks it down with closeups piece by piece, all sectioned out in small lessons so you can master it and move on to the next segment. But the end you are dancing and taping and it sounds so good and you look in the mirror and are stunned that that is you - tapping exercising with a giant smile on your face.I have never had so much fun exercising (and it IS exercise)in my entire life.Maybe I do not have two left feet after all.This is good for all ages. She does not talk down to you. She makes sure everything is clear and she does something intangible that allows you to really get it.Cannot recommend this enough.

Excellent simple easy DVD! Eager to break my new tap shoes in i subscribed to various you tube tutorial/ tap lesson channels. A bit mechanical and dry; they were helpful. After watching the greats, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Jimmy Slide, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr. And many others I decided to find a DVD. I found Bonnie by the straight- to- the- point title: I HATE TO EXERCISE... i fell in love with Bonnie's classical training! Many videos i've watched didn't have this piano sound I was looking to learn with- Bonnie has it! I feel like I'm practicing with one of the greats!IntroWarm upFloor Exercises (which have nothing to do with getting on the floor thank God!)+ 3 ROUTINES (I won't share what they are, because I encourage you to buy it and try it!)IF you take the training serious with Bonnie, I can't see any reason or way you couldn't become addicted to tapping as well as becoming an excellent tap dancer right from home! I especially love that Bonnie encourages you to practice your Floor Exercises anywhere and barefoot if you wish until you are confident to move on to her hopping and jazzy routines. Unless you're that person who prefers to pay monthly for tap classes and surround yourself with other beginners- TRY THIS DVD FIRST!

This is a good dance DVD - except it's actually an 80s video put onto disc. The picture is not very good and the setting is dated BUT the content is good so I'm keeping it.I don't use it much because, despite the title, it is structured more like a lesson than a workout, and I find I don't have time to do a separate warm up, then the lesson, then a separate cool down, (I hate chainging discs and stopping and starting) but if you take it as a learning exercise, it seems to be well structured and easy to follow and I'm looking foward to finding a bit more time to do it more often, and once I've learnt more steps, of course it will function more as a workout.It seems to be clear and easy to follow, and I'd say anyone could learn to tap from this DVD.

This dvd is great - the basic steps are introduced and thoroughly practised in an enjoyable way. The music is provided by a jazz trio, as opposed to the awful keyboard music so often found on other programmes. I go to tap class and use this dvd as a daily practice routine inbetween - there are interesting routines as well as barre (using chair) and floor work. I think it is instantly appealing for anyone whether beginner or more experienced, and Bonnie Franklin presents the material in a professional and encouraging manner. Although the dvd I bought is in NTSC format it works on my laptop, Play station and TV/DVD - although it only shows B+W on the PS2. It's fine on TV or laptop. Having looked at other programmes (notably the awful Hot Tap 1) this is by far the best and I love it!

I bought this DVD based on the other reviews, and it's a pleasure to use.The progression through the different steps / techniques is very clear, and the teaching style is enthusiastic but very human - there's no expectation that you'll be able to follow everything the very first time.Like one of the other reviewers, I'm using the DVD as well as going to a weekly beginners' class. I find it's helping build confidence and technique, and a bit of flexibility!I think this is a great instructional DVD as long as you follow her advice - repeat a section or a step whenever you need to, and don't rush on ahead until you're really happy.

My daughter and I bought this for fun, hoping that as the name implies, it would be an enjoyable way to get fit - and to learn to dance in the process! We weren't disappointed! The instruction is easy to follow, starting with basic steps and progressing to putting these together to form simple routines. We love it!

I loved this DVD. The title says it all. The routines are great, starting off with a nice easy routine that anyone can pick up and ending with the famous Time-step which we all aspire to. Great way to keep fit, after the first day my calves really knew I'd done something different. I'm not a young thing anymore but I thoroughly enjoyed doing these routines.