Jazzercise: Burlesque

Bear with me as this is my first time attempting a review, I'm sure it won't be as detailed as many of your awesome reviews are, but I will do my best. I would like to preface by saying that I love group dance workout classes (Zumba & Cardio Bellydance) and dancing in general, however I have never really clicked with dance workout DVDs. The only ones that remain in my collection are Misty Tripoli's Groove series and a couple of Turbo Jams, so I was totally expecting that this would be an immediate add to my trade list. However, I really enjoyed the workout and it's a keeper for me.

The workout starts with a nice, easy warm up including some dynamic stretches with a dancey feel. Then you move into the main cardio part of the workout which consists of short dance segments (can't remember how many). Each song contains 2 different sets of 3 or 4 simple moves which are repeated. There is no real TIFTing (which I hate), the moves are pretty basic and the simplicity allows your heart rate to get up without having to stop & "catch" the choreography. There were just two moves that I couldn't "get" on the first try-but I just kept moving and was fine. There are also a couple of higher impact moves but they could easily be modified. The songs are short so you don't get bored with the repetitiveness.

The second part of the workout is a short (10 minute) abs & leg toning section. The ab moves are standing crunch type moves which I didn't really feel much from but they were fun and a good transition from the cardio portion. The leg moves consisted of an unweighted lunge & plie series. If you go deep enough you can feel a little burn on these. The workout ends with a cool down & stretch, again with a dancey vibe. It was hard to get deep enough into the stretches because of the movement but overall it was a decent cool down.

General impressions: This is a Burlesque workout so there is definitely talk about being sexy but it wasn't overdone. The outfits are corset inspired but pretty modest and tasteful. Jillian Michaels usually shows a lot more skin than most of these girls. The set is pretty, in pink, black & white with a boudoir type theme. The music is great! The songs are remixes of current and recent pop songs with vocals (including J-Lo's "On the Floor" and the Pussycat Dolls "Don't Cha"). I think the intensity is pretty solid intermediate level if you give it some effort. It's not a hard core workout but I did work up a bit of a sweat. Overall, it was a fun and well done dance workout that I will actually do again!