In my quest to get back to exercising three times a week, I have decided to return to an old favorite - aerobic dance. Marilu Henner's Dancerobics had been on my shelf for a long time before I put it into the VCR again last night - but it used to be a tape that I used several times a week.

Of course, part of the reason that I like this tape so well is the reason that a lot of people might not enjoy it: the aerobic dance portion is based on dance steps that are somewhat more complicated to follow than what the usual exercise video features. For me, this is very enjoyable - I love to dance. I have at least 15 years of ballet training behind me, several years of modern dance, and even some jazz and tap training. At one point I wanted to be a professional dancer. Learning complex sequences is still easy for me.

For most people, though, an exercise video should feature easy steps - this tape could become really frustrating to people without a dance background. That being said, a lot of the dancing is really fun once you get the hang of the steps. Henner does break the steps down into manageable portions and reminds the viewer that it's okay if you don't catch on right away - the important thing is to keep moving and get your heart rate up.

The exercise routine itself is split into several parts: Warm up; stretch; aerobic workout; cool-down; calesthenics for legs; butt and abdominals; and a final stretch. This is a fine sequence, lasting about 50 minutes. One of the three demonstrators (Marilu Henner being the "lead" demonstrator) does the aerobics section in a low-impact way to help those of us with knee problems and others who just want a slightly less exhausting workout. Honestly, every time I do this workout, even when I do it in a low-impact way, my heart rate goes to my "target heart rate" easily and I always work up a good sweat. My only criticism, aside from some of the complexity of the dancing, is that there isn't much in the way of exercise for arms and shoulders.

Throughout the video, Marilu Henner keeps up a steady patter of encouragement, some of which I find cloying. She has a cute nickname for at least 70% of the exercises ("The Frankenstein," "the Travelodge Bear," etc.), and sometimes her extemporaneous comments make her seem incredibly ditzy.
She could probably do more in the way of reminding the viewer about form and breathing, but in general, she is tolerable. A couple of times she unthinkingly starts talking what I call "dance-ese," instructing the viewer to "find your center." She finally clarifies that she means that you should find "your center in balance," which means pretty much what it sounds like it does.

The music is mediocre studio music, servicable, but not something that you'd listen to if you didn't have the video on.

The video also comes with a diet and health booklet, half of which is taken up listing the exercises on the video (who knows why). The other half has interesting, but not necessarily common, advice on diet - not bad to read, but certainly too large a topic for a booklet to cover.

On the whole, I like this video. It's tailor made for someone like me; I like a high energy workout, I like to dance, and I'm comfortable learning challenging steps. If this describes you, go find this video now and start using it! If, however, you find yourself frustrated with learning complex steps, it might be best to stick with a more standard exercise video.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older