Element: Ballet Conditioning
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DVD details
Actor: Elise GulanDirector: n/a
Brand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 51 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-12-04
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: ANCHOR BAY
DVD Reviews of Element: Ballet Conditioning
DVD Review: Not really for beginners
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm trying to find a good DVD to exercise, and I thought I'd try ballet - hey, who doesn't want to be more graceful, lean, and strong? All the other DVDs I saw reviewed on Amazon seemed to be for an existing dancer (which I'm not!) to refine technique, or a mix of ballet-Pilates or ballet-yoga.
So you know who's doing this review - I'm very tall, 235 lbs, 30 years, good athletic background but not in great shape now. I am certainly NOT one of those women whose reviews I read here on Amazon who complain that an exercise video spends TOO MUCH time demonstrating moves, and gives too much of a break between moves. Nope! I need things simple and paced so that I can actually do it. So with that in mind, here's my review of Elise Gulan's Ballet Conditioning:
Pros:
1) Gorgeous Pacific background (someone's beautiful house)
2) Gulan has an amazing figure and is very graceful - gives me something to which to aspire, and trying to imitate her grace took my mind off the difficulty of what I was doing - a tiny bit at least.
3) I found the moves very difficult, and I was working hard let me tell you!
4) For a complete ballet newbie, I guess there was a good element of introduction to ballet moves and terms.
Cons:
1) I was distracted by the fact that she kept on referring to long, lean dancer's muscles - but she's a beast. Great figure, yes, very graceful movements, yes - but slender and delicate no. Her thighs could not only crack walnuts - but could crack a walnut DESK! With a little self-tan and a tiny bikini, she could compete for body-building, I'm actually serious here.
2) I have to say this - since I volunteered at a fire station I probably (unfortunately) know more about soft-core pron than most women... I am willing to swear blind that the production company mixing the music does mostly soft-core pron. It was so disconcerting, and distracting - in the first section there was even the classic 70s pron "bow-wow" every now and then. With that ocean background, contact-paper "wood" platform, and fake cultured voiceover - it really was set up like soft-core pron.
3) Gulan's voiceover is freakin' annoying. I know she's trying to sound soft, musical, warm, and classy - but it sounds unnatural and forced. And she has a VERY weird, distracting habit of "warming" nearly every line (the only explanation I could find for the weirdness), so that it sounds like she's making a dirty innuendo; my mental image is of her constantly wiggling her eyebrows and winking creepily. What the heck?? This really adds to the creepy soft-core pron feeling of this video.
4) As to the actual exercise - the segment was too long, and impossible for anyone other than a dedicated gym-rat or ballerina to follow. It was very discouraging to me. She just never stops, and never gives you even a second's rest, and rather than switching muscles just sticks with the same ones, nonstop. Yes I know I have a remote, but I think a good choreographer builds exercise programs in segments, and switches muscle groups.
5) Her instructions tend to give important info a little too late to be helpful - not until the very end of the last leg of moves where she's casually lifting her leg to her ears (ok, I'm exaggerating) does she mention that it doesn't matter if you only lift it an inch, practice will increase flexibility, yada yada. My pulled groin would have appreciated that little tidbit a bit earlier! :)
My verdict:
If you really want to do ballet conditioning, and are willing to kill yourself every day until you can actually follow her moves, go for it. If you want to have a reasonably paced, uplifting workout session, go elsewhere. You'll end up discouraged and feeling inadequate, instead of proud of your hard work. And maybe a little creeped out and dirty.
Whereas I've put in Tracey Mallett every day, this is only the second time I've put in this DVD... and probably not too many more times. Ebay here I come!
DVD Review: Blistering workout-- Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
This video is deceptively intense, but an amazingly simple workout for the effort. 40-45 minutes of intense muscle toning for legs, with incredible stretches and resistence work for arms that leaves you feeling leaner, taller and stronger every time. Another 10-15 minutes of intense abs work to round it out. I highly recommend this video for casual dancers (like, if you took ballet classes as a pre-teen) and those who never have danced to really challenge your muscles in new and unique ways. It gets easier over time as your flexibility develops (and it does), but never stops being an exhausting workout.DVD Review: Great ballet DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is exactly what I was looking for!! I had taken ballet for several years up until high school. It has now been 10 years since then and I wanted a refresher on the exercises I used to do for strengthening and stretching. This DVD is perfect! It has all the exercises I used to do, what a great way to tone up my body again. DVD Review: Superb!
Summary: 5 Stars
This Ballet Conditioning DVD is excellent! It provides a magnificent workout and is fun to do. Set against a beautiful backdrop and accompanied with serene music, I can totally feel my whole body transforming every time I do it. I have especially noticed a difference in my legs and arms after 14 days. I actually look forward to doing this DVD 3-4 times a week. It has become one of my absolute favorite exercise DVD's ever.DVD Review: GREAT WORK OUT!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this DVD! I used to do ballet but haven't in YEARS. I was looking for an interesting workout and this is fantastic. It's challenging and fun. I have been doing it every other day for almost 2 weeks and can already see more definition in my legs! You just feel BETTER after this DVD. I plan to continue until I can master the moves as well as the instructor (trust me, some of it is tough). I feel like I REALLY get a good workout in. Highly recommended!
Description of Element: Ballet Conditioning
Ballet Dancers always have slender bodies that are both strong and lean with lovely proportion and gorgeous body lines. One of the greatest secrets to a dancer's body is ballet conditioning which focuses on all muscle groups. In this unique program your muscles will work smoothly in unison to create a long streamlined silhouette with flat abs a lean lower body and beautifully defined curves. Moving gracefully and fluidly through this series of exercises you will strengthen and stretch your way to a dancer s body.Element is proud to support the Arbor Day Foundation. For every four Element DVDs purchased a tree will be planted (up to 20000 trees annually). In addition to generating oxygen trees provide air pollution control and decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide levels thereby reducing global warming. www.arborday.orgElise Gulan has over 18 years in dance education including Ballet Pointe Tap and Jazz. She was a principal soloist for the Virginia Ballet Company where she danced for seven years appearing in productions such as Copelia Swan Lake and Nutcracker Suite. She brought her love of expression through movement to her new career as a certified personal trainer and instructor of Yoga Core Fusion? and Core Energy Flow?. Elise enjoys helping her students to find their inner strength and to energize their joy of life through physical and mental fitness.System Requirements:Length: 51 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?HEALTH/FITNESS/DANCE Rating:?NR UPC:?013131535198 Manufacturer No:?DV15351The instructor, Elise, was kind enough to answer some questions from Amazon.com about the Element line of DVDs.
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Elise: A dancer's silhouette is the ideal physique for a woman today. It provides strength through lean, elegant, streamlined muscles. The strengthening of the dance conditioning movements will help melt away fat while creating lean musculature that is still feminine and graceful. The stretching element of dance creates length, not only in the muscles, but in the spine as well. Training with ballet conditioning will give a woman a strong, tall slender body.
How did you manage to create a ballet conditioning program that doesn't use a barre or any other equipment?
Elise: I created a workout that uses the strength of the core to create balance and stability in the body. The sequences on this dvd are both accessible and challenging for anyone! Many ballet conditioning exercises actually don't use the barre as a weight-bearing tool-it's only for balance. In this DVD a beginner can use a chair to aid in balance, as they build core strength. A more advanced practitioner can do much of the series without the aid of a chair, simply by bracing the body with the strength of the abdominals, and a lifted, elongated spine.
Who is this workout good for?
Elise: This workout is amazing for women and men of all shapes and sizes! Ballet Conditioning uses one's own body weight as resistance, so it is safe to do every day, for women AND men. from the strongest athlete, to the ultimate newcomer to fitness. It works to build strong, lean muscle, raise the heart-rate, and speed up metabolism. Dance also helps create rhythm, grace, and balance while building a supple flexible spine. .
What do you think consumers will find different about Element DVDs from other workout programs?
Elise: I know that consumers will enjoy the pure elegance of these DVDs. This is what truly sets the 'element' series apart from other brands of DVDs. The Element DVD's encourage a solid mind/body connection, which encourages practitioners to explore their physical edge, while being truly mentally & emotionally present in the moment. These programs are fluid and graceful in their movement, and provide a HUGE physical fitness element in a nurturing and encouraging environment. .
Tell us about the connection with this DVD and the efforts to reduce global warming.
Elise: Element DVDs support the harmony of mind and body, which encourages a social and global awareness. This harmony encourages us to do what we can to make a difference in the world. For every four Element DVDs sold, a tree will be planted in a national forest. Consumers are therefore doing their part to reduce their carbon footprint, and the dangerous effects of global warming. If we work together, we can spread health and happiness one deep breath at a time.
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