Sherri Jacquelyn
This video is only available from CIA and the review is based only on a
preview. First thing to say about this video is you must love to dance.
The second comment is that it is nothing like Kathy Smith's Latin Rythmns.
With that done I have to say I CAN'T wait to do this video. This workout
looks so fun!! If there is anyone out there looking to dance this video is
for you. I can't make a judgement on the intensity as I haven't done it yet
but by the preview I say high intermediate at the lowest scale (maybe while
you are learning the moves). I would say after you have the moves down and
can put a lot into it it would be low advanced. It's definately more hip
hop than Latin. There is great vocal music including songs from Christina
Aguilera, Savage Garden, Marc Anthony, and Enrique Inglesis(sp) to name a
few.
This is a straight up dance routine reminding me of my cheerleader days.
After a nice warm up and stretch she starts with a routine. It moves fast
so this is definately one that will take a while to learn. She teaches one
section (about 1 eight count) at a time and then reviews it and starts from
the top. About halfway through she starts at the midway point when teaching
new moves. At the very end you put it all together for a routine. It's
really hard to explain the moves because there is no traditional aerobics
moves, it's all dance. She does include salsa, cha-cha, and merengue (sp)
into the routine. I do like the way she has only a few marches in place,
most of the time the filler work is salsa.
Sherri and her CIA gang are dressed in dance clothes (jazz outfits). The
only thing I didn't like while previewing is my eyes kept drifting to the
girl on the right who was a little buxom and she jiggled so much it was kind
of distracting. But this all girl crew looked like they were really having
fun. One point in the video Sherri does a little hip pivot and says "I hope
my mom and dad don't see that". I
definately think anyone who just wants to dance will love this video!!
Tara W.
11/4/00
This is my cardio candy of the moment, but it does fall under the category of
"pure dance" videos that will not appeal to everybody. If you only do
rigidly structured, equally-balanced left and right videos, or can't stand
"attitude" or "shake what you got", look elsewhere. But if you're ready to
get down on the floor - literally - and breakdance, your search is over!
In the warmup, Sherri does a sort of preview of the aerobic section, during
which she teaches cha-chas, mambos, merengue and salsa steps. After a
limbering-style stretch, it's on to the main event. The next 38 minutes
consists of teaching one long combo, which is done on only one side. The
routine combines the aforementioned Latin moves with funk moves like "pull
your pants up", kicks, ball changes and a long arm-popping combo. Then you
have to drop to your hands and feet to breakdance - this will put your Leaner
Legs to the ultimate test! Sherri teaches a small section, repeats it a few
times, puts it together with whatever came previously and moves on to the
next section. At the end, there are several TIFTs. Her style is similar to
Patrick Goudeau's in that she does very little cueing, mainly just counting,
so you have to remember a lot of the choreography on your own. But I didn't
find it hard to memorize, and all the hip-shaking and arm-popping, combined
with super music (Bailamo, Give Me Tonight, My Love Is Your Love and other
dance hits) make this the most fun workout since Hi-Lo Heaven. (There's
abwork at the end, for those who want it.)
This isn't a "pure" Latin workout, but more like Latin-flavored hip-hop/funk.
Also, while there is some in-between marching (or salsa-stepping as a
substitute) this video leaves me absolutely drenched and panting, and I
consider myself pretty advanced. Sherri goes pretty quickly from one thing
to the next, and offers very few modifications, so you need to know your
limits. Not a huge amount of space is required; there's some moving up and
down the room, and a couple of high kicks. I was able to do this on carpet,
which may actually be an advantage for the breakdancing part.
Latin Groove is one video I reach for when I don't feel like working out, and
it perks me up every time. If you have a weakness for The Grind, Paula
Abdul, G-Force and other funky stuff, give it a try! Grade: A
Instructor comments: This was my first time seeing Sherri Jacquelyn, and I
thought she looked and sounded awfully familiar. Then I realized, she's the
same person as Sherri Donahue who, under a mop of big '80s hair, led the
campy funk workout on CIA 3004 which I still love. Sherri still has plenty
of sass, and her tight white pants and white no-visible-means-of-support
halter top is sure to make male SO's look twice. But she is also funny,
motivating and brings out the kid in me.
Sue Bryant
1/17/01
The Latin Groove Workout is basically just an hour of shaking your booty and having a great time. I couldn't believe how fast this workout went by. The choreography is a bit tricky, but she takes things from the top on a pretty regular basis. If you don't like taking things from the top and building on them, this probably isn't the tape for you, but I felt like it was a good way to teach this kind of routine because it is basically a dance routine. This video isn't terribly difficult, probably at an intermediate level depending on how much you put into it, but it was a lot of fun, and I felt like I got a good workout even though it wasn't as intense as I usually prefer my cardio. This video has a place in my collection, and I look forward to doing it often.
Instructor comments:
Sherry is great with cuing, and has a lot of energy, which is really important on a dance tape. She seems to be enjoying herself!
Hilarie Dansie
October 8, 2004
