Breakthru Cardio Dance

Tracy York, Michelle Dozois
Year Released: 2000

Categories: Floor Aerobics/Hi-Lo/Dance


This is a 40-minute dancy cardio routine followed by a 30-minute bonus Pilates section (times taken from the DVD cover). Tracy and Michelle take turns leading. While one leads, the other is part of the class, which also includes one other female and two male dancers.

Tracy leads both the warm-up and the first combination. I found the warm-up to progress to jumping a bit too fast for my taste, and a little hard on the knees. The combinations are all taught add-on style, so there’s a fair amount of TIFTing.

It turns out I just don’t care for Tracy York all that much. I found her combination to be difficult to catch on to, in part because she doesn’t cue well (if at all—at one point she actually says “what was that?” as if she really didn’t know), in part because a good chunk of the combination faces the side. Maybe it was the choreography, but I doubt I’ll be spending enough time with this workout to figure that out. The second combination was led by Michelle, and I like her much better. The combination was a lot more fun, and I was able to follow along with no problems.

The third section puts Tracy’s and Michelle’s combinations together—it’s led by Tracy, and I fast-forwarded because she bugs me so. (I almost turned off the workout before Michelle took over, and I was glad I didn’t, but I wasn’t going to deal with Tracy a second time around.) Michelle leads the cool down, which is just long enough and still a little dancy. There’s not much stretching.

The bonus Pilates section is titled “Hardcore Conditioning” and is led, at least at first, by Tracy (or the fact that she was tapping her feet during her Pilates warm-up). I didn’t care for Tracy or for the music (80’s-type sythesizer music), so I turned the DVD off and did my own Pilates routine. I can’t comment on the rest of it, but there are about four variations on the roll-up.

As half of a 2-pack that retailed for under $6 at Wal-Mart, this was a bargain. An intermediate who likes Tracy York, doesn’t mind moderate choreography, doesn’t have knee problems, and doesn’t care that the DVD has absolutely NO chaptering (no, not even to get you to the beginning of the Pilates section) might like this. As for myself, I prefer Crunch’s Fat Burning Dance Party and Tamilee’s Motown Moves for dancy cardio.

Instructor Comments:
I disliked Tracy York, mostly because of her poor cueing. Michelle Dozois does a much better job. If the DVD were led by just her, my review would most likely be much more positive.

KerryF

12/29/2005