Bollywood Booty by Hemalayaa


Okay. I am not a dancer. Other kids did potty dances; I did potty tapping of the foot.

But I loved Bollywood Booty. I did not feel overwhelmed or confused. It was just a good, basic booty workout with a Bollywood vibe.

Hemalayaa does a nice job of making the "Bollywood" component accessible for the nondancers.

The set is a bit over the top, giving it a lush harem feel. It is a little too crowded for my taste, but it does show you can do this workout in a small area.

There is Hemalayaa doing the workout with two backup worker-outers. Hemalayaa is in mid-calf length pants that are tight to her fabulous legs. Then the two backups are in oversized, flowing pants.

Hemalayaa does a voiceover for the workout. It was a bit annoying at first, but I soon got used to it. She has a soothing, lilting voice. It is loud enough to be heard over the music.

The workout. Nothing fancy. The fanciest move is the "swan," which is basically a figure 8 hip movement.
Because it is a booty workout, it is squats and lunges. If you can do a Leslie workout, you can do this easily. There is one ten-minute segment where there is jumping and turning your back on the TV screen. I just omitted the backward turn portion. You can easily keep your feet firmly planted and still get a good workout here.

The workout is four ten-minute segments. In each segment, you build up on the choreography in that segment only. There is some overlap of moves, but each ten-minute segment stands alone. While I wouldn't say there is TIFTing, there is definitely repetition. If that gets on your nerves, this may not be the workout for you.
The moves are simple, sashays, lunges, plies, squats. She does a Bollywood version of the curtsy squat which was fun.

Hemalayaa also constantly involves the upper body, something I really appreciate. Oftentimes in a Leslie workout I am making up stuff to do with my upper body. Now I have more moves to fall back on.
I carry a lot of tension in my shoulders and writsts due to my job. After doing this workout, a lot of that tension was released. It was really a nice bonus.


There is a faint, very faint, yoga-speak vibe in this workout. Nothing overbearing, no chanting, but there is talk of painting your universe and reaching in and finding you or so such. The cooldown is definitey yoga-like.

Instructor Comments:
Hemalayya is lovely. The costumes were very understated. The backup "dancers" did not call attention to themselves, but they did a lovely job of doing the workout.

paideiamom