As the little girl from Poltergeist 2 would say, "she's Ba-ack!" Mine is probably not going to be the most objective review here--I love Jennifer and think she's just about the greatest thing since sliced bread. Inside this 40-something woman is a little girl who took piano lessons and excelled in music only because dance lessons were not available where she lived. Tapes like this make me believe that even though I'll probably never dance on Broadway, I can certainly have a ball in my own living room. Greg Twombley knows how to capture her great personality and creativity like no one else can--but I would love to see her break out and be a real star the way Kathy Smith is. She calls her assistants Laverne and Shirley even though their names are Hilary and Tracy. At times they're as funny as she is--though not on purpose, I'm sure. Of course, that makes it even funnier! I catch myself saying, "wrong way, girls" when they get confused and face left instead of right. My family gets in on the act, too. I often do one of these routines on Sunday morning in the family room while my husband reads the paper at the kitchen table. "Oh, no--not Laverne and Shirley again!" I can hear him giggle when Jennifer starts growling for the "Cats" move. If I ask my 4-year-old, "what does Jennifer say?" her answers are "Pow, pow!" and of course, "Uh-oh!" And how about those pink outfits that Laverne and Shirley--oops, I mean Hilary and Tracy--wear in the hi/lo routine? I must say this is the first time I've ever seen an Ace bandage colored neon pink and used as bosom coverage. Please don't say this is a trend or I'll definitely be a "fashion don't" this season:) Fortunately, they've opted for more tasteful attire for the step routine--like Jennifer, they're bedecked in dancewear that's a lovely shade of "millenium blue." Jennifer's has a star on the front--I guess because she's the star of the tape, right?

And that wraps up the fashion report for now. On to the workouts. Both these routines make me feel like a hot-and-sexy lead dancer in a Broadway musical. The hi/lo really works well on those days during and before *that* time of the month to get me moving without overtaxing either my brain or my muscles. It's also a good choice for the day after PowerMax or Stepfit. Move your furniture, kids, and small pets out of the room because you will sashay, kick, spin, grapevine, and cross-step to beat the band. I'm smiling about it even as I sit here typing! I agree with Lisa C and Jen B that this routine was padded with too much repetition and taking it from the top. The last two combos are fun--oh, how I love the samba-hustle move!--but they are not the most intricate ones presented and it would have been wonderful to have a whole new set following them rather than just repeating the entire workouts SIX times in 10 minutes. People who like variety in their routines--and I think most VFers do--might get bored using this more than once every couple of weeks. The Chatanooga Choo-Choo cool-down is fun--Jennifer just can't quite stop the party, and that's OK by me:)

The fun and intensity only get stronger in the step workout. This one also features slinky, snaky moves, but if I put in the power moves and use my floor space well, this one can get me almost as sweaty/slimy as PowerMax does. To me, that's an unbeatable combination:) Even more incredible--I've picked up the choreography much more quickly than I did Jennifer's work in CIA 8003. Go figure. The step routine seemed tighter and more well-thought-out than did the hi/lo--not as much needless repetition. And I love how she uses not just the step, but also the floor around it, so it becomes a real accessory, if not a partner, in her routine. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if her next step tape includes her dancing with it the way Fred Astaire did with a hat rack.

This one is for folks who like complex choreography that doesn't take months to master and want to have fun doing it. Or maybe if you never got to experience dance as a kid, Jennifer just may reach you the way she did me with this one and help you see that it's never too late to learn new tricks. And that, in my book, is worth the price of the tape + shipping from CIA:)

Grade: A+

Instructor Comments:
Her look is very different in CIA 9908 from what it was in CIA 8003--but there's no mistaking that voice, those "Uh-ohs", and our gal's beautiful smile. Welcome back, Jennifer!

Melissa Cooper