Stephanie Herman, a dancer, has created a mostly low-impact aerobics workout which incorporates ballet, jazz, and both yoga and Pilates principles. She begins with simple stretches combined with a focus on breathing. The warmup then seamlessly flows into a low-impact workout with moves reminiscent of Tai Chi (similar to Petra Kobler's BREATHE). She then turns up the heat with more medium impact moves (much like in the video Tantric Toning). The next section, which she calls "Olympic," is even more challenging, and it includes balance moves as well as ballet-type kicks. This is followed by a dance-y jazz segment which Stephanie says is supposed to be fun. Finally, Stephanie ends the workout with a series of ballet stretches; the total length comes in at 42 minutes. more detailed instruction. Although there were some good things about this workout, I found myself looking forward to it being over, so I don't think I'll be reaching for this one again.

Instructor Comments:
Stephanie was a likeable instructor, but her voice was often muffled and difficult to hear. In addition, she frequently failed to cue new movements, and she provided little explanation of how to perform the exercises. However, she does mention that all of the exercises can be learned through one of her other videos, Fitness Through Conscious movement--I've never done this one, but I assume that it provides more detailed instruction. One thing I did like is how Stephanie gave repeated reminders to be aware of your abdominals while performing the movements.

Beth C (aka toaster)