I just received this video in the mail and have done the workout once. I had four years of ballet and pointe as a child and about a year more as an adult (about two years ago) and am eight weeks postpartum. That being said, I love this workout. Out of all the ballet workouts I have done (including The Method, The Ballet Workouts one and two, Balletcize one and two, Muscle ballet and Balletbootcamp) I rank this one the best (followed closely by Balletbootcamp.

The tape consists of 17 sections, with each section including one or two exercises each. It progresses through a warm up (with some easy dance moves), then through stretches, ab work and traditional ballet moves. Peter Martins, a leader of the New York City Ballet Company does the instruction via a very calm, soothing voiceover. I had no trouble following his instruction. On screen were various combinations of four dancers from the company doing the moves: two men and two women. They were dressed in black shorts and (for the women of course) crop tops. The set was empty with shadowy lighting.

I think what makes this video standout for me was the music quality. Ballet (indeed any dance) is mainly interpreting music through movement. The music selected for this workout was of the best quality I have heard and Martins voiceover with it somehow put me in a calm mood and helped me concentrate on my form. (By contrast, other ballet tapes had music that sounded much more canned somehow).

I get the feeling that this is a tape I can grow with. (Again by contrast, Balletcize was a ripoff because the "Advanced" tape was the same as the beginner tape but without the preliminary instruction) and Ballet Workout I and II often seemed to assume the viewer had more flexibility and enough regular ballet training that s(he) could do the choreographed sections at full speed right off the bat. In New York City Ballet Workout, I can concentrate on increasing my flexibility and not be frustrated that I can't lift my leg as high as the professional dancers and still work on it.

The workout is 51 minutes long and is followed by a very interesting segment on the dancers' lives. I love the fact that one is a mother of two (Yay! There's hope for me!).

Sorry, but the introduction by Sarah Jessica Parker did nothing for me. I don't watch her show and am not very familiar with her. She seems overly made up here, especially compared to the dancers. I see no point in having her there.

My only other (slight) gripe is there is a segment of back exercises which are done face down on the floor. I hate doing these with any tape because I can never see that I am doing what they are doing on the screen. A little more voiceover direction would have helped. At any rate, if you are seeking a ballet workout tape, I strongly suggest this one and/or balletbootcamp.

Laura Brestovansky