I have the orginal YBB ballet workout, but this was my first exposure to one of the newer ones, including the Live series. In this video, Gillian and Teigh teach live in front of a large studio class; Ravi the drummer returns, and the music during the warm-up and cool-down is the same as in the original YBB.

The workout begins in a seated position. Gillian and Teigh instruct you to begin ujayyi breathing, and they then go into a Breath of Fire exercise (they don't explain either type of breathing). They also use mudras, hand gestures, to help set an intention for the class. After this initial 2 1/2 minute section, you get to your feet for some warm-ups which Gillian says are dervived from jazz isolations; these simple moves last another 3 minutes.

Next comes the cardio portion of the workout. Gillian and Teigh teach a dance routine, gradually adding in steps and frequently taking it from the top (TIFTing). Some people have said that this video has more complicated choreography than some of the other YBB Lives, but I'm somewhat of a choreo klutz, and I was able to pick up all of the moves either the first or the second time through (although I have been doing more dancey videos lately, so that probably was a help). Most of the moves were fun--slide steps, hip shakes, etc.--but some felt a bit silly to me--what was up with that cowboy move? Overall, however, I enjoyed the cardio section--I wished it had been a little longer than 17 1/2 minutes, but I still got a pretty strenuous workout in that time.

The last segment is about 11 minutes long. The first 5 minutes of this is abs work using the YBB squishy ball; I don't have a ball, but substituing my Pilates ring plus a light dumbbell in some places worked fine. This was a decent abs workout, but again, it could have been a little longer. The last 6 minutes of the workout is a combination of a few additional strength moves--eg, planks, push-ups--combined with yoga stretching and additional mudras, bringing the workout in at 34 minutes total.

Overall, I found this to be a fun, easy-to-follow workout--not necessarily the best dance video I have ever done, but one that I am likely to continue using.

Instructor Comments:
Gillian and Teigh instruct in a tag team fashion in this video; they flow together fairly seamlessly, and they both cue well. One minor issue is that they don't fully explain certain concepts/moves, so you're left to figure it out on your own. They looked a little silly to me at times (aren't they both a little old for ponytails?), but they're obviously both having fun with the workout.

Beth C (aka toaster)