Product Description

Tahitian Dance
Kili welcomes you to Hawaii, her beautiful homeland, for a workout that will shake your regular routine. Tahitian Cardio and Tahitian Hip Hop are part of the Island Girl™ dance fitness series. Tahitian dance is the most sensual of the South Pacific, and Kili revels how it is also an energizing workout. These workouts will help you burn calories will learning both traditional and hot new dance moves.

Tahitian Cardio
Kili demonstrates this unique dance method she calls her “secret weapon” for keeping in shape and having a bathing suit-ready body all year long. Kili has designed this workout to specifically target and tone legs, buns, and abs. You will learn three basic Tahitian moves: ‘ami, figure 8, and Tahitian bump. Combined with fitness steps, these moves offer an innovative and creative Tahitian Cardio workout to help you lose weight and shape the entire body.

Tahitian Hip Hop
To create Tahitian Hip Hop Kili combines art form of Tahitian dance with her favorite hip hop moves. You will learn six basic Tahitian moves: ‘ami, figure 8, bump, flower, shimmy, and fa’arapu . These steps are designated to keeps the hips moving quickly while the upper body stays strong and engaged. The result is a challenging and enjoyable dance fitness experience designed to help you stay slim and toned.

Special Features:

- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- Interactive Full Motion Menus
- Chapter Selections

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17906 in DVD
• Brand: GOLDHIL ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2004-02-02
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .35 pounds
• Running time: 75 minutes

Customer Reviews

Makes Your Hips & Thighs Feel Like Jelly
My purpose of buying this DVD set was to find a workout that was sensual, fun, and would make me want to come back and do it again. I found that with this Island Girl Tahitian Dance set. It's not perfect, but it's fun enough to want to do over and over, especially on those days that I really just don't want to do an athletic workout. And, sneakers are not required.

These dance workout routines are not your typical true blue athletic workouts, but be prepared to have your thighs engaged throughout the whole session. In order to do the hip sways and rotations properly, you need to be in a constant plie (semi-squat) position, and your legs do a lot of work, along with your hips and abs to get a nice rounded motion. (I know my thighs start screaming at me after a few minutes.) And, just when you have a certain rotation or sway figured out with your own body, Kili puts the move into motion - stepping forward or sideways - which challenges what you just learned.

My biggest gripe with both routines is that you basically will rotate your hips in one direction the whole routine once you get past the warm up. Not exactly balanced, but then I don't recall seeing hula dancers stop and change hip rotations in the middle of their dance routines just so they can be balanced.

A nice PLUS for both workouts is that you learn a second, but much slower and more sensual dance using the same movements for a cool down routine. The Polynesian music/drum tempo used for both videos are also very tantilizing...as soon as you hear the music when you start the DVD you naturally just want to start hula dancing.

A Review of Each Video Workout

Tahitian Cardio: From the title of this workout, you would think you would be doing a fast pace aerobic workout to raise your heart rate. Not so. The movements in this video is more along the lines of a moderate pace, deliberate strip tease (at least that the best way I can describe it). You will elevate your heart rate, but to moderate levels of exertion and you sway and rotate your body in sensual dance movements. (In a way, I prefer it this way as I don't like having my heart feel like it's jumping out of my throat.) As I am a dance klutz (my goal is to change that), my least favorite part is the grapevine - I never could do it right. And since Kili doesn't fully explain how to do this and some of the other transitional dance moves, I get a bit frustrated. Overall, I very much like this routine - it's fun, it's sensual, and it makes my legs feel like jelly for the day.

Tahitian Hip-Hop: This is the routine where you get to do the rapid hip shakes...very sexy. The complaints I had with the Tahitian Cardio basically also apply to the Hip-Hop, but no grapevines...just a transitional back step and a certain turn I can't figure out how to do correctly yet. This routine is also moderately paced, but feel like it's the better candidate to be the cardio video. In this video you will do more front/back pelvic movements, so your abs and lower back will feel it more in this workout (if you do it right - it very easy to cheat and just jiggle, but you will not benefit from the movement), along with your thighs.

The fun thing I really do appreciate about these workouts is that I practice the moves I learn throughout the day. It's help to loosen up my lower back and pelvic area so I can walk in a more womanly, feminine way. And, even thought I haven't been doing these workout very long, I (and others) have begun to notice a difference in my body and have complimented me. I've rotated this routine with Madeleine Lewis' Walking for Weight Loss routine (I LOVE that DVD - it's helping to de-klutz me), and Ana Caban's Pilates Body Circles for the arms (another fun and very short, effective routine), and have received compliments within the two short weeks I've used them. Is it because of the workouts or is it because of the new support bra I'm using that looks great too? Sigh!

If you're looking to add fun into your workout habits, this is certainly worth trying. Really, what good is a workout if you never do it? This is one set that I've returned to time after time despite the minor imperfections of these videos. I feel like I'm getting a very good lower body workout and it makes me feel feminine and sexy.

Better than expected
I bought this because my mother has been taking Tahitian Dance, and she raves about what a great workout it is. I couldn't find any decent classes nearby, so I saw this and figured it was worth a try - for the price, what did I have to lose?

I wasn't expecting a whole lot for 2 reasons:
1. I get easily bored by repetitive work out/cardio videos.
2. While I've not really done Island/Tahitian dance, I've taken dance classes and Hip Hop for years, so I was a bit worried because the videos are listed as "for beginners".

Well, I was pleasantly surprised! It wasn't the most intense work out ever, but I definitely felt it in my legs, and I broke a little sweat. Most importantly it was FUN. The time just flew by.
It seems like beginners would be able to pick it up pretty easily - though I might not be the best judge, since I dance already.
I loved it, though it would be awesome if there were Intermediate and Advanced levels available as well.

EDIT:
While I still agree with the above, I have one gripe about these videos. The music was probably dubbed over after the workout was recorded, and at times the movements Kili & Co. are doing don't sync up rhythmically with the music track. As a dancer that is really annoying. It's impossible for me to dance off rhythm. I have to stop watching her and do the dance movements whilst just listening to the music.
This is only noticeable when they perform the full out dance sequences. During the work out/step instruction it seems to sync fine.
For beginners, especially if someone is "rhythmically challenged" and hoping to learn/improve rhythm, this is not going to be helpful.
The "workout" is still fun, easy, and low-impact. Just be aware that when you are doing the full-out routines, if you're in sync with Kili the whole time, there will be times when you're actually off-rhythm.

So fun, so intense, yet so relaxing
Kili does a wonderful job leading this Tahitian Cardio workout. I have a few of her other workout videos and this one is my favorite.

You will most likely be a little sore after the first workout...but give your body a day to heal and do it again! Your buns and thighs will thank you!