Product Description

Award-winning choreographer, MaDonna Grimes, is renowned for her innovative dance moves. She founded the MaDonna Grimes Fitness and Dance Theatre Company, has released a CD, and is the author of Work It Out. She has a master’s degree in dance performance and choreography, and has appeared in many fitness and fashion magazines.

Elevate your heart rate in this high-energy workout that moves and grooves. African Beat – Latin Heat is like having a dance party in your living room! MaDonna Grimes makes sure you never stop moving in this exciting Dance Fitness for Beginners program.

Challenge your muscles and your spirit when you turn up the heat with this full-body, cardio workout. MaDonna keeps you burning calories as you dance, move your arms, and swing your hips to a mix of Latin and African rhythms. Designed for women and men, this program combines Latin dance steps with hip, urban moves. MaDonna breaks down the routines, than creates a dynamic workout that will leave you sweating for more!

Program Features:

- Dance moves you can take to the clubs
- Fun routines challenge every muscle
- Tones entire body
- Shed unwanted pounds and burn fat

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1595 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-01-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 42 minutes

Customer Reviews

Really fun, time-efficient dance workout!
Although I really enjoy dance workouts, I was a little wary of this one, as I had heard that instructor MaDonna Grimes didn't cue very well and that there was a lot of "take-it-from-the-top" movements, which I dislike. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I LOVED this video! The workout basically breaks down into 3 segments: warm-up, dance routine, and cool-down (these are not chaptered on the DVD). The 10-minute warm-up gets right into some basic dance steps such as the merengue, getting your heart rate up right away. MaDonna sometimes fails to fully explain the movements, but my minimal experience with just a few prior dance videos allowed me to follow along with no problems. There are a few small jumps included in this segment, but they don't appear until about 5 minutes into it, when you're already well warmed up; some basic stretches conclude this section.

During the 12-minute dance routine section, MaDonna introduces new moves one at a time, gradually building up to a complete dance routine. When teaching the moves, she did something I'd never seen before that I really liked: instead of teaching one segment with 3 different moves, a second segment with 3 different moves, and then stringing the two segments together (I always find it difficult to remember the first segment), she'll teach 3 moves and then introduce 2 new ones, but she combines the last move from the first 3 with the 2 new ones (I hope this makes sense!). This method makes it very easy to remember the order of the moves, as you're constantly combining the older moves that you've already learned with the new moves. Even more importantly, the moves are FUN--mambos, hops, hip swings, etc.--and the time just flew by!

The workout ends with a brief (4-minute) cool-down. I liked the neck stretches that were included here, although some people might have to be careful with these. The DVD also includes a 10-minute bonus workout for the lower body: MaDonna leads you through 4 different types of squats, performing several sets of each, and she ends with some brief standing and floor abs work. An additional DVD feature is a music-only workout option. Some people might complain that this workout is too short (about 26 minutes overall), but MaDonna packs a lot of both exertion and fun into that time period, making this video perfect for anyone who wants to get in some quick, intense, yet extremely enjoybable cardio work. Highly recommended!

African Beat, Latin Heat, Dancing Feet!
The first time I tried this workout, I loved it so much that I instantly had to do it again. On the cover of the DVD it says, 'leaves you sweating for more', and with regards to my experience with it so far, that is exactly what it did. It left me sweating, and wanting more!

Here's what you get:

10MIN WARMUP - This combines a few low impact dance moves with a few stretches. Some of the stretches are a bit 'hmmm...', but you only do them after you're VERY warm. This is around 10 minutes, which is a good length for a warmup. Some of the moves you learn in the warmup will be re-used in the dance portion of the workout.

15MIN DANCE - Madonna teaches you the moves one by one, building together a longer routine. One thing that I love about her teaching is that once she's taught you a move, she practices what I like to call 'the transition'. This is where you practice the move that comes just before the new move, as well as the new move. If that doesn't make sense, say that she's taught moves 1-3 and is teaching you the 4th move. Once she's taught the 4th move, she practices moves 3 and 4, before going through the whole routine from the 1st move. This Latin combination includes hip swings, mambos, cha-chas, and a very tricky samba-travel step.

5MIN COOL DOWN - Here, Madonna takes you through some of the stretches that you did in the warmup, as well as some neck stretches - some people will need to be careful with these.

10MIN BONUS - This is not a african-latin dance segment, but rather a set of intense toning moves. She teaches 4 different types of squats, as well as some ab work.

Madonna and her group of exercisers - both male and female - exercise in a nice street-dance-studio-esque set. If that doesn't set the scene, the floors are polished wood, and the walls are dark red brick, with pillars, potplants, and windows scattered throughout. The windows in the room don't overlook anything, but seem to have a screen of turqoise light outside it; emulating a blue sky. It kind of reminds of the old Ricki Lake sets (back in the day!).

In terms of instructor personality, Madonna is a breath of fresh air. She is relaxed, laid back, and interacts with the other exercisers in a 'hey-wassup-mate' manner. In addition, they also interact with her the same way - giving a fun atmosphere; like being in a class, but not an extreme 'whoop-it-up' atmosphere like in Kathy Smith's Timesaver Cardio.

For those of you who are absolute beginners to dance, you will find this difficult. What I suggest you do is ignore the arm movements for the first couple of times that you try the DVD, and focus on the getting your legs right. Also, ignore the samba-travel step and just shuffle here; thats a very difficult step, and it'll only take practice-practice-and-more-practice to get it right. Madonna moves through the moves pretty quickly, only giving a couple of opportunities to learn the steps before incorporating them into the routine. She is good at cueing, but not so good at teaching the moves.

A word of warning, the second move that she teaches in the dance portion (which also appears in the warmup) involves you swinging your arms and your head. Take it easy on this move, since I really got into it, and it was inevitable that I heard a big CRACK from my neck, oops! It looks like Madonna and one of the other girls are going hard out with this move, but thats because their hair is long, so for your safety, don't try to emulate them.

A refreshing, intense, short workout that is LOADS of fun! Cheers!

Too Much Fun to Be Called A Workout
I love this workout! Since moving out of the city, I have been unable to find a gym that offers a good variety of group aerobic classes, so although I use a gym for weight training - I had to find another way to get my cardio in. I did a lot of searching in stores and online and came upon this DVD. I was nervous to order it, but I am glad I did. It is basically just dance moves. For the record, I trained in dance for over 20 years including studying African and Caribbean Dance. The moves in this routine really aren't as complex as those found in the African and Latin Dance forms - which is good - African Dance is difficult! The moves are simple but fun. VERY FUN! And simple enough that you can pace yourself - making it as easy or as demanding as you wish - WHICH IS THE MARK OF A GOOD AEROBIC ROUTINE AND INSTRUCTOR!

I also love MaDonna Grimes' personality - she is so easy going and cool - I much prefer her to the typical tan and blonde buffy video instructor!

Although I rated it 5 stars - I don't like the music, it lacked oomph for me, but I never like the music in classes or DVD's so don't listen to me!

If you are looking for a fun way to workout - check this out - it will get the heart pumping and burn the fat - and routine is so much fun that time flies when you follow this!