Dance It Off Ballroom - DVD Review

One of my favorite shows, "So You Think You Can Dance," is in full swing, which gets me itching to dance. Dance off the Inches: Dance It off Ballroom is the perfect opportunity to do it -- it's a dance video that aims to work your muscles and help you work up a sweat!

Photo: amazon.com

The video has four sections. First, there's a Step Guide to get you familiar with the footwork. Then, you go through the cha cha, samba and jive. Ballroom dancer Kristina Milova takes you through a short routine in each style, and while she makes all the moves look intricate and professional, the truth is, they're easy to follow.

Over all, you're learning just 10 steps. Using these, you'll burn calories while improving your dance skills. But is it enough of a workout to be worth your time?

Level of Difficulty
While having a dance background definitely helps (I was able to skip the Step Guide and follow along just fine), anyone could do it. You know, as long as you're not afraid to look a little silly at first.

Next Day Soreness
A little tightness in my hips (there's a lot of hip movement involved), but I was also really going all out.

Who's It For?
Anyone remotely interested in a dance workout would enjoy this. While it's based on ballroom dance moves, none of them require a partner, and they're all fun (and a little sexy).

Likes
If you don't do the Step Guide, the workout is just 43 minutes, and I always love getting a workout done in less than an hour. But the main thing is that it's fun. The moves are interesting and the video itself is paced well -- you have enough time to master each move, and then you add on, so there's no time to get bored. I especially liked the jive -- it was easy to follow, high energy and a total blast.

Dislikes
As with any dance workout, it's possible that the routines would become, well, routine after doing the video a few times. However, I'd be hard pressed to come up with any other possible problems.

Bottom Line
I'm keeping it around, for sure. If nothing else, I'm excited to improve my moves!