Bollywood Booty - DVD Review

Who doesn't love Bollywood dancing? It's energetic, it's beautiful, and it's fun! And although I wasn't completely satisfied with the last Bollywood-inspired workout I did, I was excited to try Bollywood Booty, featuring fitness star and yogini Hemalayaa.

The video is beautifully shot, and Hemalayaa makes all of the moves look easy and natural. She has two other women dancing with her who also do a great job. And, some of the moves are guaranteed to get you giggling, which is part of the point -- throughout the 45-minute workout, you're constantly reminded to smile and enjoy yourself.

If you've watched much Bollywood dancing, you'll definitely appreciate learning some of the names of the hand and arm movements -- seeing those broken down definitely makes the whole style much more approachable. But is the video worth your hard-earned money?

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Level of Difficulty
Beginner -- you don't need any experience to do this video, and any level of fitness will do just fine.

Next Day Soreness
Very little.

Who's It For?
It's definitely geared toward someone who wants to have a fun, light workout, not someone who wants to get really sweaty.

Likes
The music is lively, and some of the moves really are fun (even though I'm quite positive I don't look quite like Hemalayaa while doing them).

Dislikes
It's really repetitive. Even though it advertises four dances, it really doesn't feel like it because many of the same moves are not only done over and over during a specific dance, but are also used in the others. And the final dance workout is just a mixture of what was already shown. Additionally, the instruction comes as a voice over, but the cuing is often waaay early or too late, so it's not terribly helpful -- problematic when a number of the moves restrict you from actually watching the screen because you're turning your head or facing the back of the room.

Bottom Line
There were a few fun moments -- The Elk is a pretty sassy move, and it was nice to see some of the arm movements broken down. However, overall, it was just so repetitive that I found myself wondering how much longer the video lasted. And since it was only a 45-minute workout to begin with, that's not a good sign.

Maybe you'd like it better, though -- to get a quick taste of Hemalayaa and her Bollywood style, check out this video from when she appeared on "Ellen."