10 Customer Reviews
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Samba Party: Brazilian Rhythm Celebration |
 Fun |
| This is a fun dance workout, definitely at the beginner (/intermediate) level. Vanessa is a wonderful teacher - careful cuing, and she encourages you to have your own style. Opening scene makes me want to go to Brazil! Choreography is simple, but if more instruction is needed, the DVD has a separate section breaking down each move. A good basic intro to Samba. - posted by Susan on 3/12/2012 |
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| Fun and relaxing |
| Usually I must workout in the a.m. because I can't make myself do a darn thing after working all day. I love this DVD because I will do it after work, and that makes it perfect for days when I oversleep or have to go in to work early. I can come home and Samba Party. The steps must be fairly simple or I wouldn't be able to do them. I've tried some other dance oriented videos but found the steps too complicated. I like the "Learning the Moves" feature on the video, and enjoyed the instructor and her back-up dancers. - posted by Denise on 1/20/2011 |
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 Loved this dvd! |
| This was fun, kept me moving and was easy enough for me (a terrible dancer). Great moves and even better music! Highly recommended! - posted by jessica~ on 5/4/2008 |
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| EXCELLENT! |
| I am so pleased with this workout. I have no words to describe it. At the end of the workout I am sweating all over and i feel that i accomplished my goal which is to loose weight. The music is great and the movements are simple. I really enjoy doing this workout. Thank you Vanessa and please do more like this with different steps of course! - posted by Vivian on 3/19/2008 |
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| Great "light day" workout |
| I love this workout. I was looking for some fun dance videos to rotate in for light/rest days and decided to give this a try. I am soooooo glad I did. This is a lot of fun, but you also get a nice light cardio workout as you learn real samba moves. To increase cardio you can intensify the moves by exaggerating the arms and legs.The instructor cues well and is engaging. She doesn't talk too much, which is nice. The setting is nice and the music is FANTASTIC. I was still dancing when the workout ended. I definitely recommend this one. The DVD also has nice footage and background of Brazil. - posted by Moonbeams on 1/13/2008 |
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| Fun! |
| I hate to exercise but love to dance, and really enjoy this workout. As others have said, you get to move and have fun. "Learn the steps" section is very helpful, and cueing is very good; you always know what's coming next. Not the most strenuous workout, but something I'll stick with because I enjoy doing it. - posted by Jane on 9/29/2007 |
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| New music, new moves, great experience |
| The music in Samba Party is nothing like I've ever heard before, and I have never moved like the samba choreography makes you move before. For me, the music was always hyper-happy, but it was mostly a beat that I had to struggle to catch. Even though in Samba Party, the live band is mostly percussion, the sound it produces makes you want to shake your hips, infects you to raise your arms in a gesture of joy. I found Vanessa's instruction thorough and easy to follow: I finally learned how to do a jazz square from her learn-the-steps section. Compared to the original Zumba workouts, here the explanation of samba is simple: "step-touch-touch." I really like that about 30 seconds into the workout, when we're doing a little bounce from side to side, Vanessa says, "This is like you're already dancing samba." Since this workout is based on only five steps, I fear it might feel monotonous in time, but for now, I'm trying to "just let go," as Vanessa says. - posted by Elena on 6/22/2007 |
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| I was able to samba at a party after using this video! |
| This evening I went to a party hosted by an organization to which I belong. The party had a Brazilian theme because of some visitors from Brazil. They played samba music and people were getting up and moving to it. I got up and started to dance, and lo and behold, I was really dancing samba, having learned the steps and movements from this video. The video has great music and pictures of Brazil and is upbeat. The steps do feel a little repetitious, but as you can see by my comments, it obviously worked. I also like the outfits that the instructor and the other participants wear--very professional looking. - posted by Carol S. on 5/4/2007 |
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*The star rating system began in April 2007. Reviews posted before then do not have stars.
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| Great for Beginners & Brazilian Dance Enthusiasts |
| This is a good fun workout if you are A) a beginner that likes learning new dance choreography B) intermediate needing to just move and have fun or are having an "off" day. The moves are authentic but slowed down considerably compared to actually dancing in a Brazilian nightclub. That said, I hardly broke a sweat but I did get my heart rate up. Then again one could simply speed up some of the movements to get a real feel of the tempo that most Brazilians dance to. On another note, those with weak knees and ankles may want to go slow with this workout. Music is live percussion and not boring. The cool-down is done with Bossa Nova playing in the background! The DVD features are excellent- there's a breakdown of the moves, & a short featurette on Brazilian culture.I have not done any of her other videos so I can't compare. I look forward to more videos by Ms. Isaac, especially one that targets more advanced dancers/exercisers. - posted by Sallee on 9/10/2006 |
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| Great for beginners in dance! |
| This workout is perfect for those of us who want to dance, but are slower at picking up the coreography. There is a "special feature" where she does each dance sequence REALLY slowly several times, then gradually picks up the pace until you are at tempo. More dance workouts should have this feature. I thought it was a really fun, easy workout. - posted by Me on 3/23/2006 |