Wellness Wednesday - Dancing (and Review)

As some of you may have noticed, I have been neglecting the Wellness Wednesday posts lately. There are two reasons for this: 1. I have been doing quite a few Wednesday tour posts and try to avoid double booking posts if possible and 2. School is crazy busy, so taking a break every now and then is very helpful. So my new goal is to post at least 2 a month, and more if possible (because school does come first).

For this week, I wanted to share my newest way of getting exercise: dancing. But not just any type of dancing. You see, I was given the chance to review a DVD of ballroom dance lessons. Now I’ve been primarily practicing how to swing dance, which is something I’ve always wanted to learn how to do. I’m still a beginner, but I’ll probably post a video of myself dancing once I get better. In case you’re interested in doing something similar, here’s more information about the DVDs, as well as my review. Have a great Wednesday!

Ballroom Dancing is fun, and it’s incredibly social. This 7 DVD set, progressively and step by step, takes you into the beginner's world of Ballroom Dance. Here are the four types of dance DVDs:

Swing - This covers the fundamentals of the dance, extensive swing dance lessons, as well as a few beginner patterns. Swing has earned its reputation as one of the most versatile and energizing forms of popular music and continues to attract new converts to its catchy tunes and syncopated beats.

Waltz - DVDs teach the very basics of how to dance the waltz. We include a complete breakdown and detailed instruction for men and women, including dancing to the music, and essential tips for success on the dance floor. You'll learn the essential components of this beautiful dance, such as Rise and Fall, Sway, and Footwork, as well as exploring steps that will showcase your dancing and help you gain the poise to shine on the dance floor! You learn everything from the Box Step to the Twinkle and more.

Rumba - This DVD walks you through an amazingly fun array of beginner dance steps that are sure to light a fire on the dance floor. From the very basics, our professional Rumba instructors guide you through every step of the way.

Foxtrot - Popularized at the beginning of the 20th century by vaudeville performers, Fox's Trot was quickly adopted by ballrooms across the nation and transformed into the dance we know as Foxtrot today. Foxtrot not only showcases grace and flair, but also combines it with the swingin' sounds of some of our best loved jazz musicians.

My Review:

3 stars

I had a fun time learning how to do the foxtrot, waltz, swing, rumba. The instructors were helpful and explained details well (even if they were a bit corny). Each disc was very detailed (each beginning part being around an hour or so long), showing demonstrations of the dances before providing breakdowns of both partners' dance steps before showing the dance steps to music. The menu was also very easy to navigate as the links were broken down. so you could choose exactly what you wanted to watch.

My biggest issue with this starter kit was that the videos were outdated. It says that these were copyright 2007, but the quality made them appear even older (90s or early 2000s). I would have preferred a more updated version of this. I also found it odd that it was odd that the couple on the front of the DVD were not the dance instructors, which I would have expected.

There also was an insert saying to visit their website for a surprise bonus, yet when I visited, the page returned a 404 error. The company should have kept the page up since they are putting these inserts in their products. That irritated me, as it is unprofessional and seems very shady.

All in all, this was a fun and helpful way to learn these four ballroom dances. While I'm not an expert, I do have a beginner's understanding of these dances now. I would recommend these to anyone looking to learn without having to take a class in person.

*I received this in exchange for an honest review.*