By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
April 3, 2007
Each era has its own defining exercise video–or in this age, DVD. Dancing With the Stars: Cardio Dance isn’t going to go down as the 21st century’s answer to Jane Fonda’s exercise tapes, but it’s not a bad way to learn a few basic steps, thanks to instructions from some of the professional dancers from the ABC hit series Dancing With the Stars.
Ashly Costa (the brunette who danced up a storm with Harry Hamlin), Kym Johnson (the blonde who almost made a DWTS winner out of Joey Fatone), and Maksim Chmerkovsy (the dude who sparred with Laila Ali on and off the dance floor) make for nice eye candy as they teach viewers how to do the cha-cha, the jive, and the paso doble.
Cardio Dance does a good job of showing viewers how to warm their bodies up before getting into the more aerobic dance exercises. Women will probably benefit most from Kym’s instructional portion, which focuses on toning the hips and waistline. The patient Australian (who once taught Jerry Springer how to waltz) is relatively easy to follow as she teaches the Brazilian samba.
This DVD isn’t for the serious dancer. Its target audience is comprised of fans of the show who’d like to get in shape with Ashly, Kym, and Maks. If you already know the basics of dance, you won’t have problems keeping up with their instructions.
But if you have two left feet, some of the dance terms they toss around (but don’t explain) will leave you scratching your head rather than hoofing it up.
And while we’re not expecting anyone like season-four winner Apolo Anton Ohno to make an appearance here, it would’ve been nice to include a segment or two with DWTS judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Len Goodman.
