"10 Minute Solution: Hip Hop Dance Mix" -- A Review

I have become a fan of dance DVDs in the past few years, and I have started to compile quite a collection, with some I like a lot better than others. Because it can be difficult to know which dance DVD is right for you without trying it out first (believe me, I know, I've done some I just did not like), I have been writing reviews of the various ones I have to help people figure out which DVD would be best for them. While I do give my personal opinions in these reviews, I do try to be unbiased and consider everything from various standpoints. If you are interested, I have more reviews of dance DVDs on Associated Content to read. This particular review covers the DVD 10 Minute Solution:Hip Hop Dance Mix. In addition to reading this review, you can watch a short preview of the disc on the website www.amazon.com.

As I said before, I try to be unbiased in my reviews, so in the interest of full disclosure, I will say that this DVD was the third dance DVD I ever tried and I loved it right from the very beginning. In fact, I'd have to say that out of my soon to be vast collection of dance DVDs, this one remains my favorite. So yes, I may be a bit biased. But I will try to be objective.

So this is set up just like the others I've reviewed from the 10 Minute Solution series, with 50 minutes of workouts broken down into five 10 minute sections that can be mixed and matched as pleased. I do love this setup, because it is so convenient. It also forgoes the annoying intros that other dance DVDs have. Rather than going through a bunch of intros where the instructor introduces herself and other dancers and talks for a while, in the 10 Minute Solution series, you just get to the menu screen, pick your dances, and you're off. Quick and easy. I also enjoy the aesthetics of the 10 Minute Solution series. They always consist of just the instructor, in a simple, brightly lit yoga room. The backdrop is not too busy as to be distracting, and the brightness helps (at least me) feel more energetic and motivated. And the camera work is always consistent in that it shows you the whole instructor so you can see exactly what her arms, feet, and torso are doing at all times. I hate dance DVDs where the camera jumps all over the place, showing irrelevant things like a dancer's toned tummy.

What I really love about this DVD is the way each 10 minute dance section is broken into two different dance combos. This is great for those of you who, like me, get bored quickly and need lots of variation in a workout to stay engaged. What the instructor, Kristin Jacobs, does here is teach various moves slowly, adds on to them, and then puts them altogether. She does that twice in each 10 minute workout, so there's a lot of variety. Rather than just learning the moves then repeating them over and over for the 10 minutes, you can move on to something completely different after five minutes. It's like a dance workout for those with ADD! It's also great because when you're doing dance DVDs, there are bound to be moves now and then that you just don't like. Maybe there's a move where you can't quite get your body to move right, or a move that you feel goofy doing. Either way, in this DVD it's not a big deal because you know in a few minutes that move will be a thing of the past and you'll go on to something new.

I think this is a great DVD for beginners. I was a beginner when I first started doing it, and I found it at just the right level to learn. Not so easy that I got bored, but not so difficult that I ended up just standing there, too confused to move. She really does a good job of simplifying the steps to make them easier to learn. She starts with a simple foot step, then maybe makes it a bit more complicated, then after you practice that a few times, she adds the arms in. Then you practice the move altogether, and once you've done it a few times, she moves on to another move, then finally puts the two together. As you're going through the moves, she uses descriptive names of them to help you along. I found that this helped a lot, as I often was thinking the names to myself as she was saying them aloud to help me do them.

However, what I really love about this DVD is that even now that I've gotten a lot better at dance DVDs then I was when I first got this, I don't find it too easy or boring. That's because given the moves, there's a lot of room to add more attitude and your own style, which keeps it fun and exciting. So once you just master the art of simply doing the moves correctly, you can begin to get more into the dance aspect of them. And the moves are a lot of fun! As long as you like hip hop and are not expecting Latin dance or ballet, you will probably really enjoy the dance routines that have been choreographed for this. I know I did!

On top of all that, I've always gotten hot, sweaty, and thirsty doing this DVD. I figure that's a good sign that I'm getting a good workout! As long as you're willing to let yourself really get into it (hip hop dancing--or any kind of dancing for that matter--is not for the self-conscious!), you can get a great cardiovascular workout.

One thing to keep in mind though is that she just focuses on dancing, and teaching the dance moves. There is not much focus on strengthening or stretching, like some other dance DVDs. This doesn't bother me, since I find the dance aspect more fun anyway, but I know that some people prefer more of a mix between cardio and toning when they're working out, and if you're one of those people, this may not be your ideal DVD. She also does not include much in the way of warm-ups or cool-downs. She usually starts slow, and at the end you slow the move back down then take a couple of deep breaths, but if you really prefer to have a real warm-up and/or cool-down, again, this may not be the DVD for you.

And just so this review isn't too gushingly positive, I will say that one thing I personally don't like about this DVD is the way the instructor talks to me like she can see me. She says things like "You got it!" or "You're doing great!" which I find insincere (obviously) and annoying. However, I can't help but like the instructor anyway, so it doesn't bother me too much.

But I would definitely recommend this DVD for both beginners as well as more medium level practitioners who like hip hop dance and music, and especially those who like a lot of variation in their workouts. I would personally give this DVD 4.75 stars out of 5.