Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body

This is a Brazilian dance/aerobics workout led by instructor Kimberly Miguel Mullen. She's a young, toned cutie that is accompanied by her even cuter male background exerciser and female exerciser (love her hair, but back on topic). I don't know for sure if these are real Brazilian dances, but they are fun!

Scenery is outdoors on a white platform in what appears to be a jungle inspired outdoor setting. Lots of foliage. I believe there's some water in the background as well, but I'd have to check again. The music is drum beats, but not live unfortunately. Instruction is given voice-over.

The workout begins with a simple warm up. Swaying the arms, body rolls, double step touches. Lots of visual imagery that included many water references. Loved that! The first dance section features lots of stomps, double stomps, hip sways, swinging the arms up high to the drum beats, double step touches, and hip pops. Gotta love a good hip pop!

Next dance is supposed to be a Carnival inspired dance. More bounces, hip sways, chest pops, samba, and the like, all to the driving drum beats. To round out the workout, there is a Capoeira martial arts section with some meditation and floor toning moves. It all ends with a very relaxing (and impressive) stretch.

She teaches each step seperately and then you combine all the steps into one routine. But you don't combine both dance sections together. She instructs quick paced but it's not impossible to pick up.

PROS: the scenery was very lovely! The moves are easy and fun, once you get them down after a few times. There is also a music only option, so you can just follow along with Kimberly and Co. Moves can easily be made low impact. I really broke a sweat with this one in a short amount of time. I also like any workout with a good hip pop, chest pop, or hip sway. Makes me feel like I'm clubbing and not working out.

CONS: Although I like drum music, they played the same thing over and over. I wish they could have included a variety of music. Plus, Kimberly's cuing is terrible! She cues after the move most of the time. I guess once I get the steps down it won't be so bad. Hmmm...I guess I should mention that some people may be annoyed by her voice. I wasn't; I thought she sounded sweet (almost like a little kid), but others thought she sounded patronizing. You be the judge :)

OVERALL: I have a few other workouts like this, so I haven't decided if this one is a keeper for me. However, if you don't have any like this one, I say give it a try.

**review copy**

Chapters:

Warmup: 6 minutes

Section 1: 12 minutes

Section 2: 12 minutes

Section 3: 12 minutes

Cooldown: 6 minutes

2 types of Brazilian dance, Maculele and Samba Reggae, make up the 1st segments. The 3rd segment consists of a mixture of cardio & toning using Capoeira "stick fighting" moves. I'd classify it as intermediate in level due to the instruction is minimal and may be harder to follow for true beginners. The beautiful setting and upbeat drum music draw you in and makes you want to move.

The cast does the workout in barefeet. Due to the mixed impact, I'd suggest a good aerobic shoe for those exercising on a non supportive surface.

The workout is done in voiceover and moves quickly. (for those individuals having trouble "grasping" the moves, you will enjoy the recap of all the moves at the end of each dance section, as Kimberly takes it from the top) None of the moves are too hard to follow, as many of them may be familiar from traditional aerobics. Kimberly adds sexy sways, pops and bounces to them.

Don't worry about perfection, just go at your own pace. Eventually you'll add your own personal dance style!