Ballet Barre with Janice Lennard

Title: Ballet Barre

Instructor: Janice Lennard

Time: 41 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate

DVD menu: the workout just starts playing, there's not really a DVD menu

Production quality: high

Equipment used: barre

To preface, I passionately enjoy barre workouts and they tend to be my strongest preference for exercise over the last several years. I am definitely less enthused about ballet workouts, however, I do have a small selection (this workout, Trudie Styler's Sculpt and Tone Ballet, and Sleek Technique DVD set) that I enjoy for very light/active rest days, when I don't feel like doing anything but know I should.

With that said, this workout does fit the bill of a very light/active rest day. This DVD is really nice, you have about 25 minutes of flowing, graceful ballet sequence followed by a generous 15 minute or so stretching sequence. Right when I was thinking "eh, I've had enough" of the ballet she moved on to the stretch.

Janice leads you through several ballet exercises, starting on one side and then the other, then move on to the next exercise (some of the exercises are performed first on a flat foot, then in releve). I felt like the music was nicely choreographed to the ballet moves, some more slow and graceful and the staccato like exercises (I don't know the ballet terms) have faster music. She does hamstring stretching at the barre, then to the floor for more deep stretching. By the time you are stretching you are so pleasantly warm that the stretching feels so great.

Compared to Trudie Styler's workout, I prefer this workout for the stretching that is included, although Sleek Technique has the most for the variety of workout options. For a standalone workout this was a great investment and I would recommend it for those seeking a gentler, elegant ballet workout. Janice's flexibility and grace is inspiring.