Joneeba African Dance Vol. 1

There are not a whole lot of African dance DVD's out there. This one is heads above the rest. It is a live class with real students of all races, sizes and abilities taught by a real African dance teacher with great music. Having said all of that, let me tell you about Djoniba Dance. It is a dance center located in Union Square in NYC. They have the best African, Brazilian, Cuban, etc dance classes in the city. Whenever, I visit NYC, I make a point to take a class or two.

The DVD is only 50 minutes long. It starts out with a fast paced warm-up, including floor exercises and standing isolations. Then he breaks down the routine into 6 parts. You do it slowly then up to tempo. Then you do the entire dance 2x up to tempo. It will take me a couple of more times before I can get the steps so that I can dance with abandon and not trip over my feet. The class ends with a dance circle and a very short cool down. Each person dances in the middle of the circle.

Overall it was an advanced beginner class. The music was great and the energy was high. This DVD was made in 2005. Hopefully they will make volumes 2,3 4 etc. You can purchase it at www.djoniba.com or www.joneeba.com

Best done on hardwood floors.