Kukuwa Dance Workout: Kananga

I’m reviewing this workout after previewing it once and doing it several times.

This video is labeled as Latino! Africano! Caribbeano! Kukuwa Dance Workout: Kananga, Vol. 2; it can also be found on the compilation Kukuwa Dance Workout DVD.

General workout breakdown: This approximately 45 min. dance workout combines elements from Latin, Caribbean, and African dances. Kukuwa introduces 2-4 steps which are repeated, more or less, during the course of a song. Most steps have a fairly simple lower body move combined with movement in the torso and/or an interesting arm pattern. You repeat a step several times in a row and then move on to the next one, which is repeated several times in a row. At the start of the next song you learn new steps but never go back to the previous combos. So there isn’t really TIFTing (taking it from the top). One combo serves as a warm-up and another as a cool-down, but I found that my heartrate started to go back up with the Caribbean line dance segment tacked on after the cool-down

Level: I’d recommend this to a beginner with some exercise and preferably a little dance experience through an intermediate / advanced. I consider myself at least a high intermediate in terms of floor aerobics, and this gets my heartrate up. Although I have a “boomsey,” I’m funk-impaired, despite (or perhaps because of) my experience with ballet, tap, jazz, and ballroom dancing. Still, I found this pretty easy to catch onto or at least fudge.

Class: two men and three women join Kukuwa for a diverse cast. One person will sometimes show lower impact modifications. (At the end of each song, the crew stops to high five each other. I kind of feel left out when they do it because they’re all really into the dances and having so much fun.)

Music: lively Latin-Caribbean instrumental music.

Set: a pool-side patio at a Caribbean resort. The sun comes and goes.

Production: decent picture, clear sound. There are several camera angles focusing on someone’s upper body while a new lower body move is introduced, particularly at the beginning; there is also at least one shot where the camera focuses on a background exerciser while Kukuwa introduces a new layer. This is probably the less well produced of the three, especially since the sound is a little muffled in parts due to wind and there are shots of cameras, booms, etc. There’s also a crazy almost overhead shot at one point, too.

Equipment: You’ll probably want shoes (make sure you can pivot), especially if you don’t have a cushioned workout space.

Space Requirements: Ideally you should be able to take at least two or three decent-sized steps front, back, and to each side; but you might be able to adapt it if you have only enough space for one or two big steps in each direction.

DVD Notes: I have the original release, with each dance on a separate DVD. This particular DVD is chaptered by song - more or less.

Comments: I like these in spite of myself. I know I look silly doing these, but somehow I don’t really care that much. (The first few times I tried these, however, I was afraid I might invoke evil spirits by doing the wrong moves. I swear, I’m not responsible for the bird flu!) Of all of the cardio dance workouts I’ve tried (Veena & Neena’s belly-dancing, Quick Fix Cardio Hip Hop, the cardio segments from New York City Ballet 2 and Ballet Boot Camps, Zumbando with Special K), Kukuwa’s workouts are the most intense for me, right up with or perhaps even a smidge more than Chantal Pierrat’s Soul Sweat, perhaps because they’re the most different from anything else I normally do.

I’ve heard Kukuwa’s workouts billed as low impact, and if you know how to modify you could make it that. There are a few little hops, cha chas, etc., however. Also, there are a number of quarter and half pivots. Personally I usually just stay front and center for most of those moves, especially if the pivot happens during the course of the move itself. I don’t care much for the moves where you throw your head back, so I just keep mine forward.

I tried this one for the first time today and I loved it! It was so much fun! I am kind of a klutz when it comes to dancing and used to get easily frustrated, but I've learned to just go with it and have fun. I did the moves I couldn't and just danced and had fun when I couldn't get them. I loved the music, the beat and the exposure to different kinds of dance and music. My daughter was very facinated by it as well and I'm happy to introduce her to different cultures.

I love how the workout is broken up into small dances, so that if there is a move you can't get, you don't keep going back to it over and over and getting more frustrated. You can do one or two or all of them and not feel like you stopped in the middle of a workout. (For some crazy reason this bugs me)

Anyway, I've been struggling to get myself to do some more cardio lately and this was exactly what I needed. Fun, challenging, a pleasure to do! I can't wait to do it again and I'm planning on getting the other ones as well. Brought the fun and joy back into my workouts!

Kananga is the 45-minute one. I loved the music. I loved the instructor. But, I couldn’t follow the moves to save my life! I just marched in place and admired her awesome abs. I knew I might be in trouble when Kukuwa says to “Shake your boomsey...that thing right behind you.” I looked behind me and didn’t see a damn thing. Not only am I choreo-challenged, I am also boomsey-challenged!

I did find that my knees were sore the next day after the Kukuwa workouts. I avoided the pivots, but something in the moves aggravated them.

I would recommend these workouts, even though I can’t do them. Just realize that they may be hard to follow if you are as challenged as I. The music is great and Kukuwa is vivacious and inspiring.

NOTE: The Kananga video has some sound glitches which apparently only manifest on certain DVD players or with certain sound systems. It is microphone noise. I think this could have been fixed in post-production, but that is my opinion.