Chantal Pierrat: Soul Sweat Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I did this DVD this morning and I have to say that I did work up a sweat.You have a choice between a 45 or 30 minute workout followed by a yoga-lite stretch.The dances are routines to 9 songs and the class builds in intensity with each song and then cools downs with the last song. If you have thick pile carpet as I do, you won't be able to move as freely as the dancers do.There are a couple of pivots,chasses and turns.

Music:Techno world beat music. Very rhythmic and earthy. Think Shiva Rea Trance Dance type music.However, it wasn't loud enough for me.I do my workouts in the morning and I can't turn up the TV too loud for fear of waking up my spouse.I could barely hear the musicover the teacher.I gave it 4 stars for this.Great world beat music but you can't hear it unless your TV is very loud or you have surround sound speakers, which I don't have. Also she doesn't have a music only option, so I went on omstream and calabashmusic and downloaded 7 of the 9 songs, bought 1 album (Dance, Dream Dance)Because I like Shaman's Dream, and put the music on my ipod. I turn the sound down and listen to the music in my ears.When you hear the music in stereo with heart beating bass, you can feel it in your soul.I wish you could feel that on the DVD.Sometimes the music is out of sync with the DVD on mute, but if you pause the DVD and start up again you can usually get it back in sync, and anyway I know the routine so well that I dance facing away from the tv screen.This may seem like a lot of effort but I tell you that this music is meant to be heard LOUD. Especially the Bob Holroyd song.That song jams!!.I think that soundstrue should re-do the DVD with the music louder than the teacher and extra bass. Or at least a music only option!!!!!!!!!!!!

Setting:6 dancers (I think, with 1 guy in the back)No professional dancers here, just regular folks in a hardwood floor studio.

Routine:Loved it.A cross between jazz, modern, african and latin dance moves. Again very earthy.No ballet here. You feel it in your lower and upper body. Lots of arm movements. Ths is like a Nia class.In fact Chantal is a Nia certified teacher. After each routine segment there is a short free form segment to keep you moving until the next song.You never stop moving. I didn't know how out of shape I was, because I had to stop several times to catch my breath.There is a separate tutorial that teaches you all of the routines.Didn't look at that as I followalong pretty well.One more thing, she DOES NOT do mirror image to you.When she says left or right she is talking about her left or right NOT yours.But the moves are so simple that you can just go in the direction she does.

What's missing:In my opinion what is missing from this class was a good floor routine.The yoga stretching at the end didn't do it for me. It consists of deep squat, side warrior, open legged stretches, butterfly, thread the needle and child's pose. I was so warmed up that some ab work and intense stretching would have been perfect.In a Nia class they have something called floorplay that Chantal didn't include on this DVD.Next time I do the class, I will use Core abs & forward bends from Shiva Rea's fluid power DVD as her type of dancey yoga is a perfect compliment to this DVD. One other suggestion is, if after the deep sweat you need more, you can put on Shiva Rea's Trance dance and bliss out some more. I felt that I needed just a little more bliss.

Overall:Will I do this again? YES! Will just add my own stretches at the end.I hope she comes out with another DVD soon! (See my review on "Dancer's Body workout, Patricia Moreno"Take note, Soul Sweat is what a dance workout DVD should be!!!)

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Product Description:
Studio: Wea-des Moines VideoRelease Date: 02/27/2007

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