Ballet Plus

If you are a fan of New York City Ballet, you will love this DVD. Like the NYCB workout there are sections for stretching, center barre, and a little dance at the end. In my opinion this DVD is much better than NYCB Workout because there are better explanations on how to do things correctly, and I feel that the exercises on this DVD reflect more correctly what really goes on in a ballet class. Also compared to the exercises in the NYCB, these exercises are more difficult from a muscle and center control standpoint. Ironically though, after doing this DVD I feel less tense than after doing the NYCB Workout even though this program works your muscles more. I feel the reason for this phenomenon is that his stretches are wonderful and not rushed. I have bought many so called ballet stretching DVD's and most of them quickly go from stretch to stretch without really taking the time to allow your body to relax into the stretch. (By the way, Finis' other DVD for Turnout and Stretch is also great for allowing your body to slowly get into a deep but at the same time relaxing stretch). The reason this DVD does remind of the NYCB Workout is that it actually uses ballet music. I hate those stupid new age ballet videos that used crappy hyped-up elevator music. The music score is beautiful and makes you want to dance instead of plugging your ears.

This is my 3rd Finis Jhung DVD (I also own his Stretch, Turnout & Extension DVD and Ballet Barre for the Adult Absolute Beginner). Like the other two workouts, I also find this video to be a complete winner. What I love about Finis is his imagery. He is just so adept at explaining the mechanics behind each movement. I've found that his videos have helped me to personally develop my technique, so much so that others in my adult ballet class have noticed. I highly recommend Finis Jhung to anyone looking to grow as a ballet student.

I find this nice to use, not inspiring, but easy to move to