Urban Jam - Hip Hop Dance with Laya Barak

I've tried half a dozen dance DVDs and this is definitely the best so far. Unlike most of the others I've tried, the dancers actually look good doing the moves. This means you naturally want to copy them, and so it doesn't feel like work, even when you're working hard. The difficulty level was around medium; this will suit you if you have some natural dancing ability, but little formal training and modest fitness levels. The pace was also just right - not too fast and not too slow. I liked Laya as well; she comes across as very human and friendly. And the music was pretty good too. Basically, everything is pretty much spot-on. My only problem is that after a few months I've learned all the moves: please make a second one!

Are you really into dancing you should enjoy this DVD.It is instructional and gives good views how to perform the moves and the steps. It is good DVD and you get the inspiration to learn more Hip Hop on more qualified levels. I can highly recommend this DVD.

Wasn't really as inviting or inspiring as I'd imagined considering the other reviews given - hasn't even been used since the purchase!!

This is an excellent dance dvd. Laya Barak is one of the few out there who isn't annoying and patronizing. She's actually very friendly. The routines are explained extremely well. Every routine (there are three, all with a different difficulty grade) is broken down into seperate parts. In every one of those parts the moves are shown first completely, then seperately by arms and feet, and then all together with at full speed with music. Then the few parts you've learned are done toghether, and in the end all is done toghether. As every part is a different chapter on the dvd, it is very easy to repeat or skip a part. This seems to be a dance dvd made by one fo the few people who actually made it so people can enjoy dancing, rather than just trying to make money of it. Excellent dvd!!

This excellent dance instruction DVD starts with a terrific warm-up, that centers on isolations and stretches. In order to do all the stretches full-out, you'd have to be quite limber, but you can do them at your own level, and still get a lot out of it. This warm-up section is good even if you don't want to continue on to the dance routines, as it makes a great morning "wake-up" as well as a relaxing way to get the tension out of your body after a hard day. Loose pants and a soft stretchy top, with sneakers, is what Laya Barak, and her 2 assistants, Jonathan Lee and Eleonora Barbacini are wearing, and the presentation is well done, with simple lighting and camera angles enabling you to see what is being demonstrated clearly. Music is by Jay T. Jenkins and Mervyn Theodopolis Jr. (Warmup), Daryl "D. Roe" Monroe (Beginner & Advanced), and Ray Johnson (Intermediate). The Beginner routine is easy but fairly long; the choreography flows well though, and the movements are broken down and explained enough to be able to assimilate it and make memorization easier. When performed up to tempo with the music you should be able to dance and enjoy it, and though some dance background would help a lot, enough passion for dance and desire to learn (and enough practice!) will get you through the routine if you are a beginner. The Intermediate picks up the pace a lot, as well as the length of the routine, and the Advanced is jammin'! It's a joy to watch Laya perform this invigorating and innovative dance form. She is a marvelous dancer, who completes every movement to its maximum point with precision and speed, as well as having musicality and that indefinable thing in dance called "line." Bravo Laya!

Received it quickly and has me dancing!

買ってよかった系のDVDです。 先生のラヤさんはとてもノリがよく、かっこよく踊ってくれます。 持っているヒップホップダンスビデオの中でもイケてるほうで お気に入りの一枚です。 ヒップホップのDVDの難しいところは、自宅でやると、下の部屋に 響くところですね。キック、ターンが必ずでてくるので、お部屋では つい音が気になる…！

I love learning the choreographed moves of the stars from music videos and what not. I haven't taken a trained dance course/class since third grade, but it's still a hobby of mine to go online and look up YouTube videos of the many choreographers they have out now. I tried this video maybe once due to lack of space, and I enjoyed myself. There's different levels of difficulty so you can slow it down or speed it up!

I thought this would be gret for exercising but it's not. This is not easy for beginners and its not fun at all. Its complicated and its not set up in rountines so that you can participate in any part. The music isn't that good and the 3 dancers are not good. All of this was recorded in one day and the teacher doesn't really teach you the steps. I wouldn't buy this, its just a waist of money.

Not quite what the family needed to learn how to hip hop dance - but fun for a while.