The Center Floor Ballet Warm-up 1

This one is so much fun! It's 4-5 movements done in sequence, so it's more like dancing. As always, Mr. Jhung is a master teacher. In every video (I have 15 now), there are NO wasted words. Everything he says is important. No matter how many times I repeat a video, I hear him say something that I didn't catch previously. Therefore, his dvd's never get old or repetitive even after the 20th time. Here, you really do get warmed up, and it's always better to do any stretching AFTER you're warm anyhow. Sachiko Kanae is very precise, which is probably why she was chosen to demonstrate the first beginner video (Ballet Barre for the Adult Absolute Beginner). There is a progressive color-coded order to these DVDs. I would suggest doing the reds, then yellows before this green series which assumes you've learned the footwork patterns used here and which are not specified explicitly.

Very useful

For a long time, I believed—as do many other ballet students—that the only way to warm up for a ballet class is by standing at the barre. This exceptional video challenges that belief. The idea for this DVD grew out of the ballet classes Finis Jhung gave to the lead boys in Billy Elliot: The Musical. The class was only an hour long and the boys had to get warmed up quickly so they could practice the demanding turns and jumps they would have to perform. So, Finis had them warm up without barres which forced them to work correctly and strongly. Since I don’t have a barre and have been using a chair for support, this video has been an eye-opener! The video starts with playful but ballet-like jogging, and then the exercises progress in difficulty and complexity to become beautiful combinations with changes of balances and directions. I found the exercises which relevé followed by a fondu or passé to be extremely beneficial. I now realize that I need to strengthen my feet and improve my balance so I can work without using the barre. I am probably not alone in this challenge. Furthermore, the elegant and graceful demonstrator is Sachiko Kanai, who appears in several other Finis Jhung videos. Her attractive presence and compelling execution is inspiring. I have not found any other ballet technique videos which show a student how to warm-up without standing at the barre while strengthening the feet and turnout, improving balance, and perfecting movement skills all at the same time. This is like killing more than two birds with one stone! – Ileana Ray, Brooklyn, NY

The demonstration is very clear and the instruction excellent. One could even use this as a short class.