Infomercial Ads

DARRIN'S DANCE GROOVES - DVD

Description: Learn the moves of your favorite pop stars with Darrin's Dance Grooves! Celebrity choreographer Darrin Henson has created dance moves for the most popular videos on MTV and worked with everyone from Britney Spears and *NSYNC to Christina Aguilera and Jordan Knight.

Reviews (50):

a Dance Dud
Reviewer: "offleash" Buffalo, NY United States 03-08-2002
Darrin's Dance Grooves is pretty darn bad. Offensive, even.

There is very little dance instruction. Most of the DVD is taken up with what amounts to infomercial material. Britney loves Darrin, N'Snyc loves Darrin, etc.

The actual workout includes a warm up, followed by a break down of small portions of four MTV video dance routines. The warm up is horrible. Darrin doesn't count on the eight. Unwatchable, or at least - unlistenable. You have to hope they dubbed the music in afterwards, otherwise, Darrin doesn't have much of an ear.

The "dance instruction" consists of running through the routine twice - with Darrin counting left when he's showing right (i.e., not allowing for the mirror image), and not giving much in the way of description other than "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, ok, we're moving on". The camera work frequently fails to show the movement. He then jumps to the actual video, with his class spliced in. Then he informs the viewer that if we wish to perfect our groove thing, we can always rewind. The routines include turns and floor moves, i.e., fairly complex movements that aren't broken down.

It concerns me that this DVD is being marketed to a pre-teen and teen audience that could be permenantly convinced they "can't dance" because they've been victimized by Darrin's non-existent cueing and teaching syle.

If you're looking to learn beginner jazz/funk/hip hop I would suggest Madonna Grimes, Culture Shock Hip Hop, Hip Hop Body Shop, Calvin Wiley, even the MTV Grind tapes over this. They all have their problems, but they're light years ahead of Darrin Grove. He's got zero "street cred" with me.

I don't like N*Sync, but I like this video
Reviewer: "rob9000" - 02-12-2002
I didn't know how to dance very well at parties so I bought it. I agree it is very fast paced, and somtimes the camera angles are a little tricky. However, after the one week I have owned it, I can dance.

The pace at which Darrin teaches you is very easy to get used to. He actually teaches about 2x slower than when you are dancing in real-time. And when you do get a difficult camera angle, the 2nd time through has a better camera angle. If the camera was still all the time you wouldn't get all the great shots of the other dancers that are not as skilled as Darrin. And without them I don't know how I could have learned many of the moves. If the camera was shot from behind, you wouldn't be able to see where his knees or hands are.

I used to think that it would be really hard to learn how to dance like that. But now thanks to this program, it has become easy. If you like this style, and you like dancing, buy this video.

A GREAT DVD!
Reviewer: Tinkabehl Detroit, MI 09-12-2005
I found this DVD to be VERY helpful! I DO NOT recommend this video for people WITHOUT any rhythm or seriously hurting in the dance dept. as this dvd will be VERY challenging for you. That is, UNLESS you are majorly determined to learn to dance.

Not enough Breakdown
Reviewer: H.S. "InsightfulTouch.com" Long Island, NY 04-06-2005
I got this DVD a few years ago. He only went slow 1-2x not giving any body movement advice & the camera moved way too much. I remember just staring at the TV totally lost. There are plenty of better dance workout DVDs out there.

There's a trailer at collagevideo.com

Are you kidding?
Reviewer: H.S. "InsightfulTouch.com" Minnesota 03-04-2005
As a dancer and as a dance coach, i was very dissapointed in this video all together. The moves were not taught well, it hardly taught anything. Much of it was about all his success and all the work he does which is fine for a biography but not a "choreography" video! --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition

bad videography
Reviewer: C. R. Anderson 11-04-2004
The moves are fun to do and look cool after you figure them out. Yet, it is hard to figure them out because the videography is horrible. It will show his face while you're supposed to be learning foot movements, and ect. If you are patient through these parts, and rewind the tape frequently the moves are actually quite simple and fun.

It Takes Persistence to Follow - But Proves Rewarding
Reviewer: C. R. Anderson Fort Worth, TX United States 05-23-2004
Yes, this DVD may challenge beginning dancers. And it will take persistence and repetition to learn the steps. But like anything challenging the reward comes from seeing if you can do something that you thought you could not.
To give some insight into where I'm coming from I have been dancing a wide variety of styles for a while now and collect dance instruction DVDs and books--as well as have regular private and group instruction. Dance is a passion that I have dedicated myself to.

I really enjoyed this DVD. I have found that DVDs alone (or on-line instruction and books) cannot substitute for learning from others at clubs or from a private instructor. But this DVD showed me what kinds of steps are possible, and gave me some insight into how to choreograph my own moves.

What I have learned so far from "Darrin's Dance Grooves" has been a lot of fun to try on live dance floors--and has added welcome new moves to my repertoire.

Waste of $
Reviewer: Anonymous 05-03-2004
I don't know who could learn it in a day as one customer had claimed, but it definitely would not be me. Also, self-obsession of Darren sometimes is very scary, not to menetion annoying. if you a beginner, the moves in the movie "Honey" are actually easy to learn and Laura Ann Gibson is a much better instructor.

Great coreography
Reviewer: Anonymous 05-26-2004
When I watched this DVD I was suprised how good it was. I didn'nt know how fast it would be! I learned it in a day! I can't wait until I show my friends! It is so much better than a regular dance class.

Only for experienced dancers or the naturally gifted
Reviewer: Anonymous 03-03-2004
I think I have figured out why there are such contradictory reviews regarding the speed with which Darrin shows the movements. Darrin has only two speeds. Very slow (which unfortunately seems to get a little faster with each routine), and full speed to the music, which is VERY, VERY FAST. His slow speed is easy enough to follow, but I found it impossbile to jump from slow-motion right to hyper-speed. And I have never had a dance teacher that expected me to either! So Darrin starts out going slow enough, but after that he goes way too fast. He needs to go over the routine a few more times in-between while gradually bringing up the tempo each time. But infuriatingly, after taking our money, he acts as if he doesn't have the time or the inclination to give us a proper and thorough lesson. Instead, he directs us to use the rewind button and work it out on our own.
The majority of the moves are fairly simple by themselves and easy enough to pick up by watching him. The challenge lies in the speed with which they must be performed and put together. However, there were some advanced movements that really needed to be broken down very slowly and explained. But again, we are infringing on his time and he doesn't bother. I suspect he spent a lot more time teaching the routines to his crew of professionals than he did with us.

I agree with everyone else's criticisms. The camera angles are bad, cutting off the feet at inopportune times. He should have taught one routine all the way through, rather than bits and pieces from several. He faces you and calls out his own right and left. I knew this going in, but it proved to be harder to compensate than I thought it would be. Darrin doesn't call out the direction of his turns at all, and I found it really difficult to figure it out with him facing me. I actually enjoyed Darrin's interviews. However, it seems this material was not included to be an extra feature, but to fill in and make up for the too-brief instruction time. With the DVD, is it possible to skip these sections and go right to the dancing. But unlike every other DVD I have ever watched, the "menu" button on my remote doesn't work on this one making it difficult to navigate even though there is a menu.

I suspect this DVD was never designed to be a real teaching tool, but a teaser to get us to attend Darrin's dance seminar. This DVD has the potential to needlessly crush your confidence in your dance abilities, or at least give you a good beating. I don't think it is a complete waste of time, I like the moves. Just don't expect to be able to follow him easily unless you are a very experienced dancer or have a natural gift for learning choreography. Not because the moves are too hard for you, but because he doesn't use good teaching techniques.

This is NOT how you learn to dance
Reviewer: MPR1196 Seattle, WA 02-22-2004
This is a "I"M DARRIN, LOOK AT ME VIDEO". There is little dancing and you can't learn what dance is on the tape. I found out about "Groovin With The Groovaloos" videos and THAT is how you learn how to dance! These dancers are amazing and the teaching on the tape is just what I was looking for. It's a group that has their own website too, www.groovaloos.com. You can order the videos off their site. If you want to learn streetdancing stuff like breaking, popping, locking, and hip hop, YOU MUST GROOVE WITH THE GROOVALOOS!!!!!!

Just Confusing - Left? Right? Huh?
Reviewer: Anonymous 01-12-2004
Unlike every other dance class I've attended - where the instructor stands with his/her back to the class...or every workout video I've watched - where the instructor uses left to be on the same side as the exerciser's right and calls "right"...Darrin doesn't do either. He stands forward to the camera and announces HIS left and HIS right leaving you to have to do the mental adjustment. It would have been much better if they had put a split screen with camera angles from front and back. I agree with the comment that this is just all about celebrating Darrin - not really how to learn his dance grooves effectively.

love it
Reviewer: "magentariff9" Massachusetts 01-06-2004
I've owned this DVD for about 2 years but I never started actually doing the routines until this week and I fell in love with it. A lot of these reviews have said that this is not a good workout video but Darrin isn't claiming that it's supposed to be a workout video at all. It's just a fun way to learn new dance routines, which as a dancer of 16 years, I love doing. My favorite on the video is "Digital Get Down" and I spent an entire 3 hours learning. These routines take time but if you love to dance, this tape is an awesome way to learn something new.

Horrible!
Reviewer: Anonymous 08-04-2003
I was very disappointed with this video. Darrin does not do a good job of breaking the routines down. He teaches an 8 count slowly but does not go into detail with each move. Then, he just keeps adding on 8 count sections in slow motion until the end and then expects you to just do the whole routine in regular time from the beginning. Because he does not go into a lot of detail, you have to watch him very carefully and there are times when the camera only shows his upper body, so it is absolutely impossible to know what your legs/feet are supposed to do. The routines are short and there are songs from only three artists/groups. I was very frustrated trying to learn these routines and i've been dancing for almost 20 years, since I was 5. Don't waste your money on this one, folks.

Darrin u 2 be bad
Reviewer: ccmaycare "CTC" IE, CA, USA 07-04-2003
The video seriously disappointed me. I love working out to dance work out videos, but this has been the worst. I like to to dance, but it takes a comprehensive break down of each 8 count for me and then practice at the normal beat of each 8 count before I can move one to a new set. If you are like that too, I recommend getting something else before buying this one. I do recommend Paula Abdul's Get up and Dance. She breaks down each 8 count and then practices each 8 count up to tempo before moving on. It is challenging and yet completely doable and offers a great way to sweat off some calories, whereas with Darrin's Dance Grooves, I didn't feel any real calorie burning sweat at all.

Not what I expected but still good
Reviewer: Anonymous 07-02-2003
Darrin does a really good job at breaking down the moves, just as advertised. I suppose my expectations were too high, but it was a good video. I just wish each routine were a bit longer. I'm used to doing longer dances so the 30 second routines were a bit disappointing. But otherwise, worth the money.

Well..
Reviewer: Lynn Chaska, MN United States 06-28-2003
I agree that the camera angels are not great, and the fact that he goes through ALL of the moves before putting them together is not good. When he does put it all together i would have liked him to move a little faster, being that it is SLOW compared to with music. However, I don't really agree with the not mirroring part... some other videos of mine dont mirror, so im used to it. All is all, its not the BEST video- (one i really like is "go fatima- learn to dance" in which you learn Backstreet Boys and Aaliyah), but if you want to learn some n sync and britney its worth it

Very Disappointing
Reviewer: Anonymous 06-22-2003
I bought this for fun during the Thanksgiving holiday for my 9 year old daughter and me, and for the relatives to join in with us - but none of us could follow this video. This video is not even worth paying the discounted price. If I could rate this video with zero stars, that would be my choice.

TERRIBLE
Reviewer: Anonymous 06-06-2003
I have to say, I was totally stoked when I ordered this awful video...it looked like so much fun! Well, I watched it once and gave up on it. First of all, whoever mentioned that he was confusing about distinguising his left to your left was totally right....i couldn't follow the moves at all! And this whole video was so narcisstic-it was Darren promoting himself for 3/4 of it! Total waste of money. PLEASE don't buy it!

Hard
Reviewer: "pipes625" Minnesota 04-24-2004
This video is extremely hard. They claim that they break it down but when they go back over it with you, they show video clips of the moves and not of the whole body. I don't recommend this video and think the moves are bad...

Not what I expected
Reviewer: Elizebeth Neumann Seattle, wa 04-03-2003
I bought this tape so I could add more variety to my excersize routine. I have the Latin Fat Blaster from the Crunch series and enjoy doing dance for cardio and thought this would be more of the same. I was very wrong, I wish I had read the reviews here before I bought it.
I expected there to be about 50 minutes of dancing and about 5 minutes of information about Darrin but it seems like it's the other way around. You get to hear Darrin talk about himself in between each routine which equals more time on him than doing any dancing. It is obvious that he loves himself because the camera is always on him and almost always on his upper body and face which is frustrating when your trying to guesse what the heck to do with your feet. He does go through the moves very slowly but you only go through the routine twice before you are ready to go at full speed. I think it would have been very helpful for him and the dancers to go through the routine once before having you do it along with him.
Of course you can always re-wind the tape and do it over but since I dont like the instructor or the instructions its very hard to want to do it more than once.
Im not a clutz and catch on very quickly, I was just dissapointed in the quality of this tape and had hoped for more. If your buying this at all for any kind of excersize just dont. Its not worth your money.

Darrin's Stinky Grooves
Reviewer: Elizebeth Neumann Sherwood Park, Alberta Canada 02-28-2003
I bought this tape with a friend we were so pumped for Darrin to teach us the moves! BOY WERE WE WRONG! First of all you would have to be a serious dancer to even begin to be good at this tape! Actually I don't know about that, a serious dancer needs to see half the moves before they copy them. Half the time Darrin is showing you the moves there isn't even a shot of his feet! It's kick turn pivot kick swish now you try! You might be able to master the first dance routine on the tape! But after that GOOD LUCK! We mastered the first routine but after that we spent the rest of the tape yelling at Darrin for his lying commercial! DOWN WITH DARRIN!

I recommend this
Reviewer: Anonymous 02-13-2003
This is something just anyone could use to learn how to dance. Darrin within minutes shows you how to dance to videos which look so complicated on t.v. This video will not take more than a couple of days to get the steps down just as good or better than the real music videos. I highly recomend this on DVD.

{Bad] beyond belief
Reviewer: Anonymous 02-10-2003
I would absolutely not recommend this video to anyone. Let me tell you what it contains:
If the video is 40 minutes long, about 32 minutes showcase Darrin talking about himself.
It promises to teach you the steps to three videos. The problem is, it only contains the steps to about 20 seconds from each video. And even those parts are badly explained and hard to do.

Good video but bad instruction!
Reviewer: Jennifer Toronto, Ontario Canada 01-17-2003
I bought this video hoping to learn some of the great moves of todays popstars. The video was good in the fact that they broke down the moves and taught you step by step. My big complaint is I mostly taught myself the routines. It goes way to fast and once you learn one move he just moves on. I had to keep stoping and rewinding. I put the steps together myself and kept practicing. Darrin never goes back and reviews the whole routine until the end. Thats when you can barely remember what you learnt 10 minutes ago. I did learn the routines but with really no help from the video.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!
Reviewer: Anitra McIntyre Illinois 01-14-2003
I bought this as a way to add some structured dance moves to my workout program. I wish Wal-Mart would take it back! This video is a fluff piece about DARRIN! Most of the video is him or some other blurb meister hyping him up. Even if you are a great hip hop dancer, (I am) you can't keep up with his nonsense. Example, DARRIN will explain one move and do something totally different. His suggestion to the viewer-KEEP REWINDING! Who wants to keep rewinding. Also, his terminology is for people who actually take formal dance. My advice to DARRIN is K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) or just stop making videos.

Teaches you at your own pace, YEAH RIGHT!!!!
Reviewer: Anonymous 12-28-2002
Ok, so darren is suppose to teach you at your own pace how to do all of these stupid 15 second dance moves of each of these songs, well, I don't think so. He teaches to fast and its confusing b/c your right is his left and your left is his right and when he says "move to you RIGHT" in the video, you do so and then he doesn't go to his right he goes to his left, so were facing the same way when were not suppose to. Is it me or am I the only one who notices that. Well, you also can't tell if he's telling you to go to "your left" or if he's telling the dancers to go to their lefts b/c he sometimes faces the way you are when he's not suppose to and I am always like "What????" the tape is only 55 minutes long and about 20 of that is about him and the rest is him teaching you how to dance TOO FAST. I learned the Britney Spears one within 2 days and the nsync one within 3days but I am still not good on doing Nsy'c bye bye bye. Please, don't waste your money on this tape. ...

BIGGEST WASTE OF YOUR HARD EARNED CASH!!
Reviewer: Anonymous 12-21-2002
i hated it!! darrin promises you'll be able to dance like all the stars....yeah right. it is so difficult to follow!! the camera angles are horrible..and you always have to watch it over and over and over again until you think you've got it down. the tape also has parts in between dances where darrin talks about his life. if i wanted a biography..i would've wasted my money on sumthin else!!! the commercials for this item are very tricky. when i bought it..i thought they'd teach you the whole dance, when in reality..the dance turns out to be about 15 seconds of the song. he then goes through the tape really fast, and then when you get to try the dance to the music..its practically impossible. its not a good workout either. i got it last year, and the only thing it does now is collect dust...DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!

Fun But Opposite
Reviewer: "junbechan" STERLING, VA United States 12-17-2002
This is very fast paced with funky camera movements (not 'instructional-friendly'). The biggest turn-off for me was that you have to move 'opposite' of what you see in screen because they are 'facing you' and doing their 'right/left' moves. I am used to seeing the instructors in my other workout video move in 'mirror opposite'... Each little move take a good load of patience to learn, so you will end up pausing the video most of the time. Fun moves though, and gives you a sense of 'accomplishment' when you finally get to dance the routine.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T BUY IT!!
Reviewer: Anonymous 12-16-2002
I can review this tape in just ONE word...TERRIBLE...that's all you need to know.

Average
Reviewer: Anonymous 11-28-2002
I thought there would be more to this tape than the commercial, but was wrong. What you see on the commercial is what you get. The rest of the video is commentaries and Darrin talking. The thing I dont like about this video is that Darrin teaches you the moves while facing you. That was a little difficult for me considering that when he does a move with his left, turn left and kicks left facing you, you have to do it all with your right, which was a little confusing for me. Other than that, it's ok.

Good video but painful
Reviewer: Anonymous 10-17-2002
Yes, you get to do some of the moves from the hottest videos but frankly the "bye - bye - bye" move and others like really are not worth learning. However at the end he teaches some awesome dance moves that are just for the tape which makes up for all the boring useless stuff. He should have just had more of that. The video also has tons of "filler" material where you are not learning anything, and the camera angles suck (he'll describe legwork, while he's doing it, but it will be a shot of his face). The camera angles get better as the video progresses. Hard to watch.

Great video for advanced dancers!
Reviewer: Livia Bloomington, IN 10-15-2002
This video is great for dancers! It has a lot of fun dances, and you can practice technique. I wouldnt recomend it to beginners, because its fast. But, for me it was just perfect.

More Hype than Substance
Reviewer: Anonymous 10-01-2002
I got this to learn some hip-hop moves to incorporate into my dance routine. While it is fun to watch, it is definitely not made to be an instructional piece. I agree w/everyone's gripe about the orientation and mirroring aspect. The "slow" part of showing the steps were laughable.
Look to it for ideas and inspiration. Don't count on learning moves clearly and step-by-step w/this.

There are good dancers and/or good dance instructors. It is not common to see both in one person. Darrin is an awesome dancer, but a visibly unseasoned instructor as demonstrated by this sad example.

Terrible, not worth it at all
Reviewer: "lightlore" Lawton, OK United States 09-30-2002
The first annoying thing about this video is having to sit through about 15 minutes or so of Darrin's information about himself. He doesn't seem to realize that people get the video to learn about dancing, not to learn about him. Secondly, the moves are presented rapid-fire, with very little repetition. You have to hit the rewind button every 5 seconds to catch what just happend. He doesn't really show how to do the dances; he just shows what they look like. There's a huge difference. If he tried to "teach the stars" the way he teaches his video audience, he'd never have made 2 cents. This video was a huge disappointment and a total waste of money.

Its OK
Reviewer: Anonymous 09-15-2002
This video was okay. I am a teen and was hoping to learn some cool dance moves. The video goes slightly fast, but you can always rewind. They usually only show you the chorus part of the song and there are inly 4 songs on here. It is hard to always remember that you have to do the opposite side of what he is doing.

Should also come with rhythm
Reviewer: Anonymous TN United States 08-27-2002
If you're easily frustrated, this is not for you. He goes a bit fast during his explanations of the different dances and, since there's no pattern, they can be difficult to remember when he takes them from the top. The discussions on his life and experiences are interesting, though.
If you're looking for a cardio workout, this isn't it. If you're really passionate about learning the different dances, or if you like to watch people goof off and have fun laughing at themselves (which happens when you turn this on), this is for you.

A waste....don't bother.,
Reviewer: "hlj25950" Selkirk, NY USA 08-23-2002
This video is horrible! I used to dance very frequently and though I would not call myself professional, it is quite easy for me to pick up routines. I wanted this tape to give me a routine to dance to for exercise purposes. I love to dance and since I had a baby have not had the opportunity to do it. I thought this tape might provide me some in house help.
Don't expect Darrin to teach you the moves you need to go through a complete song. Darrin and his back up dancers only show segments of dances from three routines. What is worse than that is the cameral work. Try picking up on moves that you are supposed to be doing with your feet while you are only shown Darrin's torso. And the absolutely most fatal flaw is that he teaches in reverse. What I mean by that is when you are supposed to learn a move with your right hand, he shows it to you, facing you, with HIS right hand. So unless doing everything with a completely opposite body motion doesn't bother you, I would say DO NOT purchase this video.

This is a horrible video for all purposes. It does not teach you to dance. It contains horrifically poor instruction quality and camera work. Still hoping to find an energetic dance routine that I can dance to at home for exercise.

Lets dance!
Reviewer: Candace Cook Detroit, MI 08-22-2002
I purchased this video in the hopes to learn a couple of cool routines that I can have fun with and I got just that! This video actually gave me a full body workout which I didn't expect. My favorite routine was n'sync's BYE BYE BYE. My 15 month old son just loved that song. He walked around the house saying bye bye bye, bye bye bye. Translated (Aint no lie... Bye Bye Bye)
I only wished that they would have focused on showing you the entire routine for maybe 2 videos instead of excerpts of routines from 4 or 5 videos. AND I wish that they had done more side by side shots of the actual video and darrins crew. It just seems when the actual artists/performers do the routines, they put alot more energy into the moves than darrins crew.

Despite all, I loved the video and would reccommend it to anybody. Especially if you are looking to lose a couple of pounds.

Horrible, Horrible! Read This One!
Reviewer: Rachel Leiser Lake Havasu City, AZ United States 08-21-2002
This is the worst workout-type in the world!
First of all, Darrin doesn't break the moves down for you, so you can't learn at your own pace. He moves way too fast, and obviously his dancers have all had way more training than we'll ever get from him. He only teaches you PART of the dance routines, which there are only three of. These videos are also outdated, so if you did somehow actually LEARN the moves from this Sloppy choreographer, you wouldn't be wowing anyone with your knowledge of the music videos. This video is a total ... And it's not just that it's too hard for me, but my friends also tried the routines on this DVD and found it totally impossible to follow Darrin. I also think he should turn

PATHETIC!
Reviewer: michelle Everett, WA USA 08-08-2002
I HAVE NO CLUE WHERE TO START!
THIS TAPE IS FILLED WITH JUNK AND IT GOES BY TOO FAST.
LIKE 60% OF THE FILM IS FILLED WITH BIOGRAPHY AND UNKNOWN PEOPLE INTERVIEWS.
IM BEGGING YOU. DONT WAST YOU MONEY!
THIS FILM IS FOR ONLY FOR PROFESSIONAL DANCERS.
AS DARRIN ALWAYS SAYS "MOVING ON,"
DONT GET TRICKED ON T.V.
TRUST ME!
READ OTHER PEOPLES REVIEWS!
IN CONCLUSION, DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!$

Here are better videos
Reviewer: Anonymous 07-30-2002
Darren doesn't repeat his moves. Doesn't do them facing away from the camera (which is how real dance classes are taught). And the camerawork is horrible. They need to a)not show the music videos and b)keep the camera in 1 position.
There are better videos/DVDs: Paula Abdul's Cardio Dance. Culture Shock hip hop workout. Hip Hop Body Shop Twister Abs. They take things at a pace where someone at home can actually learn something.

HORRIBLE!
Reviewer: anastasia Los Angeles, CA USA 07-20-2002
I thought this video was a waste of money(even though it was a gift). He is the worst instructor. He basically doesn't explain barely any of the moves and just shows you the dance with counts. You would get the same affect from watching the music videos and pausing and slowing and rewinding. He goes through the moves so quickly, going over it about once. They are trying so hard to make this video look cool with cheap camera effects that it makes it hard to follow along with him and the dancers. Half of this video is just him talking about himself and his career which I personally fast forwarded through. So I deeply do not recommend this video. Fatima's video was much better, at least she teaches it to you.

Hard To Follow
Reviewer: "lyndzie433" MI 07-19-2002
This tape is really hard to do if you don't have previous dance experience. It is hard to follow especially because Darrin is facing you when he's dancing, so you have to reverse what he's doing.

"If we're going too fast...",
Reviewer: "jessa1977" Chicago, Illinois 07-18-2002
This is a direct quote, "Look, if we're going to fast for you, remember, you can just slow down, rewind the tape, and get busy on your OWN time." I'm sorry... I thought this was my own time. I bought the tape knowing that the moves are difficult, but with 10 years of dance training, I figured I could handle it. Well, typically, when learning a routine, you would be behind the choreographer with a mirror in the front. Of course that's not possible on video formatting, but the angles really are horrible. There are quite a few shots that are close-ups, and it's impossible to see the footwork. Also, Darrin's directions are quite confusing. He's telling you "right" or "left", and the dancers are going in that direction... what they should be doing is a mirror image (or at least giving the opposite direction). Most professional chreographers understand this concept. The steps are not prefaced by saying, "Here's what we're going to do." And when they are, he only describes a few steps in. When running through the routine still at half-speed, he only gives the count; no directions. This is especially difficult when you are mid-turn or facing the side. The dancers make it look very easy, but remember they've rehearsed a million times (and they're paid to look professional). My final gripe is that about a third of the video is an autobiography. I didn't really need to know that they had to wear hard hats while filming Brittany Spears, or that it was 20 degrees while working with Jordan Knight... that's what behind the scenes, or "Making the Video" is for. Nor did I need to see the seminar in Florida. If you've seen the infomercial, you know what I'm talking about. If you have a LOT of time to rewind and scrutinize the video, go ahead. OR you can just tape the music videos and review them over and over... and over!

If You're A Dancer--It's Worth It
Reviewer: Taylor Omaha, NE 07-17-2002
A friend of mine gave me this video because everywhere I went, I was dancing, with or without music. When I started teaching Funk aerobics, I needed new moves and pulled out this video to try it out. I have to admit, I found myself liking it, but if it weren't for the wonderful invention of the rewind button, I would probably be lost on the video. The camera angles are terrible and it is extremely fast paced. Darrin isn't the most engaging talker in the world either. However, when you get the hang of the moves (after rewinding and rewinding and rewinding some more), it's pretty fun to just break it out. If you love to dance and want something to just do, it's worth getting, but be ready for some tedious rewinding in order to learn the moves.

It was ok
Reviewer: Anonymous 07-16-2002
When I watched this video, I tried to follow along with the dance moves but he goes too fast. Some of the dance moves he doen't even explain!! He expects you to do it all at once without stoping. It is very confusing. I don't reccomend this movie.

Too fast paced for a beginner
Reviewer: "karenwq" Deland, FL USA 07-16-2002
I was disappointed that many times the camera angle would shift and not show Darrin's feet. I found this to be very distracting when I'm trying hard to watch his every move and then all of a sudden I don't see how his feet are moving anymore! One of the moves being shown showed him spinning around one time a full circle, but no emphasis was given to show the correct way to spin so that your feet end up in the correct position at the end of the spin. I wouldn't recommend this for a beginner.

Not So Bad
Reviewer: michelle Everett, WA USA 07-13-2002
This video is not so bad.The only problem is that you have to rewind it alot till you have the dance movrd memorized.I would recommand this video or DVD to dancers who have some experience. In my opinion,the vidoe of DVD should be a little slower with the choregraphy and have longer minutes and more dance moves.

AWESOME VIDEO
Reviewer: Valerie West Norfolk, VA 07-06-2002
This video is great! I got it for my 15th birthday and at my party me and my friends all learned the dance moves! It really wows people when you can dance like the celebrities! It starts with a warm up, and there are 5 routines he teaches you that are in order of difficulty rate. He even shows you a new routine that he created to demondstrate the "pop and lock" technique. I definately recommend this!!!

Average Reviewer Rating:

Add my review on this item