All Rise...

Chief Counsel Melissa Hansen is on the road to Bollywood.

The Charge

Calorie Burning, Body Firming!

The Case

OK, so who here watched the Jai Ho performance at the end of Slumdog Millionaire and sat still in their seats? Yeah, me neither. Wanna work some more on your hip shaking and shoulder shrugging to the sounds of the dhol? Then join famed dancer Meera Varma in her series Dances of India.

In this installment, Urban Bhangra Bounce, she presents a brief introduction to the disc in the, well, Intro. We then move on to a brief Warm Up that gets our shoulders and neck movin'. Next is the main attraction, the Bhangra Combinations. Meera divides up her moves into short combinations and teaches each step-by-step. Her instructions are clear and easy to follow, that is if you're talented enough. Some steps were difficult for me to do, but that's due more to my own lack of coordination than Meera's teaching. Even though my moves may not be too impressive to watch, I sure had fun trying them. And as far as the workout, it was very impressive. This one takes, or builds, stamina. A short Cool Down follows the combinations. There is also a quick Advanced Workout that you can run through, after you have it all down pat.

Often with these "instruction" exercise DVDs, you don't get much of a workout while you are learning the moves and there isn't much for you on the disc once you do. Not true of this release. The learning part sure gets you moving and it's still worthwhile even after you can bust a move. Speaking of worthwhile, lets talk about the Bonus Features. We get a Performance Music Video to check out Meera in real action, along with her Bio (which is, unfortunately, difficult to read). Most importantly there is a featurette, "History of Bhangra." Although brief, it is very informative. The set is gorgeous, music is beautiful, and video is eye catching. Meera provides the instructions in a voiceover that comes through loud and clear.

The Verdict

Guilty only of being an interesting and fun workout. Jai Ho!

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