Dance boot camp: Week two
Beauty director Adriana Ermter tests the Core Rhythms dance DVDs.
I feel hungover. I’m not, but working up a sweat while attempting to contort my body into unnatural dance positions within five seconds of ripping myself out of bed is disgusting. I’m not fully awake, I haven’t had my three-cup caffeine infusion, the Globe lies unread at my door, it’s 6:30 in the morning… it’s inhumane.
But I think I love it.
I’ve always heard people talk about the “runner’s high,” and I basically write them off as freaks needing a hobby. But I get it now. Mind you, my happy endorphins don’t kick in until about 15 minutes into each workout and they certainly don’t negate the hellish trek from my bed to the living room, but you get the idea.
Day two
Still using the first Core Rhythms DVD (you can buy the full Get A Dancer’s Body set for about $70, corerhythms.com), I power up and click onto level two: Get Moving. This section is all about the chassé (if I was Jillian from The Bachelorette, I’d be squealing right now) and is simpler than I thought⎯it’s a series of baby steps, shuffling from left to right and right to left. Luckily, you don’t need much space; my living room is tiny, and since I’ve become Trixie’s primary source of morning entertainment, I really only have three-quarters of the floor to work with.
For 15 minutes, video instructor Jaana has me chasséing with grounded feet (not standing on the balls of my feet as I’m inclined to do), flicking my hips out from side to side while I stand stationary, moving from left to right or travelling forwards and backwards. Forwards and backwards is the most natural, mostly because it reminds me of my early 20s when I thought I was hot, wore skimpy skirts to the clubs and wiggled my butt when I walked. Now, my left side is tight and only swishes halfway. I get a stitch in my right side within five minutes. Powering through, I finish the section, do the Rocky victory lap around the perimeter of my apartment, then head for the shower.
Day 3
Get Dancing, starting with the merengue. It’s a lateral dance, which means I’m stepping with one foot only, pushing my body around in a circle. The percussion beat is helpful; when you hear the beat you step out and turn. Easy, right? Well, yes and no. I keep screwing it up. Turning to my left is easier than turning to my right, and I’m only comfortable doing movements that have me facing forward with both eyes on Jaana and Julia. Jaana suggests watching the TV screen for the first half of each turn and then quickly turning my head around (before the rest of my body catches up), so that I can continue watching the TV. I whip my head too hard and way too fast; my glasses go flying off my face, landing on the bookshelf, and I stagger into the coffee table. Trixie shoots me a dirty look as she jumps onto the couch for safety. Can the merengue cause whiplash? My second attempt is better, but I make the mistake of closing my eyes, which makes me dizzy and I feel like puking. I pause the video, sit down and chug a glass of water. Once the spinning stops, I get up and go through the entire process again, pressing pause and repeat six times until I’ve got it down.
Swing is up next and I immediately feel more confident: all I have to do stand in one position and alternately bend my knees while looking straight ahead. Julia adds some energetic swinging hip action and finger snaps. I break into a sweat, and want to keep my heart rate going, so I transition right into the samba.
I love the samba. It’s so rewarding, I feel like I’m burning a billion calories a minute. With my feet apart and knees bent, it’s basically like doing a sit-up, while standing up, arms bent with my hands in the air on either side of my face. This move has my whole body pulsing back and forth so hard and fast that I feel like a fly girl in a 50 Cent video. It could explain why so many teenage boys think the horizontal jackrabbit is a good move…
The rumba is the last dance on the video. It’s slow, like a cool-down, which is awesome because I’m totally out of breath. Standing with my feet together, I sway in time to Julia’s slow-slow-quick-quick knee bends and arm swoops. It’s relaxing, and by the end of the session I feel loose, light and exhilarated. I check out my abs and butt in the mirror, but they don’t look any different. Emotionally, however, I feel like I’ve already lost 10 pounds.
Next week’s goal: five workouts and a new Core Rhythms video…
READ MORE: WEEK ONE
