Christi Taylor's Pure Spice: Cinnamon

You drive to your local gym to attend a Zumba class. Your normal instructor is absent and in her place is a perky auburn hair substitute instructor named Christi. For the next 55 minutes you have the best most fun class you have ever attended. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS DVD IS LIKE. The only difference between this and a real class is the fact that in a class the institutor is usually on a stage platform by herself/himself and everyone in the class is facing the instructor. On the dvd Christi is on the floor with the class and everyone is facing the camera. The idea of this placement is to allow you to see the different "spice" or modifications the individuals in the class bring to the steps plus make you feel like you are in a real class. The problem is sometimes it is little hard to focus on Christi due to the enthusiasm of some of the ladies but it would less fun if it was just her.The steps are easy to follow but not so easy to get boring after several viewings. If you have taken Zumba or done one of the licensed Zumbs dvds or video games then you will be familiar with many of the steps like Samba, Cumbia and Reggaeton. She also adds in hip-hop, belly dancing, bollywood and every one's favorite DISCO. The music is great and lots of fun. Christi's choreography is spot-on in that it is not too simple and not too hard. She puts in just enough steps in each song to make it interesting but few enough that you can really learn them by doing them multiple times. There is a reason that most live dance/fitness classes have nonverbal cueing because it really is just as helpful as the verbal especially since the focus is on learning through repetition not learning through listening.Again, in summary is you take live classes you will love this. If you have done Zumba, Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs or other dance videos and want to move to next level of 55 minutes or pure cardio - - this DVD is your new best friend.

I do a lot of step workouts (as well as floor/dance/other cardio) and have just started getting into Christi, so when I saw this video and the great reviews I knew I had to try it. I just did it for the first time and I LOVE it! I've done lots of really great Zumba live classes and this has all the best things about many of them. I was joking to myself as I was doing it that all it's missing is the hooting and hollering between songs (which I kind of wish were in there!). Just like a live class you will just flail around for a while until you get the moves but it's still super-fun even when I'm not getting the steps. This is going into the weekly rotation, an instant favorite!Home workout pro-tip: Put on trouser socks OVER your sneakers to do a workout like this on carpet. It really works!Ps. As others have said, don't be turned off by the bible quote (what the..?), there's nothing more like that in the video at all.

I didn't like the format on this DVD. I was very disappointed with this. The instructional demonstrations are not at the beginning of each dance segment. The demonstrations are placed in a section which you select upon turning on the DVD. However if I want to rewatch the demonstration for a specific dance section, I need to restart the DVD & find the section. For some reason the DVD does not return to the main menu. This is not user friendly at all. The entire DVD is done without voice cueing. You only hear the music & the instructor points to different directions. I loved Christi's "Fit to Dance" workout & thought I would like this one just as much. But I didn't like this one at all. :(

Wanting to try something new, I finally broke down and bought Christi Taylor's Pure Spice: Cinnamon DVD. It was great at first and I loved trying the different dance styles in the workout. I soon realized, though, that a cueless workout video did not work for me. I actually missed being told what came next in the workout and longed for verbal modifications to tricky dance moves--features that were missing in this kind of workout.So, on long days when I just wanted to dance and not think too much about what came next, I did not reach for Taylor's Pure Spice: Cinnamon DVD. Without the verbal cues, it just required more guesswork and patience than I had to spare!In short, Christi Taylor's Pure Spice: Cinnamon DVD is perfect for someone who easily learns new things by watching or doing them (or someone who has the time and the patience to repeatedly watch the DVD's "Move Master" to get the steps right). People with auditory learning preferences, though, may have a harder time getting into or sticking with this DVD.

For those used to her usual workout, this is way too low impact. I like that she tried to very it but honestly because I'm used to her fantastic for workouts, this one was super boring.

Even without the verbal cueing, this is a very easy to follow workout. The hand cueing works fine. Each of the 11 segments, are 5 minutes in length. At first I thought the "breaks" between segments would slow me down but I find myself using the brief "break" to catch my breath. The workout segments are fairly easy to follow and I am totally uncoordinated. Since it's a dvd you can redo a segment, rewind or even use the move master section if you are having trouble getting the steps down. I just did a segment a few times, at first without my arms/hands, till I got the steps down. You don't need much room do to this workout. I don't have that much of an area to workout, ~9' x ~6', but it is fine for this workout. I am a big Christi Taylor workout fan and I would highly recommend you purchase this dvd to add to your workout collection.

Christie is a master at exercise videos.After getting to know her moves, I was able to follow the video without the normal verbal queuing. It’s a great workout!