Like a ‘dance’ virgin - Confessions from an uncoordinated dance floor

Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow have demonstrated to us (through their extremely fit bodies) that the Tracy Anderson method works. Tracy has also sculpted the bodies of Shakira, Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston and cougar Courtney Cox. So who the heck is she?

Initially an aspiring dancer, Tracy was battling some weight issues. After gaining more than 25 kg during her pregnancy she was determined to ‘cut the fat’. She began questioning doctors and doing extensive research and discovered that the key to weight loss was working the accessory muscles (not those ones that make you pick up that cute handbag), rather than the large muscle groups. So after using herself as a guinea pig for six weeks she had slimmed down to her current size and has stayed the same shape ever since (FYI Sam is now ten).

Tracy then decided to take this out into the world and tested on 150 customers, which confirmed that she “could take any woman from any genetic background and turn her in this teeny-tiny dancer type”. You could even eat whatever you wanted and still maintain this shape - She had me at eat whatever I want.

I was an eager beaver and bought two of Tracy’s DVD’s; The Tracy Anderson Mat Workout (which will be reviewed at a later date) and the Tracy Anderson Method. When the DVD arrived I thought “Woohoo, small dancer’s body here I come!” Then I hit play - turns out in order to achieve a small dancer’s body, you must dance. Who would have thought it! A choreographed dance routine from multiple views, intended to ‘get her flow’, left me feeling less like a dancer and more like an uncoordinated relative on a wedding room dance floor.

To get a second opinion I then let Elise borrow the DVD and her response was “It's hard, but for the wrong reasons. She isn't a good instructor. Her moves felt like an 8 year old trying to choreograph a routine in her backyard after 6 months of dance lessons.” So it’s not just me. Phew!

Despite my reaction to the DVD, there really is no stopping this petite dancer/fitness guru as a reality series is in the works that is said to be a ‘docusoap’ that will chronicle her life in New York City.

I also still have her Mat workout to try; my current expectation is that it’s a mixture of Pilates and dancing – review to come soon (without photos of me prancing around Tracy Anderson-style, this dance is not visually friendly).

Picture Source: EzyDVD