A customer reviews Basics & Beyond....

Jenna; I appreciate so much the beauty of your work, and what a very, very kind and effective instructor you are. I carefully (as best I could guess at the time) invested in nearly 40 DVD's for my own education, and find yours at the very top of the list for ease of use, for value, for pure quality of information and presentation. Your grace as a dancer is a joy. Each of the isolations and movements are performed with Jenna's back to the camera, facing the mirror - which allows you to SEE foot placements and follow easily, as well as see how the moves look from the front. It saves you having to put up a mirror on the wall facing the tv, standing with your back to the tv and trying to watch it through the mirror. She uses very clear, specific instructions on body mechanics, including foot placements and weight changes, that help clear up any remaining mystery. Jenna's patient, open approach to her DVD students includes none of the cutesy cheering-leading often found in other instructionals, which can be pretty annoying after a few veiwings, especially if you aren't "getting it" yet. Nor will you find a lofty, superior tone. Instead her soft, well spoken discourse conveys the instruction in a friendly, all business manner. The breakdown section for study and review includes an ample amount of material - more than included in most instructional DVD's, and is a well developed explanation and demonstration of each movement or series of movements. The review section kicks it up a notch with a faster paced practice series; while it is great fun, it is at the more challenging, so there's room to grow. Done with any regularity, the practice section - with its weight shifts from move to move - ingrain transition patterns which should make actual dancing come more naturally.

The DVD has excellent production values, with quality sound, and well placed camera work that is steady and systematic - without stylizations that detract from your ability to see each aspect of what's involved in the movement. At the end of the DVD, her group performance shows all different body and costume types, with a wonderful choreography for a beginning dancer with just enough challenge to make it interesting. Even better? Put down your remote, and rest your slow-motion-button finger, Jenna includes the transcription for the dance on her website! Hours saved, get straight learning to the choreography!

There are hundreds of instructional DVD's out there - I have many of them. And while each one has at least a few things to take with you, Jenna's Basics and Beyond is an outstanding learning tool which very, very few others can compare to, and none can replace. High praise is in order. Thank you Jenna!

-TD, Texas