History on Film, Vol. 2
by Michael Jackson
from Sony
Sesame Street - Zoe's Dance Moves
by Emily Squires
from Sony/Bmg
Get ready to dance! It's a toe-tapping, finger-snapping good time when Paula Abdul gives Zoe her very first dance lesson! Soon Sesame Street's favorite ballerina is learning how to step with pep in a ballet warm-up, get the beat in her feet from an African drum, be grand with her hands in an Asian dance, and just have fun with Zoe's own Silly Willy Nilly dance. And, that's not all! When Zoe's best friend Elmo joins in, everyone moves and grooves to a hip-hop, feel-good finale that will get you up and dancing along! Special DVD Bonus Feature: Paula Abdul's view on Dance, kids and growing up with Sesame Street! DVD includes free bonus CD sampler! Features 3 songs from Seasame Street's Hot Hot Hot Dance Songs!
Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade
by Wayne Isham
from A&M
The arc of Janet Jackson's career from the late 1980s to the late '90s was a story of determined growth by an artist and woman. The extent to which Jackson served as a role model for many an adolescent girl during that decade (a phenomenon illuminated on another DVD, The Rhythm Nation Compilation) speaks to the formidable yet feminine image she presented via her music and music videos. Design of a Decade includes 16 of her videos from 1986 to 1996, taking us through Jackson's early, "don't trifle with me" attitude in the "What Have You Done for Me Lately" era, to her more rapturous, sensual makeover in "Love Will Never Do (Without You)." Of course, this video is also a record of some of the most ambitious music videos ever produced, including Julien Temple's elaborate "When I Think of You," Peter Smillie's "Escapade," and Marcus Nispel's ecstatic, fantastic "Runaway." --Tom Keogh
Paula Abdul's Get Up and Dance!
by Steve Purcell (IV)
from Lions Gate
Paula Abdul's fans will really have fun with this 45-minute, high-energy dance workout. Even the warm-up is energetic and jazzy. Abdul teaches two dance routines. She introduces a 16-count pattern slowed down, then speeds it up until you're up to tempo, adding on until you've got a routine. Don't expect teaching expertise from Abdul--she cues the moves, but never explains how to do what she's demonstrating. Just watch and follow. You may need to pause this video a lot at first to learn the moves--she doesn't repeat the slowed-down moves enough to catch them--but after you get them, it becomes pure fun. She is assisted by two of her tour dancers and a crowded class of what she calls "ordinary people," though they're mostly young, good-looking, and very fit. The production is colorful and flashy. The constantly changing camera angles are distracting and sometimes annoying, because they hinder you from watching the feet to learn the moves. You'll enjoy the playful cool-down to Village People's "YMCA," led by the males in the class. An abdominal segment and stretches finish the workout. Coordination and rhythm required. --Joan Price
Touched by Evil
American Idol: The Search for a Superstar
+++
