This is the interview conducted by Video Fitness Forum:

How did you get started in teaching fitness?

I have been teaching on and off for 13 years. I first began teaching adult beginning ballet at a junior college that was close to my home. The instructor contacted me when she went into early labor with her first child. At the age of 19 I inherited my first class. It was so much fun teaching adults the fundamentals of ballet. I absolutely loved it! From that point on I taught classes to help put myself through my undergraduate program at UC Santa Barbara. While at UCSB I minored in Dance and then took up kickboxing, which at that time was becoming very popular. I initially started taking classes with my girlfriends, because there had been some sexual assaults on campus. What started out as self-defense morphed into cardio kickboxing as a student, which then lead to me teaching. The great thing about having ballet as a foundation is that it gives you exceptional coordination.  I was able to pick up different martial arts moves very quickly, with accuracy and precision.

What sort of certifications/training do you have?

I have 22 years of classical ballet training in the Cecchetti method, and a minor in Dance (which included jazz, modern, contemporary, and ballet). I also have an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology, which was the Pre Med. program, and a master’s degree in Business and Finance. At present I work as a Biochemist, focusing on protein chemistry for a company that does drug discovery and development for cancer research. I manage three departments (Analytical Chemistry, Immunochemistry, and Molecular Technology). I have ACE certifications in Personal Training and Group Fitness.

How did you come up with Ballerobica?  What kind of program is it?  Cardio?  Strength?  Flexibility?  A hybrid?

Ballerobica was something I always wanted to do but just never had time or resources to do it. Last October I was sitting in a coffee shop with a friend discussing our life’s goals and ambitions and the idea of Ballerobica was officially voiced out in the open, which made it real. Up until that then my spare time was devoted to my education. I had just graduated from graduate school and the economy was turning for the worse. I felt trapped at my current job and was really contemplating what I enjoyed doing. I realized that I could do something that I was good at, that I loved, and still make a living.  I filed for my business license in December 2008.

Ballerobica is best described as a hybrid between kickboxing and ballet. It sounds a bit odd but the combination really does fit together well. There is cardio (non-impact, low impact, high impact), strength training/conditioning, and stretching which is great for over all flexibility.

How long have you taught it?  Where?  A little bit about that.

I started teaching Ballerobica officially in November 2008 in Reno, NV. I rented out a small studio and did word of mouth advertising. My classes were small at first (2 people), but once a buzz started I had about 20 people consistently in a class. The benefit of me teaching was that it gave me the ability to experiment with different combinations with the class. At first my combinations were a little difficult for beginners who had never had any ballet training. The class allowed me to modify combinations to make them easier for beginners and to understand commonly made mistakes in movement and in form. The Ballerobica DVD is a compilation of the most basic, most well received cardio, conditioning and flexibility combinations that are done in the Ballerobica class.

Can people who are choreographically challenged do the program?  Are modifications or tips available for those who are challenged?

The choreographically challenged will have no problems with the DVD. There are tips on posture and form as well as modification to lower the difficulty level and modifications to increase the difficulty level. I designed the program to be easy enough so that the person that never works out is not intimidated to try something new. I also included modifications so that a person who has progressed to a point where they need something a little bit more challenging can increase the intensity and make it fit the desired intensity level.

I am currently working on a Strictly Ballet DVD for beginners. After that DVD is completed I will create an intermediate program for Ballerobica that will be the next step up from the DVD that is available now. Eventually I will have a series of ballet DVD’s ranging from beginner level to advance and I will have the Ballerobica DVD’s ranging from beginner to advance.

How does Ballerobica fit into a fitness routine?  Does it help with flexibility?  Strength?  Stamina?

The Ballerobica DVD is about 70 minutes, which includes the tutorials/ modifications. You can do the workout without the tutorials and shave down the time, or you can choose specific sections, i.e. cardio, conditioning, or stretching based on your time limitations. I frequently consult with people to understand what works best for them, and then we modify the program around their fitness goals and schedule. For example if someone is interested in gaining stamina I will suggest that they do the cardio sections twice through followed by abs, a couple of additional conditioning exercises and the stretching section at the end. The stretching section is great for over all flexibility and should be done as frequently as possible. All of the stretches shown come directly from ballet class. It focuses primarily on the flexibility of the hips and legs. You will feel loose and limber after this section.

A lot of VFers are fitness enthusiasts who also lift weights and do cardio, how can Ballerobica benefit them?

Ballerobica was designed to contain no weights or equipment, however if you love lifting you could easily incorporate a pair a small hand weights/dumbbells into most sections. I would not recommend weights greater than 5 lbs though. If this were an option that someone would like to try, please feel free to email me at www.ballerobica.com. I would be happy to go over how to incorporate weights into the workout and slightly modify combinations to get the results you are seeking.

What inspired you to make it accessible to home exercisers?  What is the story on how you brought it to video?  Do you need to attend a class to get form right?

I did a lot of research throughout the years, and I came to the conclusion that while group fitness is very motivating, it was difficult for people to attend classes as frequently as they would like. It was common for people to  start classes highly motivated and as time went on they would tend to come less often and were disappointed with themselves.  They felt as if they had failed a goal they had set for themselves. Fitness should be fun and motivating, and for some it seemed like a chore. They had children, families, and work to deal with. They were either too tired to get to class, had to take their children to school functions, or had to go out of town for work. It’s not that they didn’t want to have a healthy active style; they just felt it was too challenging to incorporate classes into their daily routine.

With this in mind, I designed Ballerobica to be done at their leisure and fit it around their schedule, not a class schedule. I also designed it so they didn’t need any additional equipment and that it could easily be done in the space of their home.

A class with one on one contact is always best, but Ballerobica as-is should be easy enough to follow. The correct form for ballet can be difficult, so with this first DVD I have explained every position very thoroughly  and have purposefully left out the more complicated moves and positions. For example I use First and Second positions throughout the DVD as base positions. There are six positions commonly used in ballet (the sixth position is considered to be parallel for those who thought there were only five positions), but the others I felt were too difficult to do as a beginner. The form of the other positions can easily be done incorrectly which could lead to knee and hip injuries. I hope to integrate the increasingly difficult positions into the more advanced workout, but they can sometimes be intimidating and I just wanted people to get the basics down first before moving on to more complex combinations and positions.

What makes bringing Ballerobica to video different than instructing in person?

Instructing in person is always best because it allows you to work with individual students and their specific body types more effectively. I also get a lot more satisfaction from instructing in person. Not only do people learn faster but also, they see improvements in their body much faster, i.e. longer, more lean muscle tone, better posture, improved stamina. The video is a way to offer people an alternative to working out in a studio. Some people are apprehensive to try new things for fear that they won’t be able to catch on, or will make fools of themselves, especially when choreography is introduced. The Ballerbica DVD will hopefully give people the confidence to try something different and to be exposed to the concepts of ballet in a non-intimidating, non-traditional environment. I have a few students in the UK and South Africa that were very excited about the DVD because there is nothing like it in their countries. The ladies overseas have a hard time doing group fitness.  Classes are either not offered or are so expensive that they cannot afford it. This is what prompted me to make the Strictly Ballet DVD’s.

What is your favorite student/success story?

I had a student that came to one of my very first classes. She was shy, slightly introverted, as she said “uncoordinated” and apprehensive of joining the class. She was scared that she was going to embarrass herself. I assured her that the class was for beginners and that she wouldn’t have a problem. After the class she had a big smile on her face. She said that the class was so much fun and that she really enjoyed herself. She came back week after week, would bring friends, and her sister that was visiting from out of town.

After about the sixth week she pulled me aside after class and asked if I thought she should take a beginning ballet class that was offered at the local college. I told her that I thought that it was a great idea and let her know that if she needed any help with the terminology or the steps to just ask me.

She went to the beginning ballet class and said that she was so happy that she had taken the Ballerobica classes. She felt prepared and understood almost all the terminology the teacher had used. She said that if she had never taken Ballerobica she would have never been introduced to ballet. She loves both and still continues to do both. She likes to do the videos at home to fine tune her form for her ballet class.

I like to look at Ballerobica as a bridge that connects the world of fitness to the world of ballet. If you used to do ballet as a child you will find familiarity with Ballerobica and it make even re-spark a love you once had. If you always wanted to be a ballerina but never thought you could, especially as an adult, then Ballerobica is probably a great introduction for you. You can test the waters in the comfort of your own home.

What are your future plans for the Ballerobica fitness series?

I plan to have at least two more DVD’s in addition to the beginner Ballerobica DVD, an intermediate DVD and an advance DVD for all you hard-core fitness enthusiasts. I’m also working on a Strictly Ballet series that will contain approximately six DVD’s. The first of the six will be out in the next couple of months and will be for beginners who have never had ballet. The music will be typical classical ballet class music and the ballet will be taught in the Cecchetti method.  This is the style in which I was trained.

Where can someone find out more information?

For more information checkout www.ballerobica.com or you can become a fan of our facebook  ballerobica page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ballerobica/113099438961 You can also either send me emails directly or visit our FAQ for additional information.