BODYCOMBAT 58 filming

Posted by: nzglen on: July 18, 2013

• In: BODYCOMBAT
• 5 Comments

OMG I can’t believe the last post I made to this blog was the BC57 review 3 months ago – I am useless! I promise to improve my hours here have started to be a little more “normal” (as in 10 hour days rather than 14!) so *hopefully* I’ll have more time to blog. Anyway – you guys are in for a real treat this quarter as I have not one but TWO guest bloggers writing about BC58 (which was only filmed this morning as an FYI!). The great thing about this is we have two perspectives on the release! And I think you’ll find the opinion is unanimous – BODYCOMBAT 58 is a winner!

As you’ll read there was a HUGE BC team for this filming  – in fact the biggest ever! From what I’ve been told the star performer was Dave Cross from the UK. This comes as absolutely no surprise to me as having seen Dave in action at a Super Quarterly in the UK a couple years back I wrote “if this guy isn’t on a BODYCOMBAT DVD soon I’m hanging up my combat gloves” – he is absolutely amazing so I’m so glad to hear he rocked the stage.

Anyway, enough from me for now, here’s review number one courtesy of my great friend Zhengjie. Enjoy!

BODYCOMBAT 58 filming

Hi everyone, I am Zhengjie from Singapore. I promised Glen to write a review for BC58 so I thought I’ll wrap this up quickly while everything is still fresh from the oven, so all BC fanatics can get the soundbites from the latest filming. BC58 is my 4^th consecutive filming and 11^th overall, so no doubt that I’ll be doing some comparisons from my past experiences.

In a nutshell, what I would say about BC58 – “It’s A Fight Till I Die”. Music was uplifting and most participants connected with the tracks instantly. No fancy new moves this time round, D&R have stuck to basics and integrated free flowing choreography to a brilliant tracklist. Virtually everyone who attended the filming and trial classes loved the release. Without sounding like a fan boy, I compare this to BC57, where there were 3-4 tracks which weren’t my cup of tea and took some getting used to.

For this quarter, BC58 was once again allocated the 7am morning slot. Fanatics including myself queued up early for the filming, even though we all knew we would not be standing in the front row. The filming process was a little different this time round. The crew positioned random people to the front row, with the intention of having different cultural and racial representation to be captured on DVD as BC is supposed to be a global program. While the intention was good, the execution was sub-optimal. What was supposed to be an orderly movement resulted in chaos as some participants just moved themselves freely. Furthermore, some of the participants who were moved to the front row were very unsure of the choreography of BC58 and seemed uncoordinated most of the time.

After the dust settled, the presenting team came on stage. For this time round, it was a huge team. A total of 14 people on stage – Dan & Rach, David from France, Jorge from Argentina, Giovanni from Colombia, Daniel from the Netherlands, Dave from England, and shadow presenters Tauvaga, Will P, Pena, Mel, Charlotte, Carrie and Sarah R. Needless to say, the team was bursting with energy. We’ve had just Dan & Rach for quite a few of the recent releases – while their chemistry is amazingly superb, it does help if we have guest presenters to bring up the energy, especially if they are of such good quality like the 5 guys this time round.

The team’s outfit has been revealed on Facebook and Instagram. A bit more detail on the outfit. The boys wearing the sleeveless tank top had the words BODYCOMBAT in GREEN, while the two wearing sleeved top was more of the compression design with words BODYCOMBAT in YELLOW across the side (under right elbow). For the ladies, the tribal designs were in gold. What I liked about both the tribal designs was that they managed to integrate the fern leaf (showing NZ roots) into the design beautifully.

For all LM clothing fanatics, this is your last chance to get the LM gear. During BC57 filming, there were rumours that LM tied up with Reebok on a 5 year contract, and the rumour has become a fact now. Disappointing for many who do not like Reebok designs, but I guess this was a business decision to further the commercial causes of both companies.

BODYCOMBAT 58 team

Into the release proper!

Track 1a – This is a popular pop song by a female artiste which has been used in other programs, but this is a different mix done by LNG Label. It’s catchy and it’s fun and when Rach was presenting this, she was clearly having fun with the song and encouraging people to sing along.  I think D&R have found a perfect formula for the warm-ups, using popular songs remixed to a suitable beat for the warm-ups.

Track 1b – Another track which has been used in several programs, but this version is completely different as well. The ‘shoot’ is back and this time we’re doing it for many reps this time. What I love about this is we really allow ourselves to get warm to prepare for the workout ahead. This is also another catchy pop song by a male artiste remixed to a faster beat. Incidentally, both of these tracks appeared in the same BODYJAM release. Am I giving away too much here?

Track 2 – Talking about BODYJAM music, track 2 sounds like it could easily make its way into a BODYJAM tracklist. It’s one of those techno EDM sounds which is just brilliant when the kicks come in play. The contrast in the music was perfect to showcase the levels in the 2 sets of combos. There is a slight propulsive move here, but just a mild one. The timing for this track is somewhat weird at first and needs getting used to.  David from France presented this track and he really nailed it during filming. Good improvement from the final trial class.

Track 3 – One of my pet peeves regarding LM music is the use of recycled tracks. This is a recycled track from BC30, even though the version is different, I would much rather this track to have not been used at all. Similar to Hymn being used in BC28 and BC56. There’s so much music out there, why reuse the same title? This track is a typically boxing combo track to a hardcore tune – think jabs, hooks, footwork, all infused together.

Track 4 – From what I understand, this track 4 (presented by Giovanni) was a substitute for the original one. Apparently the original track 4 didn’t get the necessary clearance to be included in BC58. But this track rocks! The music is really good. This track is all about capoeira – think Bad Girls (BC55) and Gimmie Dat (BC50) but with a twist… A combo!

Track 5 – Presented by Daniel from the Netherlands, there’s no Rock’n’Roll this time but just pure techno/rave/electronic. Ok, if i were to be anal about this, I would say that the track is a recycled track from BC38, but thankfully the version is very different. Very very powerful track with a big finish. You will definitely feel it in your arms and core.

Track 6 – I must say that ALL the guest presenters were brilliant, but the guest presenter Dave was exceptional for this track. He was exemplary in his coaching and he used the lyrics brilliantly to enhance his cues, so much so that this track could possibly be my favourite of the entire release.  This surprises me even further because I hate recycled tracks, and this is actually a recycled rock song from BC29. D&R must also take some credit for the choreography for this track. Wonderful.

Track 7 – Presented by Rach, it’s a fight which is a head busting fight. Think nonstop knees, running man knees. We have a break from the propulsive jump knee, but this track is still going to challenge our heart rates and fitness levels. I love this track.

Track 8 – Presented by Dan, this track is unusually short for a conventional Track 8, but the short sharp bursts start almost immediately without warning. For this track, Dan sings the entire stanza of the track, which must be a record. But definitely a sing-a-long for all. There’s been a slight debate among participants whether this track is too short, but everyone seems to like the music for this one.

Track 9 – The focus is very much on the core. It’s a pop track by a female artiste who is no stranger to BODYCOMBAT, but watch out for the surprise in the music as we go for additional reps!

Track 10 – This track, WOW. I don’t even know how to describe this. Just had goose bumps the first time I did it. The layout was akin to a martial arts setting, with D&R in the middle, and ‘disciples’ at the side. I guess the only way is to wait for the DVD to be released. The kata is strong and inspiring. A wonderful way to finish the release BC58.

In conclusion, I would say BC58 is a very good release and I enjoyed it very much. There’s no secret to a great release. Uplifting music and fantastic choreography. Like I mentioned earlier, there are no fancy new moves, but we don’t need that for every release.  Right now I can’t wait for BC58 to hit us at the quarterlies soon so we can launch it right away, that’s how much I’m looking forward to this release!

Tags: BODYCOMBAT 58, BODYCOMBAT FILMING, BODYCOMBAT MASTERCLASS, LES MILLS FILM, LES MILLS MASTERCLASS