Hi-5 - Dance Hits Volume 1

Reviewed by Maggie from preschoolentertainment.com on March 17th, 2005

Hi-5 are back with a new interactive and very glittery DVD which fans are going to really love. Dance Hits opens with Chatterbox telling children exactly what to do to navigate through the DVD and provides an ongoing friendly support feature. The DVD includes a range of Hi-5’s biggest hit songs including “L.O.V.E,” “You and Me” (“I like peas; you like beans,”), “Dream On,” “Grow, “Ready or Not,” “Move Your Body,” “Five Senses,” “Living in a Rainbow,” and “In a Different Place.” Children who know Hi-5 will certainly know these songs and enjoy singing along with the new versions, each of which has a brief animation between songs. The songs each explore educational concepts like imagination, sharing, cooperation, healthy exercise, using the senses, and joy in life and sharing and, as always, are well presented by the talented young adults. Children can choose individual songs or can listen to all of them in sequence, which is great for a real life dance party or group entertainment. The DVD also contains dance lessons for each of the songs featuring 2 of the team, with an inset of the entire group dancing it out, so that children can understand the way each person’s input combines to produce the entire choreography of the piece. A Karaoke feature which allows you to have vocals on or off and includes the words to all of the songs. Although this DVD doesn’t contain the wonderful lessons, and variety that Hi-5 is famous for, it is great for children who really want to sing and dance, and will be invaluable for things like school talent shows, eisteddfods, and for parties.