I've never watched "Dancing with the Stars," but thanks to celebrity weeklies and television shows, I have heard of Julianne Hough before.

It's not until Dance With Julianne: Just Dance, the new dance workout DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment that I fell for her.

Despite having won "Dancing with the Stars" twice, Julianne is not pretentious at all - which is what I want in a fitness/dance instructor. I want to be pushed, not made to feel like a failure.  Julianne is sunny throughout the entire Just Dance! Workout, even pausing to make cawing sounds as she does "the bird" and laughing, saying, "You've got to have fun!"

Now that's my kinda girl.

And despite loving to dance, there are some tricky moves here. Luckily, in a Personal Dance Lesson with Julianne, she breaks down the moves for you and works them out slowly so you can get a handle on them before entering into the faster-moving Workout segment.

Thank you. Because not all of us are FAME folks. Some of us can move, but it takes us a little longer to get there.

Julianne is sunny and gorgeous (just look at those abs!) and she is clearly having a good time on this DVD, so it's hard not to smile despite the pain (it is a workout people!). 

I am thrilled to have discovered this DVD and the wonderful Julianne Hough. She makes working out a helluva good time.

p.s. Also from Anchor Bay Entertainment: If you want to work your abs, Personal Training with Jackie: Crunchless Xtreme Abs is for you. Two 15 min. workouts will get you bikini-ready in no time!