I'm a Body Jam participant of many years standing. I've been doing Body Jam since around release 20! LOL. Let's not talk about my age!
I love the program and think Gandalf is fantastic. Of course, I like some routines better than others but that's cool. The guy just keeps getting better and better. The release that was filmed in Auckland about 2 months ago was probably one of the best releases he's ever done.
I don't feel the need to do the plus moves much of the time, even though I am an experienced jammer. His base routine has always been enough for me. I like to do the base moves perfectly and with alot of energy that's how I get my workout in. If you look around the class some people are putting 100% energy into every dance move and others are just coasting along. You get out of every jam class what you put into it.
For me I like to do the moves properly as safely as possible and some of the plus moves involve too many turns etc so I just don't do them even when they are taught; I will revert back to the base if I think the plus move isn't that great for my knees etc.
I've done Jam classes all over the world e.g. London, England; Toronto, Canada; Paris, France; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand etc. I think the biggest challenge facing Jam is the fact that there are some instructors out there, not so much in Australia or New Zealand where the standards are very high, but in Canada and England who have somehow managed to get certified who can't even dance. I experienced some truly awful instructors in Toronto, Canada and London, England. It was frightening to me that they somehow ever managed to get certified. [I also want to say that I experienced one female instructor in Toronto, Canada who was so good she was equal to G and 4 instructors in London who were also good; it's just that there were some absolute shocker instructors in those cities who quite frankly should not be teaching].
Les Mills have to raise the standard that is required to get Les Mills certified in overseas markets and introduce retesting to weed out some of the awful instructors who have somehow managed to get certified.
The most important thing is that the instructor is themselves a talented dancer because if you can't dance you shouldn't be teaching jam! A class will always be inspired by an instructor who is him/herself a talented dancer because they are just inspiring to watch.
Some people on here have been very critical but having done Body Jam at many gyms in many countries as a participant I know that there are so many people around the globe who love the program just the way it is. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Body Attack and Body Combat are easier, i.e. less complicated moves, and appeal to men as well as women so right away you have double the participants right there. Body Jam outside of New Zealand IMO appeals to mainly women and gay male participants with a couple of straight guys thrown in! The lack of a lot of straight guys doing Body Jam in the overseas markets I've done classes in is what IMO brings the numbers down.
Unfortunately there is a fairly large proportion of people at gyms who feel that they can't dance and are scared of doing Jam classes and therefore prefer to stick to the simple choreography of Body Attack and Combat classes.
I think Gandalf should continue on with the winning formula he has always pursued. He will never get the numbers that Body Attack or Combat get globally and he doesn't need to. This is simply due to the reservations many gym members have about their dancing ability. Not everyone has rhythm, some people just can't dance. Body Jam is an alternative to Attack and Combat, appealing to people who like to dance AND get a workout. It does that very well IMO.