Belly Dancing (DVD)

...currently learning the 'art' of belly dancing, I have been attending classes at my old junior school since last September. As classes are only once a week and not on at all over the summer holidays I have bought a couple of dvds with which I can practice at home. This dvd is suitable for those that are just starting to learn belly dancing, those who have been doing it for a little longer may find some of the moves a bit basic. After learning for ...
...with a short introduction to belly dancing focusing mainly on it's history. You will learn that belly dancing is not a sleazy dance like it is sometimes portrayed as being, and that in some countries women used to dance for each other only and would never dance for just an audience of men.

The dvd has a voiceover by a woman which you never see, I think the woman was picked as she has quite a sexy voice and as the dvd is called 'A Sensual ... more

Introduction
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I am currently learning the 'art' of belly dancing, I have been attending classes at my old junior school since last September. As classes are only once a week and not on at all over the summer holidays I have bought a couple of dvds with which I can practice at home. This dvd is suitable for those that are just starting to learn belly dancing, those who have been doing it for a little longer may find some of the moves a bit basic. After learning for a year, I find this dvd covers things we've gone over and over in class already so to me I want a dvd that's a bit more advanced. I use this dvd to practise moves I already know.

The DVD
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The dvd starts off with a short introduction to belly dancing focusing mainly on it's history. You will learn that belly dancing is not a sleazy dance like it is sometimes portrayed as being, and that in some countries women used to dance for each other only and would never dance for just an audience of men.

The dvd has a voiceover by a woman which you never see, I think the woman was picked as she has quite a sexy voice and as the dvd is called 'A Sensual Experience' this all adds to the mystique. The actual moves are presented by one lady, her name is Mea and she wears a pretty, jangly outfit. You never hear her speak throughout the whole dvd, you are talked through the moves by the voiceover lady and the lady dances along to the beat of a drum. This is not to my taste as I find it easier if the woman dancing is also talking you through it at the same time as she is able to break down the moves herself just like a real teacher would.

The moves you will learn in the dvd are (I've given very basic descriptions):

Basic posture - You are taught the correct way to stand so that you look as good as you possibly can and so you don't get backache.

Hand movements - You are shown the basic way in which to move your hands when dancing

Hip lifts - This is exactly what it says on the tin, you are shown how to lift your hip up and then drop it sharply, moving your feet in the correct way.

Hip drops - This is the same as hip lifts but your hip drops down instead of lifting up

Hip snaps - These are where both your hips snap up and down simultaneously

Hip thrusts - To do these, you thrust your feet out to the side and lift your hip up

Hip rolls / hip circles - These are where you roll your hips in a circle

Hip twists with kick - This is where you lift your hip up and then 'kick' out your foot to the side bringing your hip back down

Shimmy - This is a fun move! You bend your knees one after the other and get quicker and quicker until your body is shaking really fast

Belly roll - This is one of the hardest moves the dvd covers, how to roll your belly by pulling your muscles in and out to create the illusion of a roll. I'm still finding this hard to master after a year!

Body wave/undulation - This is a very sexy move! You move your whole body in a way that makes it look like a wave

Chest slides - This is a fairly simple more which you move your chest from the left to the right keeping it on the same level

Chest lifts - This is where you lift your chest up and drop it, whilst making sure it's the only thing you're lifting!

Chest drops - This is the opposite to chest lifts, you drop the chest instead of lifting

Chest square - This is where you roll your chest around, fron, back and side, so it is in the shape of a square

Figure eights - This is where you roll your hips around in the shape of a figure of eight.

Cobra Neck - This is where you move your head from left to right, keeping your face straight forward

Shoulder shimmy - This is where your snap your shoulders forwards and back simultaneously. This makes your boobs shake!

Snake arms - This is where you move your arms up and down in opposite directions

Floreo hands - This shows you how to circle your hand to make it accentuate your body while you are moving

Indie cross step - This is an interesting walk you can do to make an 'entrance', pointing your feet out to the side and raising your hands to your face

Basic walk - This shows a very simple way of starting off a dance routine

Spotting - This shows you a technique you can use when spinning round in a circle to stop you from getting dizzy.

Ghazee Slide - This is a side step walk using mainly the hips

Fluid Walk - A walk which incorporates hip drops and walking

Spinning barrel turn - Basically spinning round fast in a circle whilst spotting

You are also shown clips of dancing with a veil, dancing with finger cymbals and by balancing swords although you don't get shown how to do these as they are too advanced!

DVD Extras
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There are a couple of dvd extras. There is a short video showing a man playing out a rhythm on a drum which is worth watching. There is also a slideshow of screencaps from the dvd which seems a bit pointless to me. There is also a video of the dancer dancing, although this is shown at the start of the dvd anyway so I'm not sure how it qualifies to be an extra.

Overall Impression
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This dvd is okay and I watch it to refresh my memory of what I have already learnt in class. However, if you don't attend classes and you are a beginner wanting to learn from home then there are other dvds which will be better for you as they explain everything in more detail. It was okay for me as I knew all the moves already, I just use this dvd to go over them again to refresh my memory. If you don't know all the moves already, you may find it hard to see what is happening as the dancer's skirt covers her legs all the time and the moves aren't explained as well as they could be! The dvd would have benefitted with showing more dancers, as this is half the fun of learning watching other people dancing. 

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