Discover Bellydance
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Movie Reviews of Discover Bellydance
Movie Review: Bellydance dvd set
Summary: 5 Stars
I like how neena & veena teach and the cabaret style that they use. I love it!Movie Review: Moderately practical and very aesthetically pleasing
Summary: 4 Stars
This is what you'll get if you buy all 3 DVDs.
Instruction and drilling:
~ 25-30 isolations, ~ 15-20 arm moves and placements, ~ 8-11 kinds of steps, ~ 5-7 variations of turns, and ~ 6 veil movements (the exact number depends on what you consider a different move as opposed to a different version of essentially the same move).
Choreography:
3 routines that are relatively simple and short, but nicely looking and very suitable for beginners.
Problems:
- A few moves are not verbally explained. If you are good at imitating the moves just by looking at them, it won't matter for you, as there are plenty of repetitions. But some people can't do without instructions.
- The narrator gets sloppy a few times. In such cases you have to ignore her in order to get the move right (fortunately, you can turn the narration off without turning off the music).
- "Artistic" filming gets in the way, and this is the biggest problem. The camera angles and close-ups are not always appropriate, and change too often.
Excellent qualities that make this product stand out:
- The most beautiful set design I've ever seen;
- Great-looking instructors;
- Incredible music;
- Perfect lighting and sound.
So, while these videos are a joy to watch, they turn out to be somewhat frustrating to follow. I would say it's worth getting one of these disks. Maybe two. Probably not all three. For workout and drilling the "Basic Dance" and "Beyond Basic Dance" would be better. If you are familiar with hip drop and hip shimmy, you should be prepared for "Beyond Basic Dance". If you are curious to try a veil and spins, get "Mystic Dance".
Movie Review: not a substitute for a class, but great supplement/intro
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a semi-professional dancer, and I bought this set (on VHS) when I was an intermediate-level student.No video is a substitute for a good dance class, and this is no exception. Veena & Neena repeated the movements several times to give the viewer time to catch on, which was great. However, I didn't think that they were explained in enough detail that someone who had never seen them before could learn to do them properly.
That said, this would make a great supplement for someone taking beginner to advanced beginner classes (depending on which of the three volumes you're watching). It's also a fun and inexpensive way to try out belly dance before you commit to classes, or to dabble if you just want something fun to do once in a great while. Just be sure not to get too set in your ways - Veen and Neena's technique is excellent, but without a teacher to correct you, you might pick up some bad habits that you'll have to work hard to unlearn.
The twins have put together three truly fun choreographies on these three videos, which are of an appropriate level for their audience (beginner to advanced beginner). Anyone beyond an advanced beginner level probably won't be too challenged by them, but might be get some stylistic ideas. Excluding the veil work, their style leans towards classical egyptian, which makes sense since they studied with Raquia Hassan.
So in short, if you want to learn to bellydance, go to a class and consider buying these too. If you just want to try out or dabble in bellydance, these are the best DVDs out there.
Movie Review: Great for total beginners
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're taking or have been taking bellydance classes, you may find the routines very basic and maybe a little boring. However, the special features of other bellydancers are great. I feel that Veena and Neena are good instructors and that this set provides the "bare bones" of bellydance. Like I said, if you're in classes you've probably worked on these moves already although they don't hurt to have around as practice drills. If you are a beginner and don't know where to look, this is for you because this will give you a great running knowledge easily and effectively. Again, just make sure you look at the special features to see how these basic moves can be built upon.
As a personal sidenote, my only complaint is that their routines are specifically tailored to the one song that they have chosen instead of explaining how each move can be used for different elements of other songs. If you were to learn the routine but don't have the song that they used, you really can't perform it in real life. The real spirit of bellydance is being able to interpret any kind of music with the techniques and moves that you learn.
Movie Review: A bit challenging, but fun!
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this DVD set, and just tried it out for the first time. I only did the "Basic" DVD so far, but it was pretty fun! I am really not the most coordinated person on the planet, so this will take me a few tries to get it right. Still though, I had a good time and I felt I got a good workout from it too! Besides, what fun is anything that you can master right off the bat anyway right?
I can see why some people would be a little thrown off by the voiceover. The girls will usually start doing a new move before the voice tells you what they are doing. I just assume that they're showing you what's coming up next though - so it's really not much of a problem. Sometimes when they are in the middle of showing you a move though, it does seem like the voiceover is a little "off" with the timing. That's the only problem I've noticed though - and it's really not a big deal. I think it just takes doing it a few times to get the hang of it.