Thread: What's the funniest/strangest DVD/VHS you

own...? (belly dance or porporting to be.... )

You may not want to name names here of course as a lot is in the eye of the beholder.

And we are talking commercially produced, widely distributed here no our local gals (like us) having a go.

I have no fear with my first choice as it is a VCD bought in Turkey and I have no idea of the name but it is 3 gals dancing in a garden ( why do people do that? Is it cheaper to film out doors and have the wind blowing the chiffon over there heads). Every so often men can be seen peering out from the bushes to get a closer look then darting back in...

I also have dancing in a thunderstorm but say no more on that!.w.:


And when I show/lend my students one that contains dramatic scenes with a horse the guffaws drown out the music. Me I love it! What's up with them?..c::

And yes I have Estelle and Janine but just to let you know they aren't the only ones out there......

Well, I think many people would nominate Suhaila's leaping glutes from her buns DVD.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Well, I think many people would nominate Suhaila's leaping glutes from her buns DVD.

..l;, I don't think my poor boyfriend will ever get over that.

Mine HAS to be Amira Mor's 'Bellydance your way to your Soul Mate'... I picked it up in Canada for a dollar, so...

Awful, awful, awful... and odd!! I'm not being nasty, but

The worst ever I saw, and I've seen plenty, was Janine Rabbit's instructional video. I'm cringing just thinking about it.

Originally Posted by lizajuk

And when I show/lend my students one that contains dramatic scenes with a horse the guffaws drown out the music. Me I love it! What's up with them?..c::

I think I may have that one ..g.: It is awful silly; I only watched it once and tried to forget about it

I am not sure it is THE strangest, but I finally managed to watch this:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Arabian-Dance-Fever-Belly/dp/B0001HAGRO]Amazon.com: Arabian Dance Fever: Belly Dance: Dr. Samy Farag: Movies & TV[/ame]

It has a very, very 80s performance by Fatihem and her dancers. Boy, the costumes, the backdrop, the hair - it made me laugh. No complaints about the dancing, of course, and I have to tip my hat to the dancers - but the nevertheless, the 80s flavor is a riot!

ETA. I appreciate that I can have a silly laugh thanks to good performers, and that I can admire the dancers who let me to giggle about the good ol' days.

Estelle. Definitely Estelle. She's got first, second, AND third place in my book.

And there is no fourth.

But fifth place goes to that Syrian dancer who scoots across the floor in gogo boots. What was her name again? Rheem?

With all this Estelle talk, it makes me want to buy it just for a laugh!

A couple more strange/funny ones, featuring highly skilled dancers who just happened to do something goofy on the video...

There was Helena Vlahos' appearance on That's Incredible, when she did her coin-rolling tricks. I've seen other belly dancers roll coins, but none who could do it with the skill and control that she did! Whenever I show this at video parties, people scream in disbelief. Especially when we get to the part where she alternates every other one.

And then there's Delilah's use of the yoga discipline known as Nauli Kriya on her volume 3 video. She has a valid use for including it on the video, which is helping people learn strength and control of the abs. Though maybe it doesn't belong on this thread, because she's NOT suggesting that anyone do it as a dance move, she's just using it as a conditioning exercise. Nonetheless, it always gets a great roar of response at video parties!

*gasp* Wait. I almost f0rgot Robyn, the Masked Bellydancer. Actually, I think I purposely cleansed her from my brain.

TRANCE BELLY DANCE

ETA link.

(edited AGAIN to replace an o with a a zero so the word f0rgot won't disappear, WTF???)

Originally Posted by steffib

I am not sure it is THE strangest, but I finally managed to watch this:

Amazon.com: Arabian Dance Fever: Belly Dance: Dr. Samy Farag: Movies & TV

It has a very, very 80s performance by Fatihem and her dancers. Boy, the costumes, the backdrop, the hair - it made me laugh. No complaints about the dancing, of course, and I have to tip my hat to the dancers - but the nevertheless, the 80s flavor is a riot!

ETA. I appreciate that I can have a silly laugh thanks to good performers, and that I can admire the dancers who let me to giggle about the good ol' days.

Oh is that Nagwa with the fantastic pants and those guys in fezes?yey love it!

Ah I forgot I have one with a juggling belly dancer!
Aw .....Reem who could forget that!
Then there is the black satin jumpsuit and cowboy boots

How about Fifi Abdo's grand entrance on Concert at el Esmailia where she makes a grand entrance in a cherry picker?

And then there's the instructional video by a UK dancer who teaches posture by asking you to pretend that you're using your vagina to hold a pencil and pointing the pencil straight down at the ground. That particular analogy is wrong on so many levels, with anatomical incorrectness being just the beginning...

Robin, the Masked Belly Dancer? I clicked on the link. I was expecting something like the Dread Pirate Roberts. But no.

She (I'm quoting here) introduced Masked Belly Dance "to the planet?"

What I'm wondering is WHY. I've always (so far anyway) wanted to mask my belly, but never my face!

I especially like the way the hair comes sprouting up from the top of the helmet, er, mask...

Originally Posted by ghazallah

Robin, the Masked Belly Dancer? I clicked on the link. I was expecting something like the Dread Pirate Roberts. But no.

Shira made me watch the video. I've never been quite the same.

Bad Shira. Bad. .p::

Janine Rabbit is so at the top of my list, bless her heart. Very good intentions but dear me....

As for the masked dancer, I've seen that link somewhere before and find it to be a cross of "how shall we say" belly dance and fetish? I'm not trying to be mean at all and don't know the dancer, but the appearance of using the latex mask really gives the appearance of a very different form of classical style family friendly shows.

I'm not against fusion at all, in fact I love good fusion, as I believe each dancer has a right to express herself/himself.
Personally I love Desert Sin & the shows of EEMED, but they do push the boundaries, but also don't claim to be typical cabaret. Variety is great in the appropriate places!

Fifi in the Cherry Picker is so funny & over the top as only Fifi can do. Just saw it again the other day as a matter of fact! I smile every time! ..l;,

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Shira made me watch the video. I've never been quite the same.

Bad Shira. Bad. .p::

Me too!!


And Estelle...The Floor Mount!


Dear Lord, I need eye bleach.

I saw a video that had amani on it, with one of the other dancers doing this russian schtick. oh my lord. she had a big fur hat on. and maybe fur boots as well? I don't remember. but she goes down in the splits and leans forward and flicks her hand back and forth over her furry boot like she's dusting it off. tres bizarre.

I am disapointed that no one else has manged to knock Janinie Rabbit and Mr Rabbit and Estelle of the top spot!
I need a good laugh, I shall never forget either of them.
There is a certain Ishtar of liverpool who videos have give me a really good laugh but she is just sad and not very nice either.

Originally Posted by steffib

I am not sure it is THE strangest, but I finally managed to watch this:

Amazon.com: Arabian Dance Fever: Belly Dance: Dr. Samy Farag: Movies & TV

It has a very, very 80s performance by Fatihem and her dancers. Boy, the costumes, the backdrop, the hair - it made me laugh. No complaints about the dancing, of course, and I have to tip my hat to the dancers - but the nevertheless, the 80s flavor is a riot!

ETA. I appreciate that I can have a silly laugh thanks to good performers, and that I can admire the dancers who let me to giggle about the good ol' days.

I've wondered about this video. I have the CD and considered getting the DVD but no one has ever recommended it and frankly I'm not a Nagwa fan. So it's been way down on my list. But it's Fatihema and students? That's coming pretty close to false advertising in my book!

OMG! I just dusted off the Janine Rabbit video. It can't get worse than that. It's a classic example of a 6 week wonder gone teacher.

And I use to LIKE Eddie Rabbit.

Shira, what about Nadja's German instructional video?
It's kind of ...interesting, yes?

MEISSOUN

Originally Posted by meissoun

Shira, what about Nadja's German instructional video?
It's kind of ...interesting, yes?

Y'know, Nadja is certainly entertaining, but I'm afraid Janine Rabbitt and Estelle are both more memorable! Still, Nadja is a fine addition to my collection, and I look forward to including her in my next video party!

Shamira's Sensual Bellydance Workout was my FAVE as a baby-dancer, and it's actually a great little entry-level foray into combinations.

HOWEVER. There is this ODD musical montage at the end called "Harem Heat," which features Shamira (in costume) raking the leaves, coming eye-to-eye with one of those faux garden owls, and rubbing her booty on various objects i.e. trees and Captain Kirk cutouts. (Evidently she is a huge Trekkie!)

Has absolutely nothing to do with bellydance, but I can't take offense because it's so offbeat and hilarious, and probably something I'd do if I came up with an instructional DVD.

*ducks for cover*

I borrowed the Godess Life Series by Dolphina from a friend for something different (i get tired of the videos i have) Her explanations in the warrior goddess video are soo cheesy SHE cant even keep a straight face! The part where she does the core tucks and pops it is most obvious. "you just realized the precious ruby is flawed so you have to pop it back out!"

Tribal fusion with Sharon Kira, Insane glutes! She demonstrates them while sitting on the floor in near splits. When she does 3/4 shimmies it looks like they are fighting each other to escape her pants. Hillarious yet impressive. It was a good video overall, i liked the yoga and combinations.

I always get a kick out of making fun of the Bellytwins. I like to call them Veenar and Neenar the Bellybots, i even talk back to them in robot "beep boop beep bop?" Although there are some issues with their videos, i thought as a whole the series provided a good basic dance vocab.

-Jessie

Don't own them, but the funniest BD video content I have ever seen is a straight tie between two lots of very skilled dancers who are being funny *on purpose*.

One is Sa'Elayssa's Theda Bara as Cleopatra piece. If you don't laugh when she dies, there's something with you. The second is Dr Mo Geddawi's Hathor Troupe performing a very po-faced and tedious pharonic number which is suddenly invaded by 20s flappers. In both cases the dancing is great, the concept is great, the comedy is great.