Thread: Poll: Your Top 3 Bellydance DVD's

I've been taking classes for a few months now and I'm looking for DVD's to practice with at home. I've been reading various reviews of DVD's, and I was wondering what everyone's top 2-3 DVD's are for practicing at home? I'm open to drilling, technique-focused or choreo at a challenging beginner level.

I'm really just looking for recommendations so I can weed through the seemingly endless options out there!

Thanks!!!

I recommend that my students use Joyous Laughter, Volume 1: Bellydance Basics with Michelle as a home practice tool.

Once they have a couple of months of experience under the belts, I recommend Suzanna Del Vecchio's Precision Motion Workout.

Full reviews along with info on where to buy are on my web site at Belly Dancing: Shira's Reviews of Instructional Videos, Alphabetical List

Jenna's Bellydance Basics and Beyond is good.

I really like Aziza's practice companion.

I have Ava Fleming's Sizzlin' Hips, and while I think it's a bit basic for what I want to practice most of the time, it's quite good -- has a lot of useful description of muscle use for various moves. I haven't seen Sizzlin' Torso, but I imagine it's similar.

I also second the Suzanna Del Vecchio recommendation. Precision Motion Workout is actually first of a series of three, followed by Dynamic Combinations and Lock, Roll and Flutter.

Michelle Joyce's drills drills drills is AWESOME...all of her DVD's are awesome and very affordable.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQh6uVOEkdg]YouTube - Drills! Drills! Drills! - belly dance DVD trailer[/ame]

Drills, Drills, Drills and Aziza's Belly Dance Companion are my favorites.

ok my favourites so far!!!
1st and most importantly:
Basics and beyond, jenna. one and a half hours of drilling (basic moves, compound moves in all variations), another hour of practice combinations. EXCELLENT
(I personally started with Amira s 101 bellydance, and love it - but if you re an advanced beginner you might not need it..)
2. advanced beginners who really want to start dancing:
Shamira Sensuous workout 2 - techique and 3 wonderful dances (saidi, chiftetelli and drum solo). if you want to be inspired by a wonderful soulful Mideastern dancer, Shamira is the one to go for! she s one of the most authentic dancers with a true Mideastern appeal (she s Armenian American) in the US. I love watching her! (her sensuous workout vol 1 is great too - see a wonderfully graceful dancer explain and demonstrate the basic moves..)
3. Drills drills drills Michelle Joyce (her upcoming Bellydance Crash Course from beginner to intermediate level looks excellent too). drills from beginner to intermediate level.
4. Sensual Bellydance Blanca - she s my other favourite - sooo sensual and graceful. she teaches fluidity above all, and of course sensuality in basic movements. (for all of these you can find trailers online)
5. for drum solos: heartbeat of bellydance, Jenna (too advanced for me, but maybe you are ready for it?)
6. one I have ordered - and which gets raving reviews, but I have not seen it - is LUSCIOUS BELLYDANCE WORKOUT. check out the trailer, it looks amazing! Blanca, Neon, Sarah Skinner in a flowing workout incorporating basic to intermediate movements.. cant wait for it!!!

As for IAMED - sizzlin hips is great and does indeed teach you hip variety, muscular vs skeletal movements. sizzlin torso for sure is great too, i have not seen it so far.
Tamra Henna s combinations to different Mideastern rhythms looks great too, but again, that is just judging from the trailer!
Other upcoming releases I am interested in is a WDNY series on Egyptian style with Ranya Renee from NY - later this autumn. And Neon will release a drum solo dvd with different moves for drum solos. I guess these will be great for advanced beginners! And anything produced by WDNY is soooo good!!!

I was interested that you think Sizzlin Hips is too basic. I have Sizzlin Torso and it is sooo hard. One-sided camels anyone. Care to say anything more aboutSizzlin Hips. I was looking to buy it, but could only find Torso and then after I bought it, I could only find the 2 as set. Anyone want to sell Sizzlin Hips?

I second Aziza's practice companion.

I love Drills, Drills, Drills!

I would love to know more about Sizzlin torso!! what s so hard about it? I m generally better with the upper body (shimmies and also "agility" there..)
If you like I ll look at sizzlin hips, which I have not worked with, a bit closer..

It goes into extreme isolations - expanding only one side of chest from memory etc. you get to try diagonal camels!!
That's abit advanced for me as I have trouble with regular ones

wow sounds really weird 8-)

Originally Posted by dinavienna

wow sounds really weird 8-)

..g.: Yes, I have Sizzlin' Torso with Ava Fleming, and she does some wild stuff. She demonstrates sliding out just one side of the rib cage, using only the breath.

Maybe it's just laziness on my part, but I've never felt the need to develop that level of isolation.

Ava's one of my all time favorite dancers, but I found the Sizzlin' videos to be a little too dry and technical for me. Oh, and I would say that the Hips one is more more basic than the torso one.

No I too think I can live without learning that!!

If nobody here has one to sell there are some on eBay.

sizzlin' hips items at low prices on eBay.co.uk

Originally Posted by jencUK

I was interested that you think Sizzlin Hips is too basic. I have Sizzlin Torso and it is sooo hard. One-sided camels anyone. Care to say anything more aboutSizzlin Hips. I was looking to buy it, but could only find Torso and then after I bought it, I could only find the 2 as set. Anyone want to sell Sizzlin Hips?