Thread: Pops, Locks, & Shimmies DVD-Sadie & Kaya

I'm pretty sure one or both of them have studied with Suhaila. I'm not aware if they're certified.

Hmmm, Kaya dances similar to Suhaila, only not as feminine. Something about Kaya's dancing that seems to show more hostility and power, IMO.

highly influenced by Suhaila technique, and sounds like their classes are built based on what Suhaila teaches....if you study with Suhaila pops, locks, shimmy and layering will be piece of cake...level 2 and level 3 is most technique based on timing/speed/layering hip, feet and upper body...
not trying to advertise Suhaila but I think I like Sadie personally, and I am sure I would learn some cool moves from her, but I rather go straight to the source of these technique.

I think Sadie studied with her but I dont think she is certified maybe level I, you can find all certified dancers' names on SUhaila site....pretty soon Jamila certified dancers list will be there too...

Did anyone order this DVD? Is it worth it? I might wait a little longer to get it 'cause it's still priced over $40.

I bought it, despite my reservations about the cover and title (and price).
It is very good, a huge amount of content, and I would say worth the money, much more so than a lot of other IAMED dvd's.
It mainly consists of pop and lock movements, then these progress into layering drills, to improve co-ordination and precision, and is extremely challenging (well it is for me, anyway).

I've only gone through it once quickly, and I think it's great. I'm so busy working on other stuff at the moment that I've loaned it to a friend for a while. When I get it back I'll write a detailed review if no one else has by then.

I feel the same way...I've got so many other videos to get through that I don't know if I should spend the money on it right away but Sadie's teaching really works for me so I think it will be worth it. And it's reassuring to know it's one of IAMED's better videos.

How does Kaya come into play? I can't really understand why they'd have two instructors instead of one.

Originally Posted by Mayliz

I feel the same way...I've got so many other videos to get through that I don't know if I should spend the money on it right away but Sadie's teaching really works for me so I think it will be worth it. And it's reassuring to know it's one of IAMED's better videos.

How does Kaya come into play? I can't really understand why they'd have two instructors instead of one.

Actually I think they do a great job of working together. They switch seamlessly from one to the other, and sometimes one demonstrates from a different angle, or one shows correct technique, and the other shows common mistakes. For me the dual teaching is one of the most impressive aspects of this dvd. I had my doubts about how it would work, but they are so in tune it is amazing.

I do not own the dvd but everyone I asked how it was said the double-teaching was amazing.
Actually already in the trailer you can see it s really effective!
And I heard Kaya does little talking, Sadie does the most - so I think it s good to have "one voice" for remaining more focused, and not feel rushed by too many speaker shifts, yet you can see 2 people doing the same thing in different ways - like one is shown front side, the other back side, one front view, one side view (this you can actually see in the trailer, Kaya front view one legged shimmy, Sadie side view).

I found that already in the trailer pretty amazing.
They re too difficult for me, but I ll be getting Sadie s drill videos in 2 years or so :)

They both take turns teaching moves, so I'm not sure why someone said Sadie does most of the talking. Maybe she does do more of the sections. I'd have to watch again, but I didn't notice.

As for it being too hard, it starts out really basic, and then throws in some drills, some of which are challenging, but it's more of a mental challenge. Even if you're not ready for the drilling video, you could probably start with this one now.

Originally Posted by jasani

Hmmm, Kaya dances similar to Suhaila, only not as feminine. Something about Kaya's dancing that seems to show more hostility and power, IMO.

Well I do think Kaya is either taught or inspired heavily by Suhaila s style.
Suhaila to me - especially on the BDSS dvd dances with waaayy too much sexuality. there s also emotion in it, but Kaya took the sexual part, took it ten steps further and pretty much limited the dance to that aspect of bellydance in her performances at least on the duo performance dvd "Kaya and Sadie That s hot!".

I m not happy with her dance, nor with Suhaila s more and more sexual style I must say.
It s their expression and perfect right to do so, but I feel both of them have distorted bellydance into something I cannot feel. The innocence and feminine playfulness which characterizes the way Arab women dance so much (like they re rather *suggesting* it than acting it out in reality to that extent) is all lost.

So yeah I also thought Kaya must have been extremely influenced by Suhaila, if she s not been taught by her she must have watched her performances EXTENSIVELY.

I do enjoy their technique though, even if I m a bit unhappy with the over focus on sexuality which is shocking in Kaya and also present in Sadie s dance. But their control in movement is amazing and therefore their dvds probably are really good for someone advanced enough to do the movements.

Originally Posted by Zamira

They both take turns teaching moves, so I'm not sure why someone said Sadie does most of the talking. Maybe she does do more of the sections. I'd have to watch again, but I didn't notice.

As for it being too hard, it starts out really basic, and then throws in some drills, some of which are challenging, but it's more of a mental challenge. Even if you're not ready for the drilling video, you could probably start with this one now.

Ooops sorry I did not mean to spread false info.
I read on several threads videos Sadie does most of the talking, and also on the trailer it was mostly Sadie speaking.
So I took that info for given. Sorry .w.:

Thanks for the info on it being partly doable for beginners! Did not know that!

I agree, it is not just Sadie, they do teach about 50/50, well maybe Sadie does a touch more, but it's fairly even.
Certainly the first few sections of each drill are doable for beginners, it gets a bit tricky with all the layering, Kaya's drills I found marginally easier. It actually made me warm to Kaya a lot because she seems much more human than Sadie, her technique and teaching is so flawless it's wrong!

Originally Posted by firefly5

It's not a clip that I am particularly enamored of, but she is a very proficient dancer.

However I think they are both incredible in this one:

YouTube - BELLY DANCE LIVE_Sadie & Kaya

This is my favourite video. I think they are amazing in this...g.:

Interesting thread. I just ordered the DVD because I admire sadies skill, but I agree with the ladies on here who aren't too fond of kayas open mouth look--appears stripper-esque to me, unfortunately.

Since this is technique and not style, I'm going to take a chance and order it today.

I'm studying locally with Hannan but it would be nice to have some good technique videos in between classes.

I think Sadie's technique is just amazing, but Kaya's overly sexual style has always turned me off.

However, this video was apparently shot not too long after the birth of her second child, and at least in the trailer she looks glowing and relaxed, and fit!

As a fellow mom of 2 young children trying to get toned up, I thought that might be inspiring for me.

I'll let you know how I like it.

Originally Posted by Haaladances

Since this is technique and not style, I'm going to take a chance and order it today.

I'm studying locally with Hannan but it would be nice to have some good technique videos in between classes.

I think Sadie's technique is just amazing, but Kaya's overly sexual style has always turned me off.

However, this video was apparently shot not too long after the birth of her second child, and at least in the trailer she looks glowing and relaxed, and fit!

As a fellow mom of 2 young children trying to get toned up, I thought that might be inspiring for me.

I'll let you know how I like it.

I don't think Kaya comes across very sexual in this dvd, she is warm and friendly, I was pleasantly surprised by it. I would say she projects a much more approachable personality in this dvd than Sadie, although in real life Sadie is kind and sweet it doesn't come across much on screen as she is quite serious in her teaching.

If you want to drill to get sharp clean technique, then I would highly recommend this. I know their style is not to everyone's taste, but there is a lot of content on this dvd that can be adapted to suit individual dancers' styles.

I ve been able to look into it through a friend who owns the dvd.
Indeed Kaya comes across as sunny, friendly, warm (I had seen her "off-stage" personality as director or producer and commenter on "Temptation of bellydance", and had been pleasantly surprised then).

A nice youtuber sent me this link stating apparently Kaya realized the facial expressions put many women off - and she seems to have stopped it :)

I do like this performance of hers better than the ones we are talking about:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFK1VsGLfFI]YouTube - Kaya 2008[/ame]

there s also a sadie 2008 for her fans: :)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpigNVeP9T8]YouTube - sadie 2008[/ame]

Have fun getting in shape, I think the dvd is really good!

Originally Posted by Mayliz

I feel the same way...I've got so many other videos to get through that I don't know if I should spend the money on it right away but Sadie's teaching really works for me so I think it will be worth it. And it's reassuring to know it's one of IAMED's better videos.

How does Kaya come into play? I can't really understand why they'd have two instructors instead of one.

Actually, they teach in tandem. One in the front the other walking around to help each person individually. Their style is just "different"...not extremely fluid. We teach like that here...especially helpful with beginners and intermediate.

I just got this in the mail. I have to say, i really really like it. Already i understand a few key concepts in terminology that had me screwed up in figuring out how to "pop". I think if you've been into hiphop before, this probably won't be all that new to you. But, if you're like me and you've not had any hip hop, it's helpful. I love the tandem teaching. it allows them to show you the difference between a pop and a lock...at the same time. Also, one will verbally point out muscle groups and body parts while the other actually performs the movement.

Contrary to the front cover (which is nearly embarrassing it's so revealing), their outfits are really nice teal & purple cholis and pants. And, I found Kaya's teaching style to be very soothing, along with Sadie's....a surprise to me because her image is a bit alarming to me. (hey, I'm in the conservative south, what do you expect).

Overall, i'm really happy I ordered this. They start out really slow and basic, which made me groan, because I was worried about it being too slow, but before long they ramp right up to popping and locking with foot patterns. The drills are fairly short, so I see me pausing the video and continuing the drills to music or metronome to extend the time & make it muscle memory.

Thanks for all the responses. I went ahead and ordered it.

That drum solo (the second clip that Dina posted) is the one Sadie teaches in her new drum solo dvd, Dynamic Drum Solo, from HMC. I learned it in a workshop with Sadie last summer.