Thread: Review of Michelle Joyce Secrets of the Stage 3

The other day I received my copy of Michelle Joyce's Secrets of the Stage 3.

I really enjoyed this. I like that the different dancers each have their own advice and tips regarding the live performance. I prefer to see the song/dancer info at the beginning of their clip compared to having all the credits at the end. That can be confusing, so I really like this part. I really enjoyed the makeup section, since that is a weak point of mine. (My husband even asked me why I looked so entranced watching it, and ignored him right after he got home from work. LOL...I told him..sorry but I need to see these makeup tips!) It was really cool to have the photographers tips on there. That is the type of stuff most dancers dont really think about. I am a professional photographer as well, so I especially enjoyed this part. :-) I thought the Arabic portion was an added bonus too.
Overall, I really enjoyed it! I get tired of videos where all the content is the same as everyone else, and I really like that Michelle has different topics/areas that she talks about. There was so much useful information. I plan to watch it again and take notes this time. ;-)

Secrets of the Stage Vol 3 - belly dance DVD

I received mine, and I could hardly take my eyes off of it. I don't know which part I like better. But I'm going to be watching it again and again.......

I just got mine as well and reviewed it on amazon after watching. I've really enjoyed this whole series, it's all so practical. I hope she keeps producing these. Need to go play with my makeup now and try a few new tricks that I learned. I really liked the advice about dancing with a live band from a member of the band. Honestly, I'm nervous about dancing to live music and a lot of other people are, too. So, that part was really great for me.

Ditto to what others have said about this DVD. I loved it! The section on dancing to live music not only contained lots of great tips from experienced dancers AND musicians, it had some of the best dance performances I've seen on video. Often belly dance performance videos are disappointing to me. The lighting and all the production values can be excellent, but a dancer, no matter how awesome, dancing to canned music on a production studio stage just lacks that vital missing energy that happens in a live show with live music and a real audience. The performances on this DVD are well worth watching just on their own merit, as well as being great illustrations of the value and magic of working with live musicians. When you can see and feel the difference in the performances as opposed to the performances on most other DVDs, that is a great lesson in dancing to live music in itself.

I only wish we had seen Michelle dancing, too. She did a great job as narrator.

The make up section was very informative and professionally done, I learned some new things and reinforced some old techniques.

The Arabic portion was fascinating as well as useful. I loved it and would love to see more like that.

Great effort by Michelle and co. and a valuable resource for dancers aspiring to be as professional as possible. Even if we can't all dance in IAMED videos or at nightclub shows, we can raise the level of excellence in our field by incorporating the information in this video wherever we perform. As Michelle mentions, there are often opportunities to perform with live musicians at belly dance festivals and haflas. Now perhaps more dancers will take the challenge and the opportunity to do so.

WoW!! After reading these reviews, I'm now super excited to see the videos. I ordered all 3 and should get them next week. :-)

Just ordered mine!

Ditto to the rave reviews above. This is a very valuable series to dancers and instructors alike. I get great ideas for class work from every viewing!

Kudos, Michelle -- keep 'em coming!

i have yet had a chance to look at it and it has been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to unwrap it :-/
once i get a chance to look at it i'll add on my 2 cents since i promised michelle during her giveaway :)

Since I got this DVD last week, I've watched it 3 times in a row!!! LOVE THIS!
This is information that is totally priceless, more valuable than gold & platinum combined. Some were some good reminders to me personally of why I love this dance so much (in the creativity and inspiration section), others were surprisingly new tidbits of info. that I just never would have known without having seen this dvd: e.g., during the dancing w/live band section, the narrating musician had mentioned the idea that dancers should not be collecting tips during the drum solo. Also, I was inwardly cheering madly during MICHAEL BAXTER's section on professional image and photoshoot tips (I'd already goofed w/my very 1st pro photoshoot w/MB this past Spring when I had only brought 2 outfits w/me--man, I wish I'd had this dvd before I arranged for my MB photoshoot!). I especially rewound a lot of Leyla Lanty's section on cliff-notes-emergency Arabic words/lesson. I am determined to go to Egypt in the not-too-distant future and I think this section will be quite helpful.

Thanks for the reviews ladies. I'm off to purchase mine!

Ordered mine today, can't wait!

I got mine and absolutely love it..It was perfect for me as I am having Live Music Anxiety..Loved the makeup section..I absolutely really love this DVD and recommend it to all..
Thank you again Michelle!!

I'm so excited!! JUST received all 3 volumes. 5 hours and counting....the family will all be asleep and I'll have the t.v. and videos all to myself!! Teehee... I'm sure I'll be reviewing them often based on the stellar reviews. Tick tock til showtime! :-)

Secrets of the Stage 3 is everything that everyone else has said. I've watched it several times and there's not a section that disappoints me.

Michelle packed in so much information in this DVD - dancing to live music from the dancers' & the musicians' points of view. Getting both sides was extremely useful.

The makeup and photoshoot sections were fantastic. Leylas' Arabic words we should know is extremely helpful.

If you're a new dancer or not there's something in this DVD for everyone.

Thanks Michelle for putting out all these great DVD's for us! Keep them coming cuz each one gets better & better.

just finished watching it. i agree w/what everyone said
i found the live music part VERY informative.
2 thumbs up :)

Originally Posted by dunyah

Ditto to what others have said about this DVD. I loved it! The section on dancing to live music not only contained lots of great tips from experienced dancers AND musicians, it had some of the best dance performances I've seen on video. Often belly dance performance videos are disappointing to me. The lighting and all the production values can be excellent, but a dancer, no matter how awesome, dancing to canned music on a production studio stage just lacks that vital missing energy that happens in a live show with live music and a real audience. The performances on this DVD are well worth watching just on their own merit, as well as being great illustrations of the value and magic of working with live musicians. When you can see and feel the difference in the performances as opposed to the performances on most other DVDs, that is a great lesson in dancing to live music in itself.

I only wish we had seen Michelle dancing, too. She did a great job as narrator.

The make up section was very informative and professionally done, I learned some new things and reinforced some old techniques.

The Arabic portion was fascinating as well as useful. I loved it and would love to see more like that.

Great effort by Michelle and co. and a valuable resource for dancers aspiring to be as professional as possible. Even if we can't all dance in IAMED videos or at nightclub shows, we can raise the level of excellence in our field by incorporating the information in this video wherever we perform. As Michelle mentions, there are often opportunities to perform with live musicians at belly dance festivals and haflas. Now perhaps more dancers will take the challenge and the opportunity to do so.

Absolutely agree! Michael Baxter was a great segment too!

I have Michelle's Drills DVD which is really fantastic, but I havent looked into these yet. After reading these reviews (and checking out the preview vids), I think I need to look into this series!

I've seen lots of performances to live music, but watching these generous clips with the commentary helped me focus on the dancer's process and really look at what was going on. And it made me want to have another try at it myself.

I thought the segment on creativity was especially provocative and love the assumption that it's something that can be handled deliberately. There was a nice range of perspectives as well. It could be a good resource for those "stuck" times.

And I was surprised by how useful the mini-Arabic lesson was -- not so much the words, which are pretty easy to find, but the cultural context. Suddenly the lyrics to a whole bunch of songs -- which I had seen translated -- made a lot more sense.

I liked the makeup tips a lot - in particular, the section on eye makeup! I have been doing my eyes that way lately and what a difference!

The Arabic section was fun. I knew a lot of the words, but it was still nice to get even more of a cultural background. I bet I would enjoy a workshop with the person who led that section because I remember thinking she seemed like a fun person.

The live music bit - whenever the musicians talked about how they loved to play for dancers and make the dancers look their best, I kept thinking - you sound way too nice to be a musician. I guess I would love to take some of those "problem" musicians - you know what I mean - and find out what the heck they are thinking. The nice guys (and gals) aren't the ones I worry about.

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

The live music bit - whenever the musicians talked about how they loved to play for dancers and make the dancers look their best, I kept thinking - you sound way too nice to be a musician. I guess I would love to take some of those "problem" musicians - you know what I mean - and find out what the heck they are thinking. The nice guys (and gals) aren't the ones I worry about.

are they like macho? feel something better than the dancer? competition? No idea what frictions between dancers and musicians could be like :)

Wow, it sounds like this is a good DVD to buy! I am definitely going to buy it and check it out....

Thank you all for your kind words! Michelle's "Secrets of the stage" DVDs are chock full of valuable information learned by the dancers and the other featured artists in their years of study and experience. It's the sort of experience and wisdom that is seldom taught in dance classes and only occasionally presented in workshops. I feel privileged to have been a part of "Secrets of the Stage 3".