Thread: Beginner DVDs

I know there has been countless threads similar to this one in the past (I did a search), but all the threads I found related to DVDs that is seems can only be bought in the US?

Can anyone recommend any that would be available to buy in the UK?

I am a beginner so need it pitched at that level, and I don't expect it to be a replacement or substitute for a teacher (am still trying to find a new one after last one left). However I do want something to help me focus and practice at home. Especially anything that gives instructions on posture and muscle control.

Thanks for any help!

Jen x

World Dance New York has beginner DVDs and ships worldwide:
World Dance New York | Bellydance, Hip Hop, Samba, Exotic dancing, Hoop dance, Flamenco - instruction, dance fitness workouts, performance DVD belly dance video
I think Michelle Joyce does as well, but you might have to email her about it:
Ballet For Belly Dancers - DVD

Originally Posted by DancingLale

I know there has been countless threads similar to this one in the past (I did a search), but all the threads I found related to DVDs that is seems can only be bought in the US?

Can anyone recommend any that would be available to buy in the UK?

I am a beginner so need it pitched at that level, and I don't expect it to be a replacement or substitute for a teacher (am still trying to find a new one after last one left). However I do want something to help me focus and practice at home. Especially anything that gives instructions on posture and muscle control.

Thanks for any help!



Jen x

All the bellydance dvds I have bought on the internet including those which Amazon have down as region 1 are region free and play in my dvd player.

But if you want something from the Uk, Galit Mersand does one that comes highly recommended by other Bhuzzers for £26.99 inc. She's from Brighton, whereabouts are you?

Other than that, World Dance New york do wonderful dvds at very cheap prices and they ship free internationally
World Dance New York | Bellydance, Hip Hop, Samba, Exotic dancing, Hoop dance, Flamenco - instruction, dance fitness workouts, performance DVD belly dance video I have also bought direct from Michelle Joyce.

Ocean State Media is also very good to deal with.

some of the American dvds do teach some moves slightly differently, but nothing that I've found that I couldn't adjust later.

I also use AMAZON.COM rather than the UK site as so many of the dvds are imported unchanged into the uk site and there is a better selection. Delivery is very fast, and you can also follow the links to see if anyone is selling cheaper/secondhand.

Anything I have ordered from US has always come within the week.

Hi there, for bellydance DVD's and CD's I recommend Aladdins Cave in the UK - Belly dance costume & belly dance supplies at Aladdin's Cave - excellent customer service and I've always been happy with the items I've received from them. Hope this helps!

Nikki

I can recommend Galit's.
It is a beautiful dvd for the fundamental moves, and comes with a music cd to practice. I am glad I own it because I like Galit's style.
It is SIGNIFICANTLY less comprehensive than the best by Cheeky Girls, Hollywood Music and above all World Dance New York though. So for serious practice I think these companies you just cannot bypass.

World Dance New York ships FREE internationally.
Oceanstatemedia, which carries most WDNY, CHeeky Girls, Hollywood Music, IAMED (if you cannot find something in the catalogue - email to ask they carry really just about everything) currently ships free internationally, too (normally above a 50$ threshold).

the best ones are:
Belly by Sandra
Sadie Complete Bellydance Guide are the ones I took most from.
Both about 1.5 hours of VERY intense instruction, muscle-wise.
(Galit, in contrast to this, shows you the moves in very nice and authentic ways - you might not look like her because you are not getting the muscular use right, that is why for beginners I advise these 2 pure technique videos more).

anything by World Dance New York, for beginners above all:

Autumn Ward's
Jenna's Basics and Beyond (this one teaches you ALL the moves, at 2,5 hours of instruction)
Then to really get you dancing - the flows by WDNY, Luscious Bellydance and Bellydance Rhythms.
I also really love Shamira's Sensuous WOrkout which teaches you technique and 3 choreographies (Saidi, taksim, drum solo).

These dvds are the best on the market - unbeatable. I suggest you read the amazon.com reviews, if you have not done so already. Mala writes the most comprehensive ones:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1ZYA1450LWBXF/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentRe view]Amazon.com: Profile For Mala Bhargava: Reviews[/ame]

of course if you click on single dvds you'll find many great reviews.

I really think you cannot go better anywhere else for serious practice as a complement to your classes, and with free international shipping.. when I bought most of my dvd library, that option was not even available and I went through amazon (ouch..). I am still so glad about every single dvd I got from these instructors!

what you pick depends on your style too.i guess some have seen everything there is, because they believe their suggestion is "best". i have not seen all, but i am a good teacher who teaches teachers.

Originally Posted by zamora

what you pick depends on your style too.i guess some have seen everything there is, because they believe their suggestion is "best". i have not seen all, but i am a good teacher who teaches teachers.

ya watch performance videos on youtube of these dancers before buying their dvd
while jenna's dvds are a steal because she has such long instruction for such low prices, her style does nothing for me
i have her beyond basics, transitions turns and i really don't mesh with her style at all so i only watch it for instruction of turns!!
so buy the dvd of someone whose dancing you adore i think
sadie is very good at what she does but her style is not my piece of pie either although, unlike jenna's i can stand to go through her dvds and get a lot from them and i sometimes enjoy her performances
i think jillina's 3 dvds are always great to start with
you could start with level 1
she's a great instructor too

Well I own more than 200 bellydance dvds :)

I've mentioned I was a compulsive buyer on that MAC makeup thread haven't I?
I tend to go for teachers whose style I adore only for dvds that specifically teach movement improvisation or expression.
For the basic movements anyone is fine. Actually dancers who might be somewhat stiff or less captivating in their dancing I have found to be excellent teachers of the movements themselves (the same held true for my live teachers - the lovely Arab lady whose dancing I adored made me desperate in her live classes, the solid Austrian lady with less Arab charisma, but more technicality taught me the basic moves in no time).
I too must say neither Jenna's nor Sadie's performance style clicks with me.
They are both great teachers. Very thorough and analytical.

I personally put the Jillina dvds aside when I got them.. I expected them to be more "generic" when they really always teach specific choreographies only. Maybe her combinations are catchy, I'll try them some day.. but it is a VERY specific style of hers. And as I said - no movement teaching&drilling, choreography, nothing else.

Oh and I write from a somewhat advanced beginner's perspective on what has recently worked for me. I did point that out in every review I've done here (the recent WDNY releases and Belly by Sandra I have reviewed so far) - so of course what my opinion means to you depends on what level you are.
Jen seems to search for similar things as I have done - practice in between live class.
So IMO we are from the same target group.
Whether or not my advice is useful to her she will have to decide :)

Originally Posted by dinavienna

For the basic movements anyone is fine. Actually dancers who might be somewhat stiff or less captivating in their dancing I have found to be excellent teachers of the movements themselves

that is very true actually good point
they are the best breaker downers
haha
i like jillina because she breaks down well and style I (usually) enjoy
but maybe you should have your own style first though if you dont want to look like her when you dance

exactly - there are too many Jillina copies out there :)
Her style is VERY distinct - dance to a shaabi song after having done her videos: don't think you are doing regular Egyptian shaabi style. you re doing 100% Jillina style, and everyone who knows her knows who YOU learned from :D

One point I completely forgot:

the trailers are so important to me. Some companies like WDNY and Cheeky Girls, and recently also IAMED offer great long trailers. Some others go for really short ones, but more often than not they still help the decision.
Most of them are on youtube, some "self-made" producers/dancers have them on their websites only.
I so like to preview the dvds when I buy from overseas.. maybe that is important for you too.

So what is your feeling - American or British to start with? :)
I am thinking of another British beginner video - Hillary Thacker Egyptian style Vol 1. It was not the best out there for me (more of movement demonstration, less of muscular/analytical stance - I think this was the standard until very recently), but a pretty decent one.

Originally Posted by sharifeh

but maybe you should have your own style first though if you dont want to look like her when you dance

Oh there could be worse things than looking like Jillina when you dance

seriously, you cannot possibly believe that, just because you learn a choreo from a famous teacher you can dance it like her... of course you can take the stylization with the choreo if you are able to emulate it, which you are not when you are a beginner, but style evolves during years, and only under continouus influence of one specific teacher some day you might look similar or take typical moves from your teacher when doing your own choroegraphies (Saida in Argentina, she breeds a whole generation of Saidaesque bellydancers, still they do manage to be different when talented) - then it's time to get emancipated...don't be afraid of a dvd.

I'm currently learning one Jenna-choreo, one Randa choreo and a choreo of my teacher Yaminah. I try to practise along their specific dynamics in order to develop my movement skills, and I believe it helps to try out other people's stuff to challenge yourself and in order to find out what suits you best. And when I dance Jennas choreo I still won't be looking like Jenna, although I'd love to have hair long like her and such beautiful eyes...,r:;

Originally Posted by dinavienna

Well I own more than 200 bellydance dvds :)

I've mentioned I was a compulsive buyer ...

Oh oh I knew it... I was amazed reading your many many posts about instructional dvds... I must visit you some time and look at your collection..l;,.

Hey, let me know what you are learning right now! The one I want to have is Ranya Renée on baladi... it sounds like all I ever needed to know about baladi... (there's a trailer on youtube).

Hi Nouria :)
yeah I'll show you my collection one day :))))))))

I am not dancing since late February.. toe injury that does not want to heal :(

I did not mean you will look exactly like Jillina - not even her professional Sahlala dancers do :)
What I meant is her movements/combos are SO recognizable - that is because they are not even classically Mideastern. She has a very very American and individual touch to them. Not so much WHAT she does when you dissect her combos, but HOW she does it and how she combines the movements. To me she is about the least typical Egyptian dancer out there if Egyptian for you is "masrawiya"/real ethnic Egyptian.
I tend to believe she refers to herself as Egyptian because she uses shaabi and Egyptian classics the most.
That said I am definitely not saying she is not interesting to watch.
If you define a category American Egyptian Jillina style then that s what she is unbeatably Egyptian in. :) And I guess if you learn her choreos, her combos will be somewhat ingrained in your style any time you improvise shaabi.. I am just not sure that is what I want for my own dancing.
But I notice sooo many Americans and Europeans are just dying for the Jillina style, so that might just be a minority preference of mine (just like Arab dancers have become a minority in bellydance LOL).

Haha no I did not mean doing Jillina s videos makes you look like her. That would be MAGIC! :)

I love Randa's choreos btw.. ya masrawiiiya :) out of this world for me skill-wise though..

btw you would LOVE Ranya s I think. her Modern Oriental you would like too if you are doing randa's style now I think.
Both are among my all time favorite dvds.

I did not mention them here because they are not what a beginner might look for, unless you are a beginner who specifically wants to dance like the Egyptians from day one and maybe has some cultural background to not have to start from 0 with the movements..

sorry to hear you're injured...I was ill for the first three months of this year, too. I gained weight which is tough to get rid of but otherwise I'm fit again.
Randa, hum, I am sure she does bodybuilding, her muscularity is something that doesn't grow from dancing alone. I've grown stronger through training but am way not strong enough yet to do el Toba really well. But as the song, the choreo is really repetetive, it's a few combos only, easy for memory...

Yes I totally get what you say about Jillina being American-Egyptian...
I learned three of her choreos (alf leyla was my very first one, and then I did the Hakim pop song and then her drum solo) still maybe I have enough live lessons that her combos didn't really soak in. Some of her choices don't suit me at all, but she is a talented choreographer and she is very entertaining.

I love Jenna somehow. She's so beautiful to look at, like a greek statue (Athene...a greek helmet would suit her perfectly :-) and I can appreciate the beauty of the moves fully when she performs them on her dvd, for she dances them neatly, no sloppiness, without exaggerating but still temperamental. She might seem very disciplined and academic at times, but I think the teacher thing is still in her in those performances, also steady cameras tend to be unforgiving, and she manages to be no less than perfect.

Did you watch Jenna's raks Bedeya choreo on the Next level-dvd? I learned the saidi choreo of the same dvd just there, which wasn't as easy as it looked, haha, but I'm really dying for the raks bedeya-one. It's not easy at all, meaning it doesn't even look easy, very nice and varied, great use of space, and she dances it with charm, grace and a sexiness which she doesn't display often (so it's even nicer when she does). I appreciate that she seems totally herself and doesn't try to be like XY.

Originally Posted by Nouria

Oh there could be worse things than looking like Jillina when you dance

seriously, you cannot possibly believe that, just because you learn a choreo from a famous teacher you can dance it like her... of course you can take the stylization with the choreo if you are able to emulate it, which you are not when you are a beginner, but style evolves during years, and only under continouus influence of one specific teacher some day you might look similar or take typical moves from your teacher when doing your own choroegraphies (Saida in Argentina, she breeds a whole generation of Saidaesque bellydancers, still they do manage to be different when talented) - then it's time to get emancipated...don't be afraid of a dvd.

im not afraid!!
jillinas were my one of my first dvds i LOVE her dvds i would still recommend them to anyone
i have like all of hers i think
i didnt mean dance exactly like her because that's redonkulous she's a pro!
i just meant her choreos and style are so unique to her that you can tell when someone else is attempting them so people should be careful esp with her choreos
ive performed her choreos before but i think i was fine
i just think ypou have to tweak the choreos a lil to not look lke a jillina wannabe
heck, i would pay to acually look like jillina herself!!! ..l;,

Originally Posted by dinavienna

What I meant is her movements/combos are SO recognizable - that is because they are not even classically Mideastern. She has a very very American and individual touch to them. Not so much WHAT she does when you dissect her combos, but HOW she does it and how she combines the movements. To me she is about the least typical Egyptian dancer out there if Egyptian for you is "masrawiya"/real ethnic Egyptian.
I tend to believe she refers to herself as Egyptian because she uses shaabi and Egyptian classics the most.
That said I am definitely not saying she is not interesting to watch.
If you define a category American Egyptian Jillina style then that s what she is unbeatably Egyptian in. :) And I guess if you learn her choreos, her combos will be somewhat ingrained in your style any time you improvise shaabi.. I am just not sure that is what I want for my own dancing.
But I notice sooo many Americans and Europeans are just dying for the Jillina style, so that might just be a minority preference of mine (just like Arab dancers have become a minority in bellydance LOL).
.

her combos have a very american flavor to it and i think she knows that
but she is a LOT less American style than other american bellydancers if you think about it
she has very jazzy steps and stuff but she interprets the music in a more mideastern way than other american dancers
look at jenna, sadie
I enjoy Jillina's dancing much more than theirs because I think her dancing is a little less American than theirs
I mean Jillina also did a choreography to Raks bedeya for bdss it's on the folies bergere dvd (is that dvd part of your 200? ..g.:) and Jenna teaches one on her dvd as well
look at jillinas choreo and look at jennas
jillina's at least has egyptian flavor
jenna's I've said this before, but her interpretation of the music escapes me
I can't even watch her dance to it in its entirety
too american interpretation of the music for my taste
anyway jillina is definitely not full egyptian style she's more on the fence i guess some of her choreos being more "american" than others

Oh my goodness! I just adore that everyone here is so utterly friendly and helpful!

You're all marvellous. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I don't think I've been at it long enough to even know if I have a style or what that might be, so at the moment I don't think that's a major factor in my decision making. My head is spinning already with the debates of merits of styles I don't even know yet, so feeling very ignorant.

Certainly hearing from both teachers and other beginners is very helpful. I don't mind if I start with American or British. Just more concerned that the content is achievable for me initially.

And the suggestion to look at trailers on You Tube is GENIUS! I'd never have thought of that. Thank you.

To answer the location question I'm in Scotland but I visit Brighton a lot so will see if I can track down the lady who was mentioned from there.

And I also didn't know that I could order from Amazon.com even though I am in UK, so will check that out too as well as the World Dance groups and other suggestions.

Thank you all so much for taking the time out. I hope in (many) years of dancing to come I can pass on the same kindness to someone else.

Originally Posted by sharifeh

her combos have a very american flavor to it and i think she knows that
but she is a LOT less American style than other american bellydancers if you think about it
she has very jazzy steps and stuff but she interprets the music in a more mideastern way than other american dancers
look at jenna, sadie

Sharifeh, I think it now "clicked" with me why Jillina is referred to as Egyptian style! Sure, she is American to ME, for example, but you are right in that in the American spectrum she interprets the music a lot closer to the Egyptian thing.
Yes, I own Folies Bergere. It was one of the first dvds I ordered from America 2 years ago. back then there was not so much bellydance related on youtube yet, and they were the first I came across ,r:;

I enjoy the show. Sure it is very entertainment biz, very Hollywood glamour - but it is a really neat show for the general public as well as for bellydance fans I think. A hard balance to strike. And most Mideasterners I am aware of like the show too, even if they prefer more Arab things.

Jen, I'm sure you'll be able to give some back. one and a half years ago, like you, I was browsing the internet with a sizzling head not knowing what to order!

I tell you what I loved working with the most:

This was my first dvd. Very solid patient beginner instruction. VERY good if you are just taking your first classes and want to focus on the basic movements.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWhfpzAItx4]YouTube - Amira's Bellydance 101 DVD, instructional belly dance video[/ame]

This is the one that came out recently I enjoy most, that made my mind "click" for lots of muscular movements you should do in order to protect your knee and hip joints and back:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl4oNaPBBUU]YouTube - DVD Trailer: Belly By Sandra Vol 1[/ame]

It teaches not all the basic moves like Amira does, but the one she teaches are VERY comprehensive.

For all the movements you would possibly want to work with:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH4MaHS4JZg]YouTube - "Bellydance Basics & Beyond" DVD : WorldDanceNewYork.com belly dance : Free Shipping Worldwide![/ame]

This is the one I worked with before I got toe pain (not from dancing, from a nervous habit I have - toe twisting :( )
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbxcsnXMNrs]YouTube - Sadie Complete Bellydance Guide[/ame]

All of these are my favorites, the ones I have seen the best results with.

If you want to get two and have not much lessons behind you, get Amira and Sandra.
If you have some more lessons behind you, I would definitely get Jenna and Sadie: They are so different. Jenna teaches just about every movement and variation there is, in 2,5 hours. Sadie teaches fewer moves, but excellent technique.

If you want to get dancing, these are sooo nice.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRmnTVoKqZs]YouTube - "LUSCIOUS: The Bellydance Workout" DVD : WorldDanceNewYork.com belly dance : Free Shipping Worldwide[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRiz1Wzd_Y]YouTube - The Bellydance Rhythms Workout, with Neon :: Buy this DVD at WorldDanceNewYork.com![/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bellydancing-Sensuous-Workout-Technique-Shamira/dp/B0006MU3E0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1245938961&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Bellydancing: The Sensuous Workout 2 "Pure Technique" with Shamira: Shamira: Movies & TV[/ame]
No trailer for Shamira, but it rocks for a slightly experienced beginner!

You can see stills and decription on Mala's blog:
::more than somewhat:: » Belly surprise

Any of these you cannot do anything wrong with. YOu can absolutely PM me for other dvds you are interested in. I somewhat regretted some purchases, or would have made them later had i known another beginner's opinion. I ended up with way too many beginner ones that are similar actually, so I did not use them a lot.
These are the ones I worked with and definitely have practically no overlap.

So enjoy your first dvds!!
This is where I order from:
OceanStateMedia.com - Dance Instruction - Action Sports - Fitness & Excercise, Self Help
World Dance New York | Bellydance, Hip Hop, Samba, Exotic dancing, Hoop dance, Flamenco - instruction, dance fitness workouts, performance DVD belly dance video

They offer free shipping worldwide! so better check what they have in stock before ordering from amazon.com, which charges you by dvd - I ended up paying quite a lot of shipping (30$ or so) for very large orders.. so it is worth checkign these 2 sellers out before going through amazon.
Else amazon has good prices I think, I prefer the .com version to the European ones. :)

Oh and I see these as strictly movement skill building.. what style you will prefer you can best see by watching LOTS and LOTS of performances on youtube :)
for later, the tribal dvds are said to be excellent for technique, even if you are not a tribal dancer..
but I have not touched them yet. They look TOUGH!

Have fun and let us know :)

Oh and of all of these Shamira is the only Mideastern woman (Armenian). She is a joy to watch, very soulful dancing, her hand moves.. she is the full package to me. I liked her dvd most for that fact when I first got it.

Originally Posted by dinavienna

Oh and I see these as strictly movement skill building.. what style you will prefer you can best see by watching LOTS and LOTS of performances on youtube :)
for later, the tribal dvds are said to be excellent for technique, even if you are not a tribal dancer..
but I have not touched them yet. They look TOUGH!

Have fun and let us know :)

Thank you so much for posting the trailers. I definitely think I will start off with your recommendations and build from there. It's good to know I won't be wasting money on lots of DVDs that are too similar simply by having "beginner" in the title which I would have done without the guidance from you and all the others.

Thank you again everyone ..g.:

dinavienna, do you get $$ for all this promo?
no disrespect, ...but it made me wonder.
just as i wonder why some are drawn to dancers with a strong jazz background...that shows in their so called middle eastern dance.
i have studied dance since 1953.i know what belongs in which dance.when i get students who have am american jazz background, i am correcting for an hour.

hi zamora,

?

The dvds I suggested are from Cheeky Girls, WDNY, Hollywood Music, and two independent dancer-producers.

I'd somewhat understand your criticism if I pushed one company above all others.

Although even if I did push only one (if I were to choose I'd definitely push WDNY more than any other one, Cheeky Girls second, simply for respect of their top quality videos at good prices, at least for my student budget - and yes, they earned my brand loyalty in the past 2 years, nothing wrong with that) that would not allow my character being slandered so easily:
I believe the amount of posts I've made in this forum already on various topics not only dvd, but also fitness,culture, beauty etc would easily demask such an accusation as insulting and unfair.


As for the jazz background - I agree with you. I do not like the look in Mideastern dance. I actually do not like the ballet look many Egyptian classics have (much of what Mahmood Reda did and I am aware of, and some 70s stars like Hanan). The jazz in my opinion does not suit the dance, not if done by an American (there it might look cute, "exotic" at least to me, at best), and even less so when done by today's Lebanese starlets.
I'm not against innovation, but for my taste it must be true to the root of the dance, not an import.
I am glad there are people in America correcting the Western dance habits.. unfortunately I do not see so many non-Western style (heavily) influenced US dancers. Also on the IAMED performance videos, I quit disappointed almost each time I get one because of the low number of performances that get the Mideastern feel. There s not more than 2 or 3 on each dvd at best.. but I ve come to accept the American audiences love that, as much as many Western dance students love the Jillina style. Tastes are different :)

seems i remember jessica, lotusflower posting 1 comment about her EYECONS and was told by rosie to buy an add
perhaps you should do the same.
threads like this are why i stay away from time to time.i do not know everyone here ...and would never make a comment with out educating myself.like the time i was told "i have never heard of you"
your loss, ever heard of youtube?
anyone who has spent time here has HEARD of all of us....
end of highjack rant
"end"...hmm has a nice ring to it!

thank you, from what you just wrote, you would like my stuff!
peace out

the Jillina style is not belly dance to my eye...or soul.