Thread: Which should I buy?/Video Qs

I am a really new belly dancer, just started lessons 4-5 weeks ago. Besides the weekly lessons, I got Jenna's Basics & Beyond video, which I love , and I have the Luscious workout and Autumn Ward's DVD on the way. I also have been working slowly with this video, because I have to work extra hard at my core muscles because of some abdominal separation I developed during my two pregnancies.

Anyway, I found someone who is getting rid of her belly dance DVDs for cheap, and am wondering which ones to buy. Here is her list:

*The Heartbeat of Belly Dance (rhythms and dance combinations for drum solos) with Jenna & Raquy
*Aziza’s Ultimate Belly Dance Practice Companion
*21 Shimmies and 1001 Variations with Leyla Jouvana
*Drills! Drills! Drills! with Michelle Joyce

I'm definitely getting the Heartbeat of Belly Dance, although I know I won't be ready for it quite yet. I'm wondering about the other ones, what kind of place they would have in my collection, both short- and long-term. Are they really videos that most people benefit from, or are they more for professionals? I really love the WDNY videos, and am wondering if I should just stick with those, or if these have something to offer I can't get from WDNY.

Thanks!

The only one on that list I don't have is Aziza's so I will comment on the rest of them (although I have heard wonderful things about Aziza's). Heartbeat would be good for you as a beginning dancer because you get a basic introduction to some common rhythms and it has 3 separate drum solo choreographies that increase in difficulty so you can start working with the beginner one now and then when you feel ready try the other two. Drills is a fabulous workout companion and will really make you work, it is a really useful DVD to have both short and long term. The only one I think would b a little too hard for a beginner is 21 Shimmies. Several of the shimmies are pretty advanced and could be frustrating if you are just starting so that would be better as a long term DVD. Although it is a really fabulous DVD and one of my favorites. LOL, I don't know if that was helpful! They are all very good DVDs and cover different material, but I think that Drills, Heartbeat, and maybe Aziza would be the best for a beginner.

Any of them would be excellent choices. However, in my experience (and memory), when I was a beginner, I didn't care so much for drill-focused dvds. I wanted to dance, dammit! So Heartbeat will give you that and more. You could pick up the others now if the prices are right, and just figure that if they don't grab you now, they probably will eventually.

The only comment I will add about "The Heartbeat of Belly Dance" is that the move they're calling a 3/4 shimmy is actually a "75% of the time shimmy," and not the triplet style you'll find dancers like Hadia advocating on her DVDs. "Heartbeat" isn't a bad video, but keep in mind that if you invest too much time in practicing their variation of the 3/4 shimmy, you may be confused when you're at a workshop down the road where the teacher is expecting the other style. It's not that what they are doing is wrong, but there are two different moves out there under the same name, and this is the less traditional/folkloric one.

Thanks for all your thoughts! I just ran across this post, and I think since I'm not really ready for the others yet anyway, I'm going to hold out for the two new drill/shimmy DVDs coming out this year. I really love the WDNY DVDs!

Aziza's DVD is wonderful, however she does not spend a lot of time breaking down movements. It's meant to be used as a practice companion, guiding you through a practice session of movements you should already be familiar with. As a new dancer, you may be ok with this--just talk to your instructor about the proper execution of movements you are unfamiliar with (makes no sense to practice the moves incorrectly!).

I HAD a serious problem buying every DVD that came down the pike, don't do that! I have not been disappointed by anything from World Dance New York. The lighting is good, if there is a mirror, it's being used- not cutting off feet, or at a weird angle, I can SEE the dancer's legs, the pants don't blend into the background, legs are usually in capris, not melos, so the movements show, -I need to see the whole body, not just one part of it, or how will I know I'm doing it right? - the camera is not zooming in and out of artsy shots, the explanations are complete, the sound level is consistent, the chaptering is good, lots of content on each disc. I wish I hadn't blown the kind of money I did on all the others, for my dollars, WDNY is the way to go. Also, I found this out way too late into the game, but if you order off their site directly, and in multiples, there is a discount, and free shipping. Wish somebody had told me that before I went so amazon.com happy!

LOL same here cheerybelly!! I really should not have bought many of the dvds I bought :)

As a beginner you are taken care of very well by WDNY. I love a couple of other beginner/intermediate ones you do not have yet judging from your post. For technique Belly by Sandra and Sadie Complete bellydance helped me the most. I did them once a week aside a weekly class, and had the nicest progress in technique in that semester :)

If like me you want to feel like you're dancing get Shamira Sensuous Workout vol 2. it gives you steps and technique that largely is on none of the WDNY or cheeky girls beginner videos, and it gives you three dances (ciftetelli, drum solo, saidi) to work on (you follow Shamira, she just calls out the moves but it is ok after a few times of practicing :) )

I have heartbeat of bellydance, but have decided to start drum solo practice with a WDNY one: Rhythms workout Neon. I am very excited to begin working with it this holiday weekend :)) will let you know if you want how the beginner tutorial and flow is (you have one hour beginner tutorial, 40 min beginner movement flow/workout; 30 min intermediate tutorial, a little more than 40 min intermediate flow; the entire dvd is 3 hours long :))) )

Aziza's is for MUCH later for me. She has a beautiful beautiful warmup. this alone was worth getting for me personally. i extracted the warmup to an avi file (10 min long)and do it before every dance practice. But the workout is too difficult: you should be able to shimmy for 20 min to follow her practice :)

Drills drills drills I have, and it is supposed to have easy and more difficult drills. Boy, I should start working with it :) i am too slow for the many dvds I have. But I must say i regretted not one single WDNY or cheekygirls purchase. I have some dvds that do not do much for me. Including for example the 21 shimmies. And the shimmy dvd by BDSS Bozenka. All of these actually demonstrate the shimmy, and have you do it for a time. it is not instruction enough for me. If I knew how to do these shimmies, it would be a good practice companion to review and drill them.

Thanks, Marilyn and Dina for the reminder not to go overboard on the DVDs!

I'm wondering, Dina, how the Sandra and Sadie DVDs differ from the Jenna one I have (Basics & Beyond). I'm sure they do differ, but it would be nice to know in specifically what ways. What would I be lacking if I continued to use only the Jenna one?

Honestly, I don't enjoy Sadie as a dancer, but I keep hearing such good things about her DVDs. It's like I don't really want to buy them, but I don't want to be "missing out"! Let's say I bought the Sandra one, what would I be missing by not buying the Sadie one, too? What are some reasons you would pick either one over the other? I've got to be really choosy, because I don't have a lot of funds for videos right now.

For that reason, too, I think I'll have to stick with Luscious for a while for the "danciness" factor, although I appreciate your recommendation for Shamira. I'll have to keep that in mind for future reference! I'm planning on buying the Neon Rhythms one eventually, too, but I'm going to wait until I master some of the basics first.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice! :thumbs_up:

hehe sure I can try and do my best to describe what I take out of them. I do NOT enjoy Sadie's dancing most of the time. She is good on drum solos, not to melodic pieces for me. Little feeling for the music, and more circus trick style dancing. Just my opinion - I do admire her muscle tricks and strength. And here is probably why people love her teaching. You can learn excellent isolation and layering from her (although I will personally be VERY careful since as I said I am afraid of going overboard with the layering to not be more of a circus attraction than an authentic oriental dancer.. but tastes are different I am sure many people would love to dance that way).

SO:
- Sadie gives a nice warmup. in the warmup you do some chest and hip isolations already. the best thing for me: you do some isolations in semi plié which builds your quad muscles. I need to build the right muscles definitely! and you feel progress very fast: 1st time I thought I would be dying. 3rd time it wasn't hard anymore :)
then, Sadie works you through some basic moves like figure 8s, up and down, horizontal, camel, shimmies etc.
Her demonstration, breakdown and variations are great.
- Sandra teaches some similar, some different moves. All beginner. Sandra got me to do the muscle use in figure 8s right that Sadie was talking about and did not quite work for me. Getting the muscle use right both makes the movement more luscious, and protects the joints.

For some reason, I needed Sandra's to activate the correct muscles (and within the 2nd time of doing her video I improved!). THen I could go back to Sadie's, and enjoy how she teaches moves and combinations different from Sandra's. Sadie teaches shimmies extensively- this helps me a lot. I can shimmy when in social context and just dancing for fun, but when doing dvds I tend to tense up, and it is not really flowing.
Sadie helps me the most so far with shimmies!

With these 2 dvds in contrast to Jenna: they are set to nice soothing music. The drilling happens to music right after breakdown.
They are more challenging muscle wise and more demanding on your dance skill already than Amira 101. Amira 101 is the easiest dvd to get to know bellydance - it is very relaxing. Good gift, no 1 gift actually, for a total novice without any experience.

Now while Sandra and Sadie show very select movements and by far not all movements there are for beginners in their dvds, and drill them to nice music, Jenna offers you like an encyclopedia of bellydance moves.

For me it is the 3rd or 4th video to get after total beginner Amira 101 and Sadie/Sandra as my muscle guide and Shamira for dance pleasure. It offers you a run through through many many variations. The downside: without music. it is for the serious dance student only therefore.
I think if you are not serious about the dance in all its details people may get bored. after one and a half hours of movement variations without music (which are EXCELLENT and comprehensive - I love the dvd, don't get me wrong) the real gem comes: Jenna does a 30 min movement flow to music using many of the moves taught before. I would love her to do a full movement flow with ALL the moves there are in her tutorial though, and she said she would consider it in the future. who knows!

Now to sum up what Jenna's advantage and downside is: It is comprehensive, but a little overwhelming. I personally would have to pause the dvd after each section, find suitable music, and drill her moves some! it is more of a quick run through through almost ALL there is! so there is little time for practice. it is 2 and a half hours long anyway :)))

So it is an amazing dvd. I would personally absolutely absolutely get Sadie, Sandra, Shamira, Jenna anyway. And many more :)
(Like Neon Rhythms, Luscious, Autumn Ward, anything by Ranya Renee - actually a seriously interested student should get her baladi 2dvd set as soon as possible, for viewing, and trying to follow her in her movement flows; it is the downright best bellydance instructional out there for me!)

I will soon begin to practice to Michelle Joyce's crash course by the way. It looks amazing, and takes you from beginner to intermediate combinations. I cannot say how I like it doing it yet though! soon to come if you are interested. And also Neon's Rhythms I will be started these days once I get some me-time (and have no audience :) )

Now that I remember more closely while writing:
Sandra teaches you lots of chest movements (circles, slides) in motion which Sadie does not do.
She teaches hip drops and drop-kicks in detail, which Sadie does too but differently. She also has MAJOR emphasis on figure 8s. Better muscle use instruction for me than Sadie! I really learned it from her dvd in two or three sessions! it is 1,5 hours long.

Sadie teaches you different variations on figure 8s vertical and horizontal which a different "timing" factor (she makes you vary speed which is challenging and nice). Shimmies are the key advantage of her dvd and the warmup I mentioned which is about 30 min long and builds serius quad muscles.
Plus: she teaches a short dance. It's not extremely great, but nice to build up to the dance!

Shamira teaches variations of moves you won't find on any of these instructionals. Very dancey variations that I personally often did in "social" dancing, but was never taught more accurately. Her dvd really filled a gap for me. I cannot recommend it enough!
Here I raved about it months ago.
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...sooo-good.html

and here my old review of Sandra's:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...ly-sandra.html

I do not have much to add since I injured my toe last spring, and could not dance a lot for about one year. am restarting the practice these weeks :)

For a beginner I consider the 'Amira 101' DVD to be first choice. It gives a really good grounding in the basic bellydance moves, and she is a brilliant teacher with a charming personality. All the WDNY DVDs I own are excellent too.

I was wondering if DancingLale is on the forum lately? she posted a question for beginner dvds about one year ago, it would be interesting to hear what she likes to practice with!

@Amira 101: I love this dvd dearly. If one is easily overwhelmed with dvds that move quickly and ambitiously, like particularly if you feel a bit "inhibited" when starting to practice in your own living room as opposed to a dance studio (which was the case for me - I felt very strange practicing alone and in my not so romantic small living room then :) ) - then Amira 101 is a perfectly calm, soothing, not too challenging/overwhelming choice. And it has all the basic moves. A little bit of everything, but she manages to pack it into 50 or 55 minutes without giving the feeling of rushing through!
She's promised an intermediate dvd for this year I think? :) it's been in the planning or making for quite some time now!

Another Amira DVD - Brilliant! I hope you are right Dina. I will recommend it to my students who are past the beginner stage.

to students who are pregnant you can definitely recommend an Amira video, dance and yoga :) I looked at it, and it is beautiful. Only it does not hold much new things for non pregnant ladies who have outgrown her first dvd (:) which it does not promise, anyway... I only looked at it in the (kind of silly) hope of this maybe being a cross between her long announced intermediate one, and a pregnancy related one since Amira herself has been pregnant and had a baby last year).

They are all excellent choices. In fact, some of them you can grow into, mostly Jenna's Heartbeat as the last drum solo is not for beginners. So you know you will have something to work towards.

It's never too early to study with a Master. Hadia's 4 disc DVD set is a must. More of an investment $$$ but everything you need is in there. It will keep you going and growing for years to come, especially if you ever get to study with her in person. Hadia's New Site In my opinion, the rest is fluff. Fun. But extra fluff, nonetheless.

Alexadae,

Not sure if you are still looking for dvds, but I just posted this thread on the swap meet:

http://www.bhuz.com/forum/bellydance...joyce-etc.html

If you are a beginner, the Sensuous work out dvd is an excellent one!

Ya Sensuous Workout 2 is exactly the one I am recommending to you SO much! Drills Drills Drills may be worth considering too :)

I checked out the clip from Shamira's video and I must say it looks enticing! My one question, and this is a biggie, is whether you can see her feet and legs during the whole video, including the instructional parts, like you can in the YouTube clip?

yes - the video is rather "home made" in the sense that it is a "fixed" camera. it never moves - you always see her entire body, and you always see her moving from left to right with the "spatial feel" of seeing how big her steps are, and what she does exactly with her entire body when turning and travelling in the opposite direction. I can say this taught me SO much of the things I did not get with the fancier productions where the camera zooms in to specific body parts,a nd you fail to see the entire body at all times (which can be good too,of course to get the details).

I have Heartbeat and Aziza. I LOVE the Aziza video - it's my fave (of all three of my videos haha) but it's not for beginners. She does not teach technique, it's drills plain and simple, and is a great workout. 23 minutes of shimmy - Aziza is drippin' sweat by the end! That drill right there got my shimmy down, though she does not layer very many actual moves with it, which Heartbeat does. I'll point out there is a bad edit in it though, and she winds up doing one side of jumani points three times and the other side only once instead of twice on both sides.

Heartbeat is good and she shows you the moves more carefully. I agree with another poster that the 3/4 shimmy is a little weird, though the technique may work for those trying to learn it at first. The shimmy layer drill is good but it is hard - she just jumps right into it with little warmup but it's good to work toward. I liked the solos she teaches.