Thread: Hossam Ramzy's Bedouin Tribal DVD review (brief)

(Brief mini-review)

In short, I like this dvd. Picture it as a performance dvd, PLUS an instructional dvd.

The performance part is very nice, shot on a big stage dressed up
llike a wedding tent. The dances performed (by Serena and a group) are
what he calls typically wedding dances (Hagallah, but not Reda style).

Costuming is very pretty, and there are close-ups periodically to give
you details on the costume.

The instructional section consists of specific Bedouin steps. It
assumes you already know how to do a hip drop, and so the
instructional part shows you the specific individual steps, in both
slow motion and then demonstrated again in full time.

The actual choreographies are not taught, but full choreographic notes
are provided, via an internet link. Once you know how to do the steps,
it's easy to follow along with the choreography notes.

This is brief (sorry!) cause I had a really short time to preview it,
but I can post a more detailed review later.

In short, if you want to learn folkloric Bedouin Haggallah dance, this
is the DVD. I assume Ramzy know what he's talking about, and some of
the instruction was similar to other instruction I've had in Bedouin
workshops, so I trust Ramzy as an authority on the subject.

I HOPE this is one of many folkloric DVDs he produces! I'd say this
is a top-notch instructional vid, and well worth $20.

:) Amanda

Thanks for the review, sounds interesting! Where did you purchase the DVD?

Maqam.com

That's the only place I've seen it so far, except on Ramzy's site. I think the dvd was $19.99 and the companion CD (with all the music from the dvd) was $15.99.

I picked this up too (from Maqam) and my assessment is pretty much down the line the same as Amanda's.

I was especially pleased with the price because I think most of Ramzy's videos, though quality -- are a bit pricey for those of us who are dvd-aholics. This one combines the best of all worlds -- a quality made dvd from a recognized authority on things Egyptian, good and usuable content, a great price AND the music used in the dvd readily available for purchase. With all those things in place, who needs a 12-step program!

There are quite a few good clips of the DVD on Hossam's website. :)
www.hossamramzy.com |** Hossam Ramzy - Official Site | Egyptian Bellydance Music, DVDs & Videos by Hossam Ramzy

Tee-hee -- Hossam is my "friend" on tribe and he told me he WAS planning on doing this kind of thing as a series! Whoo hoo!!!

So what should we ask for next?? I'm thinking Saidi sans cane, but is that too overdone?

Originally Posted by aziyade

Tee-hee -- Hossam is my "friend" on tribe and he told me he WAS planning on doing this kind of thing as a series! Whoo hoo!!!

So what should we ask for next?? I'm thinking Saidi sans cane, but is that too overdone?

I just picked up Keti Sharif's new video on Saidi -- looks like it's from a musician's point of view, more on rhythm than dance, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and look at it yet (just came in the mail yesterday and I had class/troupe practice last night darn it!).

Originally Posted by aziyade

Tee-hee -- Hossam is my "friend" on tribe and he told me he WAS planning on doing this kind of thing as a series! Whoo hoo!!!

So what should we ask for next?? I'm thinking Saidi sans cane, but is that too overdone?

That would be fun, but I'd *really* love some instructionals in Khaleegy and/or debke. There just aren't any out there (that I've found).

(Review is broken into 3 parts cause it's long. This is part one)

Hossam Ramzy's new DVD Bedouin Tribal Dance gives you full choreographies for 5 different Bedouin "Haggallah" wedding dances, and shows you about 14 different steps and step combinations that make up the dances demonstrated on the dvd.

The DVD is 2-sided, PAL on one side, NTSC on the other, so if you're like me and you stick it in your player and get mad because it doesn't work, try flipping it over and playing the other side :)

There are choreography notes available as a separate download (no charge). The notes are VERY handy if you want to break down the individual dances and if you want to see how the steps shown on the dvd fit the sections of the music. The DVD comes with an insert that has a very brief description of the kind of dances on the dvd, a description of the songs, and a transcript of what Serena says when she's teaching.

FIRST -- this is NOT a dvd for beginners. Basically it's assumed that you know how to a 3/4 shimmy on the down, hip drops and lifts, one-hip hip circles, and you're able to turn around yourself in a circle and do very simple traveling steps like flat-ball.

ALSO -- It's not "Tribal" in the ATS way, or Tribal Fusion way. It's simply ethnic dances of the Bedouin. No turbans or flying skirts or Melodias.

The performances are in full costume, with a live band (Gypsies of the Nile) and feature Serena soloing, group dances, and Serena and Group. There are 2 basic costumes, but I don't know anything more about them. That's one thing I wish he had covered, but I'm going to ask him about it.

Performances are lovely, professionally filmed on a stage dressed up to look like a wedding tent. Very clear filming, with occasional closeups. Very well lit. One performance features a men's "chorus" of dancers. I wish I knew more about this dance, and poured through the booklet hoping for some more info, but no. I think the dvd would have been more informative if he had included some cultural information. As it is, the dances are presented in the context of a wedding, but that's about it. As always, I WANT TO KNOW MORE!!!

BTW -- this is not Reda style Hagallah and there are no peplum dresses here. Although the dances are choreographed and involve a lot of group dynamics on stage, there's no sweeping ballet footwork, or a lot of grandiose traveling around. It's really sort of down-and-dirty earthy dancing -- as down and dirty as you can expect on delicate Serena!

The instructional section is in 2 parts, Slow speed and full speed, and each little step and combo has its own chapter. I wish there was a way to "play all" but I couldn't figure out how to do it, if there was.

(Review is broken into 3 parts cause it's long. This is part two)

I'd start with the SLOW speed first, because that's where Serena explains the step and breaks it down. The slow speed instructional is slowed down to about half of the normal speed. This section is NOT taught to music.

The first step and its 2 variations are simply stylistic variations on something most of us call the 3/4 shimmy on the down, or the Haggalah shimmy. I'm not 100% clear with the difference is between the first version presented and the B variation, other than one seems to have the characteristic twist forward and the other doesn't. ??? That seems consistent with what I've learned from other instructors, but I might be missing some nuances.

A couple of the "steps" taught are really short combinations of steps. Nothing too difficult, but they move quickly. Another step just about killed me -- they're sort of a single hip circle with a snap, and you do them lowering yourself the ground. It seems like they're performed at lightning speed, and I can't get to ground with NEAR enough grace as Serena. Start working those quads, ladies!

The instruction, like I said, assumes you know certain things already, but I was surprised at how confused I got trying to figure out even just the first step from her description. Once I realized it was what I learned as a 3/4 shimmy down, it was easier to adapt their descriptions. If you get the dvd and get hung up on the first step, switch to variation B and see if that makes more sense. Then you should be able to figure out the diff between 1 and 1b. I don't think there were really any other steps that were that confusing, but it always seemed to help to also watch the variation step and compare them.

The full speed / normal speed instruction is really more a demonstration, since she doesn't talk through it, but the steps are put to music and you can see why she chose certain steps to illustrate certain sections of the music. Plus, on the slow speed section she will say things like "we do this to introduce this instrument" or "We do this to transition to the singer" -- and it makes no sense until you see it put to music.

(Review is broken into 3 parts cause it's long. This is part three- and final)

The choreography notes are GREAT! Provided as pdf files, they are very easy to read, organized very well, and are a HUGE improvement from Visual Melodies, where if you'll remember I typed out all the notes and put them in a Word document since I couldn't really read them on screen. Well, no more typing. You can print these notes and follow along.

The notes are broken into columns:
Rhythm
How many bars
Part in music (chorus, verse, impovised solo, call and answer) etc.
Steps by Serena (as opposed to steps by the chorus dancers)
Starting foot

The notes however, are useless without the dvd because the "Steps by Serena" section lists the notes as "Basic Step 4, hagallah step, basic step 6 with double speed Hagallah" etc. (Quite a clever way of making sure people actually BUY the dvd!)

The notes are very nice too because they show you what's going on in the music: Rhythm Into, Magrouna solo, melody question, melody answer" etc. Last night I sat and listened to the music for the performances and followed along with the notes, and I think this would be a GREAT tool in helping you understand this kind of music.

I emailed Hossam and asked him if he was planning on doing a series of instructional dvds on ethnic dance, and he said yes! WHEE!!

I'm sure everybody here knows of Hossam Ramzy, but if you don't you certainly SHOULD! I didn't know if his credentials included Bedouin dance, so I wasn't sure how "authentic" these dances would be. All the teaching on this dvd is consistent with what I've learned from Habiba (Barbara Siegel) and her articles in Arabesque, but a tad bit different from what I've seen quoted by Morocco. The only in-culture video of real Bedouins doing a Hagallah is Magda Salah's footage and it's only available in the New York library, but again, this dvd matches her descriptions of the dance in her article in Arabesque magazine. I think it's safe to say Hossam Ramzy knows what he's talking about here!

In short, I think this was a GREAT value for $20!!! My only complaint was that I would like to know more about the costuming and how the dances fit in the culture, but there's a lot of cultural information available on line.

:) Amanda

Hi Taj,
Faten Salama has an instructional DVD with Khaleegy on it and Little Egypt Home Page has a Khaleegy workshop DVD with Faten Salama. The quality is not the best, but great instruction.

Thanks for the review Aziyade, very informative. I can't wait to get the DVD in the mail. You should sumit the review to Zaghareet!
Tammy

The DVD arrived 10 minutes ago, and I thumbed through the performance - I love it! Beautiful setting and costumes, and most importantly really fun dancing. This seems like a real winner.

Wow, someone point Hossam here. Apparently he was angry that the recent Gilded Serpent article reviewing his video wasn't gushing enough. This should make him happy! :)

Oh, I read the reviews on Gilded Serpent; they were a positive surprise: critical in a very good way. Thanks for the pointer, that was a interesting and useful article.

Originally Posted by TribalDancer

Wow, someone point Hossam here. Apparently he was angry that the recent Gilded Serpent article reviewing his video wasn't gushing enough. This should make him happy! :)

Are u making fun of me ?

;P

Hey, I've been wanting something like this for a long time so I was excited that it was not only DONE, but also done so well.

I gush when gushing is deserved. I've only gushed lately over 3 dvds, and I buy A LOT!!!

Uh, Oh, I can now see the rush to buy this DVD/CD combo . . . Merry Xmas, everyone!!! ;)

Originally Posted by aziyade

So what should we ask for next?? I'm thinking Saidi sans cane, but is that too overdone?

You can NEVER have too much Saiidi!

I did rush and lucked out because the online store I buy from, maqam.com had a special on hossam ramzy titles so I saved another 10%. it seems they do this 12 days of christmas thing where every day is a different special. i'm addicted. i can't stop buying cds and dvds. I love it. i just had to buy a new cd tower to house my stuff.. its my second one.

can't wait to get the dvd if its as good you say. i bought the cd/dvd combo.

The dvd is also available through Netflix.

Tammy, thanks for the tip about Faten. I'll check it out.

Originally Posted by Tammyraks

Hi Taj,
Faten Salama has an instructional DVD with Khaleegy on it and Little Egypt Home Page has a Khaleegy workshop DVD with Faten Salama. The quality is not the best, but great instruction.

I really enjoyed that workshop with Faten . . . she worked us hard, lol!!!

Putting this dvd on my wish list. Thanks for the info.

Just saw the companion CD for this at Borders for $14.99. If you're a Rewards member they often have coupons for anywhere from 10-30% off.

Originally Posted by ouroboros

you can never have too much saiidi!

i concur!

Amera has a DVD for Khaleegy

http://www.canzone-online.de/en/deta...e899&x=15&y=18

It's probably available from other vendors, this was just the first one I found.

Originally Posted by Taj

That would be fun, but I'd *really* love some instructionals in Khaleegy and/or debke. There just aren't any out there (that I've found).

I got this dvd from netflix because of this tread. I really liked it! The slow part of the instruction was a little confusing because the voiceover was talking from her point of view not the camera's. If I wasn't so poor I'd buy it.

I just bought this dvd too, and I love it! But I can't seem to find the link to the PDF notes on Hossam's web site. Does anyone know where I can find it?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by PepperLotus

I just bought this dvd too, and I love it! But I can't seem to find the link to the PDF notes on Hossam's web site. Does anyone know where I can find it?

Thanks!

Did you find the pdfs yet? If not, I'll check when I get home. I can't remember where they are. I thought it was on the main menu, but it's been a while...

I was also impressed with the Bedouin DVD from Hossam. I agree with Aziyade's review.

I got Amera's Khaleegy DVD as soon as it came out. There are many things I really like about it but I also have a dew pet peeves. The graphics are delicious, she includes valuable info about her sources, costuming, culture, etc. She presents the material step-by-step and the music to the choreography she teaches is available on her newest CD. This is wonderful.
The biggest issue I have is that there is no main menu with a chapters list. The DVD is actually chaptered so you can skip to sections (super) HOWEVER, the chapter markers don't line up with the ones she put on back of the DVD cover. In summary, navigation is frustrating. It's a guessing game at best.