Thread: Good Cane DVD?

So I know a little Saidi (I spelled that wrong I think) but have done NO cane. What is a good DVD to supplement privates? I am a visual learner so I like to have something at home in between to see when I get frustrated/lost. Give me your best cane DVD recommendations!

I highly recommend Nourhan Sharif's Raksat Assaya - An Introduction to Egyptian Saidi Technique.

I've been using that DVD for several weeks now and I really like it. It is worth it. But it's even better to have someone coach you now and again too. :)

I'm a big fan of this DVD as well -- it's one of my all-time favorites.

Our own Cory Zamora also has a cane DVD that's worth checking out:
Bellydancing Videos

Originally Posted by laura 2

I highly recommend Nourhan Sharif's Raksat Assaya - An Introduction to Egyptian Saidi Technique.

Where can I get this?

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

I've been using that DVD for several weeks now and I really like it. It is worth it. But it's even better to have someone coach you now and again too. :)

Oh yea, I am going to be doing some privates as well.

Originally Posted by Linnyg

Where can I get this?

Amazon and Maqam both carry it.

Chiming in with my added recommendation for the Sharif Raks Assaya DVD!

Hadia also has a pretty good one!

Another recommendation for Nourhan Sharif's Raksat Assaya -- that one is my favorite!

If you're strapped for cash, you can find Tanna Valentine's "Bellydance for Body Shaping: Upper Body" for about five bucks used online. IIRC, part of the workout is veil, and part of it is cane, so it's not all cane, but for five bucks I feel like I got my money's worth. New information sticks with me best when I can learn it from several different sources (and have it explained/presented to me in different ways), so even though this isn't the most comprehensive cane instructional out there, I still found it to be a valuable learning tool.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bellydance-Body-Shaping-Upper/dp/B0008G2ITC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1245941102&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Bellydance for Body Shaping: Upper Body: Tanna Valentine, CSCS Andy Troy: Movies & TV[/ame]

thank you JEANNECLF....you have no idea how much that ment to me.
on other threads about dvd's, i am treated as if i do not live.my dvd have been bought by those who want to learn to teach...so, they must be good.
but as from the other thread about beggining dvd,s, some must get kick backs to take over a thread with their sales pitch....this is my only post.thank you again...i have 15 dvd's to date!

Nourhan's DVD is really excellent all around -- great technique, strong, useful combinations, clearly and efficiently presented, and very well produced. Highly recommended!

Two older videos that also have a lot to recommend them are Shareen al Safy's "Saidi for the Stage" and Faten Salama's Khaber Eih. The presentation and video quality aren't what we're used to seeing in some newer productions, but if you're patient with that you'll find a ton of good material there. Shareen is really strong on the background and provides a lot of useful movement, gestures, and context. Faten teaches technique and a choreography to Fatme Serhan's song Khaber Eih. She has a sassy, graceful style that draws primarily from her National Folkloric Troupe (Kawmiyya) training. She break things down and explain them to a certain extent and you can grab some great combinations and learn a lot about cane technique, attitude, and styling just by watching her.

I do a lot of Egyptian-style cane, and I've found all three of these videos to be very useful.

Originally Posted by zamora

thank you JEANNECLF....you have no idea how much that ment to me.
on other threads about dvd's, i am treated as if i do not live.my dvd have been bought by those who want to learn to teach...so, they must be good.
but as from the other thread about beggining dvd,s, some must get kick backs to take over a thread with their sales pitch....this is my only post.thank you again...i have 15 dvd's to date!

Well sorry to say that until I came on Bhuz I never heard of you, which was my loss after viewing your videos because I think you are terrific, especially with zills. Do you have any other sites besides Bhuz?

Originally Posted by zamora

thank you JEANNECLF....you have no idea how much that ment to me.
on other threads about dvd's, i am treated as if i do not live.my dvd have been bought by those who want to learn to teach...so, they must be good.
but as from the other thread about beggining dvd,s, some must get kick backs to take over a thread with their sales pitch....this is my only post.thank you again...i have 15 dvd's to date!

Got mine and lovin' it!

I cannot believe how low some people will go.

No, I do not make money out of reviews. I spend most of my student's budget on dvds, have purchased around 200 within 2 years.
I reviewed a couple I find outstanding for my level of technique.
I speak of those I adore only, and prefer to remain silent on the ones I don't. I think this is fair.
It is not my "fault" I have learned the most from the recent wave of amazing dvds by WDNY, Michelle Joyce of Cheeky Girls and Hollywood Music Records. If anyone does not like this new generation of producers, fine.
But attacks on customers who have been more than satisfied and spread the word are simply the lowest style possible.
If you cannot build the brand loyalty your competitors have it is not the customers' fault, but yours. Basic lesson in market economy (and that from an Arab European, socialist/anarchy/welfare state breed!).

To the cane.
I ADORE Saidi style dance with a cane.
The only video I really really liked is Nourhan Sharif's. I found her very cold on the beginner dvd, but on this one she shines! Love it.
The real Egyptian style.
From what I have heard Faten must be great, I will be getting hers soon.
Tanna's I have, but it is not so much of the real Egyptian style.

Else - I think once you got the basic moves from this or another video, you might want to watch videos for inspiration. To me, there is less to learn movement wise but "heart", "soul", "attitude" wise. The Said people's dance is soo special, I adore it.

I love these videos:
my all time favorite dance

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LaxBM_Do_0&feature=PlayList&p=7AD789122A0 3584E&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=51]YouTube - Mona Said Asaya[/ame]


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QOgK-H9j9A]YouTube - Rabab- Upper Egypt Saidi Dance[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3B7yohpC34]YouTube - Belly Dancer Soraya in Egyptian Tabla Solo and Cane Dance.[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO69agrERuY&feature=related]YouTube - Egyptian Folkloric Bellydance[/ame]

There is one amazing Soraia Zaied clip (5:38 long in lovely folklore costume):
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug-HMEeJUxA&feature=PlayList&p=7B727546F5E5E8F1&playn ext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=13]YouTube - Soraia Zaied[/ame]

I adore her here.

For very modern and young dancers:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILSLmkxQbP0]YouTube - Hezzi Ya Nawaem 2 - Magalie ( Lebanon) - Saidi Dance[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiPAm-dKR6I&feature=related]YouTube - Hezzi Ya Nawaem 2 - Mona ( Syria) - Saidi Dance[/ame]

These are some of my favorite saidi cane dance videos. there are tons more of course.

For anyone who wants to know what the hideous personal attack was about:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/product-ne...nner-dvds.html
Not that it is important.. just for those who want to know.

Spelling: You can write Sa3idi because it s that throaty sound. But Saidi is just fine I think.Some write Saeedi.. it s a transcript, and the vowl does not exist in any Latin spelling language.. so...

Originally Posted by zamora

thank you JEANNECLF....you have no idea how much that ment to me.
on other threads about dvd's, i am treated as if i do not live.my dvd have been bought by those who want to learn to teach...so, they must be good.
but as from the other thread about beggining dvd,s, some must get kick backs to take over a thread with their sales pitch....this is my only post.thank you again...i have 15 dvd's to date!

I'm probably going to get blasted for saying this...but oh well...

For crying out loud Cory....every single time there is a thread about DVD recommendations and one of yours doesn't get recommended right off the bat, you get in a tizzy. There are LOTS of DVDs out there and a lot of other dancer's DVDs don't always get mentioned, but so far you are the only one I see that gets pissy about it. And accusing someone of getting kickbacks is pretty sad in my opinion. I see this happening repeatedly and it's getting old.


*Sariah, who is not feeling well, got very little sleep, and is just plain grumpy today*

Wow, what a case of sour grapes, Ms Zamora! If you were that brilliant a dancer and teacher, these threads here would be all about you all the time. But you'll have to confront the fact that there may well be better out there. In the manners department too!

There was no cause for you to accuse and attack a perfectly polite poster who was just happily talking about what she likes best and recommending it to others. What exactly did she say to upset you? On what basis, if one might ask? If it's merely because you think she should have been talking about you rather than WDNY, Cheeky Girls and HMC, you're in for a tough time - most people here will agree.

All fan enthusiasm is not motivated by "$$$". But perhaps you'll never know that, either way. The knowledge and experience and dance skill you think you have seems to be inversely proportional to your manners.

Thank you for the inspiring cane clips, Dina! Some of those are new to me, and I love them -- lots of food for thought and further study there.

I agree that a *lot* of what's important about cane is styling and attitude. Once you get the basic technique down, the challenge and kick of it are really about getting the "accent" right: posture, weight, and especially character. Have fun with it!

Originally Posted by Sariah

I'm probably going to get blasted for saying this...but oh well...

For crying out loud Cory....every single time there is a thread about DVD recommendations and one of yours doesn't get recommended right off the bat, you get in a tizzy. There are LOTS of DVDs out there and a lot of other dancer's DVDs don't always get mentioned, but so far you are the only one I see that gets pissy about it. And accusing someone of getting kickbacks is pretty sad in my opinion. I see this happening repeatedly and it's getting old.

Cory I agree, I think you owe Dina an apology, she was being extremely helpful and informative, and you accused her of trying to profit from promoting dvds when that is exactly what YOU were doing!

Hi Mala!! Nice to see you here! *waves*

Wow - this is very interesting!! I wanted to address the issue of "kickbacks" for reviews directly so that there is no confusion about it.


Here is how it works, not just in the belly dance DVD world, but in the publishing world in general: Most producers have a set list of potential reviewers who receive promo copies of new releases. These people don't get money or anything, but they do get a free copy of the DVD in hopes that they will take the time to review it. You would want to give promo copies to people who 1) write tons of detailed reviews 2) have knowledge of the industry and 3) have a good reputation for being trustworthy. Sometimes they will write a good review of the product, sometimes they won't. (For the record, there are about 10 people on my comp list, and Dina is not one of them.)

There is really nothing new or unusual about this process. I mean, if you wrote a book, wouldn't you send a free copy to the New York Times in hopes that they would review it? I know Gilded Serpent receives tons of free belly dance DVDs and books for this very purpose. I believe Shira gets a fair few comp DVDs too.

Suggesting that someone gets kickbacks would mean that they are employed by the company and are not welcome to give any opinion other than a glowing one. That just isn't how it works. If you make a crappy product, it would be pretty difficult to get the world to rave about it... even if you did offer people a few bucks to write a good review (and i don't know of anyone who does that), the word about the product sucking would get out and the reviewer's name would lose credibility.

Every so often I do very public DVD "giveaways". Usually they are announced either on Bhuz or on a Yahoo Group and I give away a certain number of free DVDs to the first people who respond to the post. Here is an example of such a thread http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...-freebies.html I do suggest that people post a review somewhere if they like the DVD... but it is optional and there is never any follow up from me is a review is written or not.

It is good to see Mala here - she has a great blog that reviews almost every new belly dance DVD release. ::more than somewhat:: She has written some great reviews of some of my stuff, but has also written critical comments as well. And she recently told me that she disliked one of my DVDs and that she will be writing a review to that effect. That's just how it goes.

It seems silly to accuse someone who has written glowing reviews for 3 competing companies of being employed by any of them. What sense would that make?

Somones no doubt going to shoot me down...but I don't see how Dina helping someone out was wrong and suggesting DVDs that she believes would be suitable. In fact, I completely agree with her choices and would have recommended the exact same ones. Why on earth would she be getting money out of it? She did not just suggest one particular companies DVD, but gave many suggestions.

Like Dina, I also own more than 200 DVDs, and I consider her a friend.

Sorry Cory, but from what I have seen of 3 of your dvds, I would not recommend them to anyone at all. The production and filming quality is SO low! If I buy a dvd, I want to be able to hear the instructor and see her clearly! One of your dvds, I couldn't even hear with the sound turned full on. Your attire is utterly bizzare. I have learnt far more from a WDNY dvd, for example.

Having seen 200 odd bellydance dvds...I would say yours rate as some of the poorer productions. Perhaps thats why nobody recommends you.

And not to forget - as I was the one adressed in the other thread on the best dvds for beginners, and recommended one by Cheeky Girls Production as No. 2 of 5 to absolutely get - I did not receive *any* of the dvds I recommended there as a giveaway by any of the producers.

I did win a giveaway by Cheeky girls in early April (Ballet for Bellydancers), amongst 15 other people of the yahoo video group I believe (first come method), but I have sadly not been able to work with the dvd due to an injury, and consequently have not reviewed it.
I can't wait to have my toe healed because it looks like something I'd like to try.

If you do giveaways, you know that the majority of people is not going to write a review. Of the remaining ones, a certain proportion will write a 2 to 3 sentences - not everyone enjoys expressing themselves in written form. Only a couple of reviewers will go into depth.
And NO ONE will write dishonestly just because they received the dvd in a promotion giveaway.

By the way - the accusation was not even having received the dvds in the course of a promotion activity, which everyone with the slightest business sense knows is perfectly legitimate. The accusation was me being paid in a clouded/shady manner for recommending them.

Now as the slandering of my statements is so obviously made for improper reasons and without effect to most people who read these kind of threads regularly, I could not care less. If I did I'd be pretty angered by such libel and defamation of my name.

Originally Posted by smileandshake

Somones no doubt going to shoot me down...but I don't see how Dina helping someone out was wrong and suggesting DVDs that she believes would be suitable. In fact, I completely agree with her choices and would have recommended the exact same ones. Why on earth would she be getting money out of it? She did not just suggest one particular companies DVD, but gave many suggestions.

Like Dina, I also own more than 200 DVDs, and I consider her a friend.

Sorry Cory, but from what I have seen of 3 of your dvds, I would not recommend them to anyone at all. The production and filming quality is SO low! If I buy a dvd, I want to be able to hear the instructor and see her clearly! One of your dvds, I couldn't even hear with the sound turned full on. Your attire is utterly bizzare. I have learnt far more from a WDNY dvd, for example.

Having seen 200 odd bellydance dvds...I would say yours rate as some of the poorer productions. Perhaps thats why nobody recommends you.

I rarely post these days but I have to underline smileandshake here. I have many DVDs both performance and instructional.
I was saddened to see how someone could be "slagged off" for giving her recommendations in all generosity and honesty.
I receive no money for writing this and I do write the odd review for our NADA magazine here in the UK.
I have written positively about MichelleJoyce's productions as they are useful and of high quality. And sorry to say I have bought 2 of Cory's ( early ones I assume) and sorry to say sold them on immediately.
Now Cory ,you may have wanted folks to mention your DVDs and I have fealt compelled to do so and it may not have been what you wanted to read..

When it comes to attraction to styles, you may fnd there is a huge gap in what is desirable and of interest between some Europeans who may stick more closely to Egyptian and Turkish styles than Americans who cling to their own original and athentic Am-Cab who the Egyptian-flavoured /BDSS/Las Vegas style of Jillina and co.

Please believe me when I say this is a personal opinion and not all UK dancers will feel the same way (although many I know personally do), I am not attracted by the constant zill playing and more frantic styles of say- Ansuya.
We really are more attuned to the Egyptian dancers. I loved Raqia Hassan's old VHS instruction but of course the quality was not of the best and the instruction from IAMED and Cheeky Girls productions are clear and excellent for students. I would also echo Dina and say how much I liked Galit's DVDs and it's probably the best of the UK efforts so far.
Just as a matter of interest, Dina ,what do you think of Beat and Horacio's instructional videos? I know friends who relly rate them highly as teachers but I have only ever seen their performance DVDs.

It took me awhile to watch the clips cause I can't watch them at home (dial-up) but that clip of Soraia Zaied was AWESOME! If I end up half that good I will be happy. Thank you for sharing!

Originally Posted by dinavienna

...
To the cane.
I ADORE Saidi style dance with a cane.
The only video I really really liked is Nourhan Sharif's. I found her very cold on the beginner dvd, but on this one she shines! Love it.
The real Egyptian style.
From what I have heard Faten must be great, I will be getting hers soon.
Tanna's I have, but it is not so much of the real Egyptian style.

Else - I think once you got the basic moves from this or another video, you might want to watch videos for inspiration. To me, there is less to learn movement wise but "heart", "soul", "attitude" wise. The Said people's dance is soo special, I adore it.

Thanks for video links - they were great to watch.

Based on what everyone has said about Nourhan Sharif's cane dvd, I went ahead and ordered a copy. I really enjoy
Egyptian style. I can't wait to try it out when it arrives.

Hi there!!!
I'm so happy you liked the clips!
I am not always fond of Soraya's dancing, but this video in plain costume.. I LOVE HER! she gets the raw energy and playfulness so well!!

YES describing Ansuya's style as frantic is a very good word! I do not mean to downtalk neither Jillina nor Ansuya, but I agree that they are pretty American culture bred - most Mideasterners do not "get" them, and I also think many Europeans are not 100% of the style that is a bit fast and I call it "Vegas", I don't know if that makes sense..
As for Beata and Horacio - I must say I think their shows are a delight to watch, like mini oriental dance operas, with a storyline and everything.. I am sure they are a WEALTH of information in workshops and private classes. Like most master teachers with so-so quality dvds.. also their dvds, I own a choreography one and a zil one - they look like they were produced quite some time ago. now I do not mind lesser audio and video quality if the instruction is good for what I expect. But most of the older dvd (say 90s or so) tend to squeeze a lot of information in 35, 40 min. That is a bit the case with Horacio's choreography one. i have not looked real close at either of them, though because I pictured I'd get back to them later.
I can have a look at them for you more closely if you like.

I'd say if you want to learn a specific choreo by them, it is probably great. If you want to learn technique in a special field to be honest I think the more recent 2 to 3 hour dvds by the companies that get mentioned all the time are unbeatable.. Like honestly I own a WDNY zil dvd (Elsa leandros), and Michelle's Killer Ziller. I will learn how to zil with them rather than with the one by Horatio.. I saw at the end of my video that Beata teaches choreography with zils on the video that got released after the one I own. Now THAT might be something unique! There are few choreography videos out there teaching the zil patterns to go with the steps.

Hope that helps--
And I might get the "Shimmies" video used by a friend soon. I will let you know how that is, but to be honest breakdown, technique, mechanics wise I just think the older 1st generation videos are not on par with the new generation...