Book Review: "Foundations: Bellydance for the Versatile Dancer, Vol 1"

[DragonFlyTwentyFour]

Foundations: Bellydance for the Versatile Dancer, Volume I
by Zanbaka



Trade Paperback: 195 pages, 170 Illustrations/Photos
Publisher: ZD Publications
ASIN: B0010BF9LS
Price: $45.00 + S&H

Intended for all styles of bellydance, any instructor and/or student can benefit greatly from this wonderfully structured presentation. A mental, rational companion for a very physical activity, this work is the bridge that has been needed for bellydance students and instructors everywhere.

Zanbaka includes a 'how to use this book' section, a brief history and styles, an introduction to the importance of learning styles, naming conventions of moves and a way to accurately refer to each move. She maps out the bellydance body, showing the regions and individual muscles that come into play during bellydance.

Next, injury prevention and a unique perspective on stretching and warming up followed by posture and balance. A simple technique to neutral pelvis is introduced. Then three standard bellydance rhythms are broken down and a basic counting lesson is given. A practice structure follows.

Directional orientation is included, helping eliminate verbal confusion. Foot positions, basic levels and foot patterns are defined and discussed, followed by two warm up phases. The first phase gets your body going and the second one includes light stretching and toning. Several basic turns are then discussed.

Moving on to isolations, key discussion of positioning, degrees, contradictory movement, shimmy, shape making, percussive/smooth, undulation and layering concepts is presented. Isolations are presented for each region of the body, which include: head, shoulder, hand, wrist, arm, ribcage, abdominal and hip isolations. Greater attention is paid to shimmies by showing how they can be powered differently.

Flamenco clapping (palmas) and finger cymbals are introduced, followed by a two-phase cool down. Deep stretching is introduced. A brief discussion of transitions closes the instructional part of the book. Appended: 10 Practice Sessions outline, words of wisdom developing presence, gaining constructive feedback, corrections, and raising the bar for bellydance. A bibliography and index are included.

All of this is written in clear, concise and well-defined language. This book cannot be recommended highly enough. It is so packed with information, you will refer to it again and again, whether you are a beginner, a seasoned performer, a student, or an instructor. Well worth the price. It goes on the shelf next to "The Tribal Bible".

To order: Zanbaka.com - Seattle Performer, Instructor, Choreographer - Online Bazaar

[mekyria]

I'm not sure wether this is a review or a summary of what's in the book. First of all because the review seems to be written by the author herself, besides that it doesn't give any information on the weak/strong points of the book or goes into depth of the opinion of the reviewer.

[zumarrad]

I myself am wondering why palmas is included in BD.

[zanbaka]

Hi Mekyria and Zamurrad,

Sorry to disappoint, but no, this review was not written by me ;) One of my readers, Andrea, was kind enough to post a few of her thoughts here in the reviews forum. I'm sure she has some more opinions that she'd be willing to share.

The palmas exercises are included to help students internalize rhythms. I'm also a flamenco dancer and have found that clapping exercises work wonders with students who are struggling with their rhythmic awareness.

Hope that clarifies your concerns. I'm more than happy to answer any other questions you have here, or you can send me a private message.

Best, ~Zanbaka

[DragonFlyTwentyFour]

Hello! :)

Yes, I have lots of opinions about the book [g] and would love to share! The text limit was a bit daunting, and the book is so packed with amazing info, I thought it would be best to share what is in the book then allow a discussion to unfold.

I am late for a class, so will post more tomorrow! :) There are some challenging things about the book, especially if you are a very kinesthetic learner and not read/write oriented, but all in all, it's an incredibly helpful tool.

Best Regards,

Andrea.

[DragonFlyTwentyFour]

Here are my deeper impressions, in 3000 characters: ;o)

I think most importantly, Zanbaka makes it very clear at the beginning that a book (as well as DVDs, videos, etc.), no matter how expertly done, is not a substitute for an experienced, well-trained instructor. IMO, this book is a study companion, much like massage handbooks are for massage therapists. No one book will serve every need. IMO, this book does an excellent job of serving the needs of the visual-verbal learning quadrant. (IMO, everyone benefits from stimulating all learning styles, regardless of personal preference.)

Given my personal preference for visual-verbal (or read/write), I found this book to be very exciting and a reference I am using daily. I also believe that *any* book, regardless of its quality, can provide helpful feedback, even if it's through negative information. With that in mind, if you are not a big book buyer, and you want a good bellydance reference book for fundamental movement, at this point in time, this is it. It's the most bang for your buck.

Yes, $50 is a lot of money for a book. However, workshops usually cost the same amount or more and this reference will last a lot longer than a workshop when it comes to being able to refer back to information.

I find it difficult to find any cons about the book. Especially since there are other volumes in the offing. I am looking forward to exploring my passion/obsession further through this series. The main con in my opinion is the book is terrifically dense. There isn't a lot of extra verbiage in the book, so every sentence is important. This can be overwhelming and the brain can glaze over if it's taken in too quickly. Personally, I plan on studying this dance form for the rest of my life, so I feel confident I will benefit tremendously from my tendency to read a book through, then go back and really go deep with each section. There is the danger of treating it like a self-help book or reading it once or only half-way through, then never referring back to it. I think the best scenario is taking classes from a great instructor who is open to continued learning and using the book to fill in the gaps and bring more awareness into the studio.

The bottom line: this book makes you think about bellydance. And invites you to rethink it, and then consciously decide whether to keep your current practices, slightly modify them, or completely relearn some things. It answers questions I didn't know I had. It brings up new questions, which is always exciting IMO. Even if you don't agree with anything in the book, that in and of itself will tell you so much about your own practices and give you confidence in your decisions as a dancer.

Hope that helps! :) Andrea.

[DragonFlyTwentyFour]

Here are some of my thoughts on how this book might benefit beginner, intermediate, advanced, performing and instructing dancers.

Pros for the Beginner:

- Excellent visual resource for beginning class reference.
- Helps keep "bad dance habits" from forming.
- Gives a vocabulary to the student for clearer communication and higher quality questions in the studio.
- Gives a better sense of control by stating the physics and math clearly.
- Provides clear instruction for counting, which allows for deeper control in the future.

Cons for the Beginner:

- Very densely packed information. Needs some interpretation by an experienced dancer.
- Could be overwhelming to a brand new beginner, depending on their preferred learning style.


Pros for the Intermediate Student:

- Answers questions that have been difficult to formulate and find answers.
- Unfolds a whole new level to learning.
- Gives a better understanding to locating your body in space.
- Helps timing by completely breaking down moves in tempo and in space.
- Great references in the biblio for continued study.

Cons for Intermediate Student:

- Difficult to go back and begin again.
- Could initially overwhelm due to the intermediate student's deeper awareness.


Pros for the Advanced/Performer:

- Tightens up combos and layered moves by allowing them to be broken down into precise components.
- Brings a fresh awareness into foot and weight placements and gives alternative ways to accomplish a move.
- Really focuses on core muscle use which can put the final polish on moves.
- Synchronizes moves for troupe work by using percussive technique.
- Brings awareness to professionalism and high standards to bellydance as an professionally accepted dance form.

Cons for Advanced/Performer:

- Might feel too simple at first.
- See: Cons for Instructors.


Pros for Instructors:

- Eliminates the need for extensive hand-outs.
- Gives a common vocabulary to everyone in the class.
- Puts time and money back into your pocket by reducing hand-outs.
- Eliminates the stress of trying to remember all the beginner details.
- Stimulates new material for classes.
- Excites instructor by invigorating "old" materials.
- Reminds instructor of "beginning mind" or what beginners don't know and need to be taught.

Cons for Instructors:

- May have to "relearn" or "unlearn" depending on level of agreement with materials.
- May have to rethink vocabulary. It seems awkward at first.
- Could be seen as contrary or judgmental due to the scope of the book.

[mekyria]

dragonlfy, thank you for your review. The last two posts were really helpful for me on deciding wether I want to add this book to my dance library and offered me a lot of information on how dancers of different levels could use the book.

[DragonFlyTwentyFour]

Mekyria,

I'm so pleased my posts were helpful :). Thank you for letting me know! I put a lot of thought into them. I really could write a book about the book LOL! Hopefully, Zanbaka will do that for us with her continuation of the series. [g]

Best Regards, Andrea. :)

[Bellydancing_Lissa]

I have purchased this book and have found it to be a great learning tool in the understanding of how the body moves.

Zanbaka is coming to Columbus, Ohio in July to teach at a seminar for Habeeba's Dance of the Arts and I am so looking forward to seeing her in person.

[mchelle]

I got this a few days ago and am very happy with it. From my beginner point of view --

It's laid out somewhat like a textbook or workbook, with topics following logically from one to the next, and including homework assignments. This appeals to the student in me. There are a lot of good illustrations. I'm finding the ones in the anatomy and posture sections to be particularly helpful. I would agree with one of the above reviews that it could be intimidating to the absolute beginner who has not been introduced to some of these concepts already in a class setting.

It will be most valuable to me in helping me structure practice sessions and also as a movement reference thanks to the very nice index. I take classes and also use DVDs. The book complements those things well. I've had a few "a-ha's" while reading through it already.