Jillina's new dvds -- first (not so brief) thoughts

[aziyade]

First brief impression of Jillina's newest dvds = thumbs up!

There are 4 dvds: A fitness/workout dvd and 3 choreography and technique dvds. Let's start with the 3 volumes of choreography, and then discuss each one individually.



STRUCTURE:
These are organized much like the first 3 dvds were -- introduction, warmup, technique, combinations, choreography, cool down, performance -- and a bonus "behind the scenes" clip of Jillina being Jillina :)

with one KEY exception:

EVERYTHING IS CHAPTERED !!!!!!!!! YAYYY !!!!!!

No more rewinding through the entire list of combinations to find the one you need to work on :) In the technique and combo and choreography sections, not only is each part chaptered, but you have a chapter for the instruction, and a separate chapter for the practice of the instruction -- the drills. You ALSO have the ability to "play all" of either the instructional chapters or the practice/drill chapters together in one session.

THANK YOU!

She teaches the technique sections filmed from in front (with cuts to focus on various body parts), and the combos and choreography filmed in front of a mirror.

The filming is good. For the most part it stays in one place, and only really cuts away to show the movement from a different angle. Lighting is good. Sound is good. The stage is littered with the usual stuff -- but that doesn't bother me, and it doesn't get in the way of the instruction. She teaches in basic practice clothes.

As before, she modifies each of the combos to create a choreography out of them, but the combos can stand alone. And they're cute :)


CONTENT:

I did not watch the warmup and cooldowns on any of the dvds. Sorry! It was my turn to cook last night, and I didn't have time.

The instructional content on these dvds is a bit of the same and a bit of different stuff from her previous dvds, but there's a different approach. Each step that is taught is practiced in the "drill" section in several different ways, at different speeds and with different orientations, AND with different footwork patterns -- to show you variations on how that step can be accomplished. I like that idea.

I didn't list each move taught on each dvd -- sorry! But some things you'll recognize from previous dvds (like the umi) and some things I don't remember seeing.

One curious addition is the first step taught -- a hip drop. I was puzzled as to why she would have such a simple and primary step as the first thing taught -- but now I have a theory. We'll come back to that.

[aziyade]

MARKETED TOWARDS DANCERS WHO ARE...

I think, for the most part, these are more advanced dvds than the previous trilogy. NONE of the choreographies are as basic as the Alf Leyla Wa Leyla choreo from her first dvd, and I'll go out on a limb and say the choreographies are pretty complicated.

I do not think a first month beginner would like these dvds. I hate to resort to labels, but I think maybe these are more intermediate level? Some may say even advanced level!

The combinations are a bit longer than the ones in her previous dvds. I watched all the combinations for DVD 1 and thought a few were pretty easy, and others pretty darn complex! So don't assume volume 1 is the "Beginner" level.

Back to teaching of the hip drop -- Why teach such a basic step on a dvd that features a really complex choreography? I think what she might have been trying to do here is create a dvd that new dancers can "work up through."

If you've had a few months of classes, you can start with volume 1, and if you take it step by step SLOWLY, you can work your way up to a very nice and complicated choreography. But it is going to take PATIENCE. There is a LOT of stuff on these dvds. You have a LOT of material to work with.

Intermediate level dancers can MAYBE skip the instruction section and just work with the practice/drill section to get new ideas for old steps. Advanced dancers might jump right to the combinations section, although the steps taught on volume 2 are different - a couple of them I hadn't seen broken down before. I really like some of the variations she does with them. So advanced dancers -- give that technique section a look-see before moving on.

[aziyade]

THE CHOREOS:

All the choreos are original, and the music for each one is on the CD "Bellydance with Jillina."


VOLUME 1
Volume one is an Entrance Choreography -- done to "Ancient Ruins," a song that sounds very similar in style to the "Entrance of the Stars" of the BDSS show. (Same composer).

This isn't your grandmother's entrance music.

This is HIGH POWER and BIG entrance music. This is BDSS style entrance. "Wham Bam Here I Am" kind of music. That's not a criticism because I like the piece. But it is high power and fast and has that underlying western sort of beat going on. If you can't stand that kind of music, or Paul Dinletir's music in general, then you probably won't like this piece.

The choreography is fast at times, and dramatic throughout. I like it, but it's VERY Jillina-style. That's not a bad thing, but if you're looking for laid-back and relaxed Egyptian styling, you won't find it here.

Personally I think Jillina leaves enough room in her choreographies for personalization -- and of course she tells you in the intro to make the dance your own. If you perform it exactly as she teaches it, it might look a bit flat. But there are MANY MANY places where a more advanced dancer could add some personal upper body expression. Jillina gives you a skeleton, and you add the flesh to it.


VOLUME 2
This one is advertised as a Lebanese pop choreography, done to Shady Sayegh's "Ya Hawa."

Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert on Lebanese STYLE belly dance. And I may be wrong in my assessment here.

I do not think this is a Lebanese STYLE choreography. (Correct me if I'm wrong, oh wise ones out there.) I think it is simply a regular choreography done to a Lebanese song.

In the intro, Jillina explains what the song is about, and asks you think about the emotional response to the song. She does not mention anything about Lebanese "STYLE" dancing, and how it differs from Modern Egyptian or Classical Egyptian, so that's why I'm assuming she didn't create this dvd as a crash course in Lebanese STYLE dancing.

If you're looking for an introduction to Lebanese STYLE dancing, you may want to look elsewhere.

This song is soulful and more relaxed than the entrance choreography. It's very easy to get into the feel of the music, and while I think the combinations and choreography would be difficult to execute properly in performance, they're not terribly difficult to learn. Less advanced dancers MIGHT want to start with this one, since the music is a bit slower.

[aziyade]

VOLUME 3
Drum solo time! This is a 3:31 drum solo that is practically ALL layered shimmies :) Be afraid! LOL.

Seriously, this is a VERY modern drum solo -- think lots of tick tock pops and locks and shimmies over everything. This looks NOTHING like the drum solo from her IAMED video. It's a long and technically pretty difficult piece, but I would imagine if you worked your way through this, your technique would be SO precise and tight!

I don't really have a lot to say about this piece, because this dvd was the last one I watched and I was really tired !


PERFORMANCES:
Each dvd has a couple of performances on it, one of the choreography and one of something else. The performance filming is ... well, it's typical of Arab concerts. Pan away during the little intricate stuff, focus on the audience for a while, come back and watch the dancer for a little while. Alternate cuts here and there. BLECH. But typical.

We get the Monkey-cam and quick cutting, and some rather bad lighting at times. These performances are filmed at what looks like a large auditorium, instead of the intimate coffee-shop feel of the first set of dvds.

There are some CUTE performances, including one of Jillina doing an interesting take on the goblet dance -- she's dancing on the head of a Doumbek! The filming was off-putting to me, but I'm old and I like things to stand still.

All in all, I like these dvds and can see them having quite a bit of "air time" in my dvd player. I'm pleased with quality and quantity of material on each dvd and think the price is fair for what you get.

I'll review her workout video in another post. Thanks for trudging through all this! If you have any specific questions, please post them and I'll try to be more specific for you once I've had a chance to really sit down and WATCH these without also watching the stove.

:O

[aziyade]

"Shape Up n' Hip Out" (the workout/fitness dvd)

I watched a bit of this one, and it looks like a REALLY good option for people wanting drills.

There are 3 sections: slow moves, faster moves, and REALLY fast moves, and each section is about 18 minutes long.

The great part about these is that each section is structured with enough repetition that they can be used as a personal drill. The 3rd section might also be an effective cardio workout! I'll try it this weekend.

I watched this from the comfort of my kitchen, but I followed along a little bit. Each "workout" will definitely work your muscles. The music is all original compositions by Paul Dinletir, and the music itself MAKES you want to dance along with it. It's not just the same boring drum beat over and over again.

Jillina does the workout with some of her students, facing the camera.

The one thing I wondered about -- and maybe I missed that chapter -- but there does NOT seem to be any instructional section on this dvd. Let me double check that first.

The workouts are pure workout -- she doesn't stop the momentum to teach a step. But on the fastest "turbo hips" she uses the Hagallah shimmy, and I think this would be a tough step to figure out if you hadn't seen this taught on her other dvds.

There are a BUNCH of performances on this dvd -- some by Jillina and some by her students, I assume? I look forward to watching all of these.

I think this one might also stay in my dvd player a while, especially if that last workout gets my heart rate up high enough!

:) Amanda

[Zana]

Amanda, this is fantastic. You've told me exactly what I want to know before purchasing. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to think it through and write it up!

Sounds like this one is well worth the money.

Best,
Suzana

[Zana]

(cross-posted to the other thread)

Has anyone successfully used PayPal to order through Jillinashop? It's offered as an option now, but I keep getting an error message in the very last step of the process. So frustrating!

[Queenie]

Tried to order the special offer set through Jillinashop... $72 international s&h. Wow.

[mekyria]

I've used creditcard. Queenie, for free shipping select 'in store pick-up. They'll ship it to you for free, but maybe this was the only way to let the system not charge shipping cost.

[Queenie]

Originally Posted by mekyria

Queenie, for free shipping select 'in store pick-up. They'll ship it to you for free, but maybe this was the only way to let the system not charge shipping cost.

I'm afraid not - I selected the "Special offer free shipping" option and it said the special offer is not available for my location... Afraid to select the pick-up, wouldn't want the extra charge without my consent...

[mekyria]

My dvd's arrived! I did shape up n'hip oiut and wrote a rather lengthy review of it in my personal blog. Here it is:

I love the chapters too. Even better: the music cd's with the music used in the dvd has the tracknames on th cd itself too. Perfect for those of us who drag a cdthingie with 'm to class but leave the cases at home.

Getting started
The warming up is very jillina like, some stretches and moves to gently warm up your legmuscles, spine and arms. Lots of dep breaths, which is continued in the rest of the dvd. The background consists out of draped fabric and I admire the persistence and effort that was obviously needed by creating this colorful and eyepleasing background. Oriental rugs on the floor and cushions and flowers finish the look. Sometimes the background of a dvd is too dark so the dancer disappears, or to bright and colorful so it's distracting from the dancers. This setting however is spot on. Jillina is leading five other dancers through the excercises. All five dancers look great and I liked how all of them have bare bellies. Why? Because they have 'normal sizes' (ranging from 10-14, I estimate) and it's really comforting to see that some moves create unflattering rolls and bulges. They are wearing pants, short tops and lovely hipscarfs in a peacock design, decorated with sequins. If the background was less colorfol, it might have been a bit too dark, but it works really well with this particular background.

Slow & smooth
The first workout is called slow and smooth, but you should not be deceived into thinking that this is a work-out for sultry, slow and sexy smooth moves. There's not much instruction to go on, so I'd recommend getting to learn the basics before starting this dvd. Several basic moves are given in short sequences, then put together into a longer sequence. There is some basic traveling involved (stepping sideways, forward or backwards) but nothing major.

Rhytm Hips
jillina pick's up the pace in this one, but it's still easy to dance along when you're beginner/intermediate. Combinations get a bit sassy, but besides the faster rhythm this is much like the slow and smooth part. It contains both round moves like camels and reversed camels and percussive moves like hipdrops.

[mekyria]

Turbo hips
By the time that I got here, I was feeling a bit tired, but didn't want to quit. Which is also a good description of how Jillina manages to keep you dancing where you would have stopped if you were practicing on your own. Sofar combinations had been pretty basic (though decorated with some very nice arms and celeverly put together). However, it didn't have that Jillina signature all over it. Let's face it, she's a genius when it comes to creating choregraphies and if you would want a basic workout with four hipdrops to the left, four to the right etc. there are a lot of dvd's out there that offer the same content.

However, in the turbo hips part, she manages to incoporate tiny bits of jillina magic that you wouldn't find on other workout dvd's. The moves are slightly more diffcult and most of them are layered over a basic walking step traveling forward, backward and sidewards. More direction changes makes this workout also more interesting to follow and the icing on the cake are several moves that you rarely see in workout video's that offer no explanation. This workout I would rate at intermediate level at least, if you want to keep up with the haggala step and three-step turn with shoulder shimmy. Some of these combinations could be used in your own choreography or dance without much adjustment.

Cooling down
this is also pretty basic, some good stretches including side stretches for the torso and legs, deep breaths and jillina's awareness mantra. It makes you feel refreshed and satisfied. Time to move on to the performances!

Performances
I made it through two and a half performances, then I had to stop because I ran out of time. There are six performances in total, two by Jillina and four by Ahava, Denise, Heather and Louchia. The camera made me feel nauseus at times, by zomming in on an angle then turning to another angle. There's too much editing going on for my taste, often focusing on feet or another bodypart while there's some serious hipaction going on. The second dperformance by jillina is a drum solo where she starts out by doing the first three minutes standing on a darbukka. A creative variation to glass dancing and kind of funny because it's a drum solo, but it would have been nice if there had been lights to illuminate her face/body. The mystic backlight stays on for approximately two and ahalf minutes and I was squinting like crazy to catch a glimps of what she was doing. Not good. The rest of the performance is fine, cute drummer-dancer interaction and jillina's famous layered shimmies. I'll get back to this review once I've seen the rest of the performances.

[mekyria]

Extra's
the behind the scenes footage is nice to see to give you an impreesion of what it was like to be making this dvd. It also showsthat it takes a lot of people on the set for the camera's, light, sound and make-up. I am very impressed with the polish look of this dvd because every bit of it says 'excellent product!'. In my opinion, this is a good work-out if you're not used to a lot of dancing, if you want to practice 20 minutes a day and need a motivating dvd to keep you going.

Do not buy this dvd solely for the performance footage, if you expect to have sweat dripping from your forehead within minutes or if you don't know the basic moves yet. To be continued!

[joanneraks]

Thanks for the wonderfully thorough and helpful reviews!

[Uulady]

Thanks for the really helpful reviews! I will order these. :)

[Bellydancefanatic]

I really love Jillina's charisma and instruction. Big fan here. Thanks for the reviews! I have some of her choreography DVDs ( the one's above) and the Drum solo one. Love them! I actually think the drum solo choreo is easy to follow, once you get the hang of it. I think I'm going to use that choreo for my gig in April.

Again, thanks for taking the time do these reviews!

[Zana]

And hey, Heather at Jillinashop kindly fixed the PayPal glitch, so it works like a charm now.

[lisazahiya]

ooh - thanks for the review - think I'll buy now!