Are my Tribal Fusion DVDs for beginners?

M

moppy

New member
Hi all!

I'm brand new to belly dancing and I have just been bequeathed (not through death, just change of career) some tribal fusion DVDs, listed below.

Has anyone used these? Which ones are suitable for beginners? I am a ballroom dance instructor, so am very conscious about being exposed to technique I'm not ready for. I want to start firmly at the beginning.

Belly Dance Hip Hop Liquid Fusion w/ Anasma
Serpentine Belly dance w/ Rachel Brice
Belly dance Superstars Tribal Fusion Fundamentals

I'm also working with Belly dance basics and beyond w/ Jenna, which I love!!

Thanks, Moppy
 
Amanda (was Aziyade)

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
Tribal Fusion is a blend of different dance forms. You really should start with the tribal instructional dvds before you try to move into tribal fusion. It doesn't really work otherwise, and looks very stiff and samey-samey.

The classic standard is Fat Chance Bellydance volume 1. In that you should have the best start to any kind of "fusion" you want to try later. ALL the ladies in those fusion dvds have had years of experience with the other dance forms they are fusing. A proper Oriental class would be your best bet -- because it's easier to learn Oriental and then move into Tribal (in my opinion) because you will have the foundation of what belly dance is all about, musically.
 
Yame

Yame

New member
Rachel Brice's Drills & Yoga DVD is a great beginner tribal fusion DVD. It's the first DVD I ever owned, before I even started taking belly dance classes, and it really helped me get a head start.
 
goddessyasaman

goddessyasaman

New member
moppy said:
Hi all!

I'm brand new to belly dancing and I have just been bequeathed (not through death, just change of career) some tribal fusion DVDs, listed below.

Has anyone used these? Which ones are suitable for beginners? I am a ballroom dance instructor, so am very conscious about being exposed to technique I'm not ready for. I want to start firmly at the beginning.

Belly Dance Hip Hop Liquid Fusion w/ Anasma
Serpentine Belly dance w/ Rachel Brice
Belly dance Superstars Tribal Fusion Fundamentals

I'm also working with Belly dance basics and beyond w/ Jenna, which I love!!

Thanks, Moppy
Click to expand...


Hello Moppy, I own all three of these dvd's, I would not say that they are for beginners but everyone is different, not saying that you should not use them but take it slow, like if you can't do a move from these in a few months don't give up, If you are going more towards the Tribal fusion area then you may want to get some instruction in American tribal style first as this will help you in this style and I would also say to get yourself into beginner yoga as well, this will help in the flexibilty part which helps in all styles of belly dance.

I have studied tribal fusion as well but I was trained in ATS and a few other styles first which moved me into tribal fusion much smoother then if I had not. But thats because I was interested in other styles before I ever knew of Tribal fusion, so we come to you as I have said you should use these and also get ATS instruction for a base here is a link t a DvD that I found good.

and Good luck to you:D

Amazon.com: American Tribal Style Basics - Belly Dance Instruction: Movies & TV
 
LilithNoor

LilithNoor

New member
I've only used one of those, but based on the titles I'd advise starting with the BDSS one if you're not going to buy any other dvds, otherwise as others have said FatChance Bellydance is the best starting point for Tribal- I think you need a grounding in basic tribal moves before you move on to fusion.

Definitely save Serpentine until you're a little more advanced- Rachel Brice is amazing but you won't get the full benefits of her teaching until you've got some experience in basic moves. Also by the end of one of her workouts you won't be able to move your arms for a week!
 
Reen.Blom

Reen.Blom

New member
I would vote Ariellah's DVD at any time, but of those you have:

Anasma's is more advanced I believe. Rachel's is nice too, but might be too fast paced for a newbie. Fundamental's DVD is ok for beginner. :)
 
M

moppy

New member
Wow!!

Thanks for all your responses - you really helped be decide where I go from here. I've been a ballroom dancer since I was a kid, so it's sometimes hard to remember what it was like when I didn't know the dance culture and belly dancing totally reminded me of that - in a good way! I had no idea where to begin and did not realize that Tribal Fusion included elements of the very defined American Tribal Style.

I stayed up late last night researching all the different types of belly dancing. I am a great believer in learning the rules before breaking them and so have settled on American Tribal to begin. I am quite fascinated by the style and its creation.

The great thing is I live in the bay area, so I'm off to my first class at Fat Chance Belly Dance next week! The bad news is I'm moving to Florida in the fall, so I've got to get as much belly dance in as possible over the summer. Does anyone know if they offer private lessons?

Thanks again!
 
M

moppy

New member
goddessyasaman said:
Amazon.com: American Tribal Style Basics - Belly Dance Instruction: Movies & TV
Click to expand...

I have that! Sweet!

A friend of mine is an ice skater who loves to belly dance on the side. But she's decided to commit completely to skating and give up dancing :( which means a bunch of DVDs for me :dance:

I'm going to start with the DVD before class next week. I'm excited to discover a style that has a sort of "syllabus" from the creators of the original form. Most of the inventors of ballroom dances are dead!!
 
LilithNoor

LilithNoor

New member
The great thing is I live in the bay area, so I'm off to my first class at Fat Chance Belly Dance next week!
Click to expand...

Wow, jammy luck for you!

You'll probably find a thriving dance community when you move to Florida, too- Bellydance crops up in the strangest of places!
 
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