Jenna's belly dance basics and beyond plus Sadie's complete belly dance guide

[Ahava_Melantha]

I was wondering if anyone here has this or has used this before?

I am considering buying it and am wondering if it would be worth it.

any ideas ladies?

I was considering buying this dvd. I wanted to know if anyone else here has tried this dvd?

i'm not a pure beginner, i'm more beginner-intermediate but going back to master the basics. I'm just now returning to learning, and drill sessions, etc.

any ideas ladies?

would this be worth the effort?

 

[Mosaic]

Please check out this sticky thread first permanently stuck thread in the Instructors & Students forum http://www.bellydanceforums.net/instructors-students/14593-instructional-dvds.html there is lots of info on DVDs there. Also do search the forums for info before creating threads and somewhere you are quite likely to find answers to your questions.

Here are 2 more threads that may help
http://www.bellydanceforums.net/other-dance-stuff/13946-whats-so-great-about-ranya-renee-2.html

http://www.bellydanceforums.net/oth...-belly-dancing-instructional-videos-good.html
~Mosaic

I was considering buying this dvd. I wanted to know if anyone else here has tried this dvd?

i'm not a pure beginner, i'm more beginner-intermediate but going back to master the basics. I'm just now returning to learning, and drill sessions, etc.

any ideas ladies?

would this be worth the effort?

I have joined this thread with your Jenna thread as the subject matter is the same and I have pointed you to threads that may have answers to your questions
~Mosaic

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

i already tried the search function for both dvds and didn't have much luck.

 

[Mosaic]

Personally you can't go far wrong with just about any of the DVDs from Cheeky Girls productions and they are very reasonably priced
DVDs by Category :: Cheeky Girls Productions
Also World Dance New York has a great selection
http://www.worlddancenewyork-worldwide.com/catalog/bellydance also good pricing

I don't have Jenna's DVDs but have heard they are good, Sadies seem to be over the top technical. from what i have heard and seen snippets of I wouldn't buy them. Ranya Renee, IMO is a beautiful dancer and her DVDs are great teaching tools. Ranya is one of those gorgeous gooey dancers that tell the story of the music through dance.

two more forum links:
2nd post specific to Jenna http://www.bellydanceforums.net/im-searching/6146-any-instructional-videos-start.html

Dancers opinions on various DVDs http://www.bellydanceforums.net/ins...-what-instructional-dvds-videos-you-have.html
~Mosaic

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

thank you so much. u r a good wealth of information. I have jenna's heartbeat of belly dance. awesome. I've been working on it for months, and I'm still learning A LOT from that dvd. shes clean. no messy choreography. very much the beauty of simplicity. some ppl may not be overly impressed because the choreography isn't a lot, like some of jillina's stuff or anything, but its very pretty.

thanx so much for the advice. I'm always looking for improvement. I think i'll stick with the basics for now - I have ranya renees beledi dvds. I would eventually like to explore tribal, khaleegy, cane dancing, turkish, veils, shimmy dvds, etc.

yeah . . . i'll be busy, lol.

 

[Sirène]

I have Sadie's Complete Bellydancing Guide. It's not my favorite dvd (I've got a lot of them) but it has some great elements: she does an extensive warm-up and really drills movements for extended periods.

I saw in another thread that you have her Drum Solo DVD. It's great but if you're still mastering the basics I would leave it on the shelf for a while. I think Jillina's Instructional choreographies are a better choice for early on when you've progressed past the pure movement breakdowns and the follow-along workouts.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

thanx sirene. yes, this next month i plan on getting jennas basic and beyone, the next step (or something like that) and then sadie's complete guide to belly dance.

and I was thinking maybe neena and veena for my friend, or just for a day when i'm feelin blah but want SOME movement going on.

thanx so much.

 

[Sirène]

Ranya Renee, IMO is a beautiful dancer and her DVDs are great teaching tools. Ranya is one of those gorgeous gooey dancers that tell the story of the music through dance.

I agree with you about Ranya Renee's dvds being fabulous and unique teaching tools. I own her Bellydance Egyptian Style - The Baladi - 2-DVD Set and her Bellydance Taqasim - Improvisation Skills & Drills dvd and I love all the Middle Eastern music theory she includes and her emphasis on learning to interpret the music when dancing. That said, I would hesitate to recommend them to a complete beginner, unless that person was also interested in traditional ME music. A lot of time on the dvds is dedicated to talking with the musicians and discussing their instruments and the rhythms in depth. I fear that can be off-putting to someone new who just wants to dance, dance, dance and prefers more modern ME music (i.e. Turbo Tabla, etc).

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

its a good thing i'm not a complete beginner. I had to not do them and now I think i'm ready for it. before - I fell asleep when she went over the rythms. my husband apparently thought that was insanely funny, especialy since he doesn't like bd. oh well.

now i'm more ready. she has a lot of passion for the dance. and one thing i like is how ppl think because shes not choreographed and all that shes not that technical or skilled. she really is. its just a completely diff way of dancing.

 

[shiradotnet]

thanx sirene. yes, this next month i plan on getting jennas basic and beyone, the next step (or something like that) and then sadie's complete guide to belly dance.

You said on a different thread that you don't particularly like Sadie's style as a performer. So, why would you buy her DVD then? Why not buy a DVD by someone whose style you actually like?

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

maybe I will do such that. thanx.

 

[Bellydance Oz]

I have Sadie's Complete guide. It's really thorough, and I enjoyed it the first time - but I find I'm not using it because it doesn't have a version which runs through all the drills without the explanations, so you can use it as a regular practice session. My DVD remote control is temperamental, so it's too annoying to try to fast-forward through the instructions at the start of each drill.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

okay thanx. I appreciate the advice. I'm still awaiting jennas new dvds. plus ruby totally turkish. and I will NOT buy any more bd dvds until i've mastered the ones i'm doing right now, lol.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

i got Jenna's dvds. i've only done the instructional so far. everything mostly is like review for me, but I DID learn a couple of new things. can't wait to try the practice session. and her dance at the end is cute. i'll let you know more tomorrow.

okay, I just got done doing the practice session. She DOES not teach you the choregraphy for this little piece. its not really "to die for" but its easy enough to learn w/o instruction.

its great. her cues are off a little bit. shes is sometimes off on giving cues and doesn't give enough practice for certain steps. but thers also rewind, lol.

she goes a bit faster so i guess it'll take a while to master this dvd. i know here other one did. but just to let you know.