Notes on a few new reviews: Datura Online, Maria on RAQStv, and Samra

[atisheh]

Fellow dancers, I thought I'd take a post to let you know about a few new reviews on my blog:

Review of Samra's Shimmyrobics:

atisheh: dance and fitness views and reviews: Review of Samra's Shimmyrobics

A review of Maria Sokolova's Project Belly Dance 15-min lesson:

atisheh: dance and fitness views and reviews: Refining the Dance with Maria Sokolova

And notes on three different short videos on Datura Online:

atisheh: dance and fitness views and reviews: Stream(lin)ing my practice with Datura Online

So, one older, and two new -- would love to hear your comments, here or on the blog!

Atisheh

 

[Mosaic]

Great reviews I went on to read The truth about bellydance workout" & enjoyed that as well. I am sure a lot of people will find your reviews very helpful.
~Mosaic

 

[atisheh]

Great reviews I went on to read The truth about bellydance workout" & enjoyed that as well. I am sure a lot of people will find your reviews very helpful.
~Mosaic

Thanks, Mosaic -- that means a lot! I'm always a bit wary about posting these links because I don't want to bother people, especially since OrientalDancer doesn't have a separate reviews folder in the forum. But every now and then someone does find one useful, or it starts a conversation, so that motivates me.

Would love to hear your comments on the posts too. Nobody gives me comment love.

 

[Mosaic]

Thanks, Mosaic -- that means a lot! I'm always a bit wary about posting these links because I don't want to bother people, especially since OrientalDancer doesn't have a separate reviews folder in the forum. But every now and then someone does find one useful, or it starts a conversation, so that motivates me.

Would love to hear your comments on the posts too. Nobody gives me comment love.

Do you mean comment on your blog?

I took a look at the Datura site as I hadn't heard of it until you mentioned it. Personally I think it is a little expensive at $35 a month - that is $280 for an 8 week term. You'd have to be terribly motivated to set aside several hours a week to benefit from such an expense. I pay $170 for an 8 week term (1.5hrs per class), and am much more motivated to go to a physical class that watch online especially when I can't always guarantee a stable internet connection unfortunately. Maybe paying as you go would work better for some people. Overall I think I'd rather purchase several DVDs and know I can use them at anytime.
~Mosaic

 

[atisheh]

Yes, I meant comment on the blog. It's lonely. I check my stats, so I know people do read it, but it often feels like talking into air!

I think $35/month, month after month, *is* expensive. It seems to be in line with what some of the other subscription services (like Suhaila's) are offering, but you do have to be motivated to really use it. I'll say a few things on the topic:

1. My own preference is for live class, then videos I own. I do like to own. I'm a slow learner, the kind of person who's not super-talented at picking things up fast, and so I like to be able to repeat even the basics.

2. My contact at Datura tells me they're going to come up with another subscription option soon, but I don't know anything about it yet.

3. I've been trying to do a Sedona Soulfire class for half a week now, and always failing because of my internet connection or something. It's so frustrating, especially since the warmup is really good!

4. I like the Datura interface enough that I've thought about springing for the occasional month every now and then and just trying to use it as much as possible. (Their default subscription mode is a month at a time.) And even though I'm not super into tribal/TF, I like the quality of the videos, I like that they have yoga and stuff like that, and I like that they make it easy to search for, say, instruction on shimmies or just a basic warmup. If I get my internet issues sorted out I will.

5. That said, I also like some of the material enough that I really wish I could just buy it, and use it whenever I want to! But I guess that's not their business model...

 

[atisheh]

You know who I think these streaming programs are useful for? People who travel a lot, but are disciplined about their dancing and want to have an easy way to practice. When I was at home for the holidays I found it cool that I could use a RAQStv rental on any computer, and I used my mom's large-screen desktop instead of my own puny laptop to do the video. I can imagine that if you're always mobile, and you don't know exactly what you'll want to work on, it's easier to have access to thirty videos or so online than to bring along DVDs.

 

[Mosaic]

I do like the Datura interface it is very easy to navigate. I would hate to access something like that on a small screen or a phone, I know for a fact I just wouldn't.

I am sure there are dancers who would find being able to take out a months subscription every now & then ideal, especially if they don't have access to classes. I would love to be able to literally buy & download some of the videos, it would be great to be able to have the ones you are drawn too permanently At least online classes are a great option... the BD world is expanding and I like that
~Mosaic

 

[atisheh]

Yeah, like the workshop on 3/4 shimmies... that's something I can't just do once and drop.

I have a friend who's a huge bd fanatic and lives in India. She's bought a ton of DVDs, but some producers actually will not ship to India. (I don't know if it's a problem with intl shipping or if they're afraid of piracy.) For her that would make sense, especially if she wanted to do it right away. And then a lot of countries have unreliable postal systems. (I'm living in one right now, and it's otherwise very first world!) But given that, I'd also rather buy a download, have it immediately, and be able to go back to it often if I want.

 

[Darshiva]

Datura keeps emailing me and asking me to sign up as a teacher, but I have to pay them to do it and I'm not entirely fussed on the idea of online lessons as it is (I offer skype lessons on my website and I'm hearing an awful lot of crickets and cicadas regarding that! ) And given what Mosaic said, I think I know why.

I'm glad that some people find it a rewarding experience as teacher and student, but it's really not for little ol' small-timer me.