What instructional DVDs/Videos you have?

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

$200 !!!!!!! Wow!! Is that because of shipping, or taxes or exchange rates, or what? That's CRAZY!!!!!

Well good heavens, be sure and ask me if you're planning on buying a dvd -- I have over 300 bellydance related videos and I can probably steer you in the direction you want to go. Or if not, I have a friend who has all the dvds I don't already have, and she can probably tell you about it.

 

[Mya]

well it's a combination of exchange rates and shipping.
our exchange rate is roughly 6.2 TTD : 1 USD so once a dvd hits $30 I'm paying $180 just for that and then maybe another 5 US for shipping (= 30 TTD) taking me to $210 TTD and then i have duty when it comes into the country and of course the shipping cost from my sky box in Miami - another 20 US roughly - that takes me to what $330 or thereabouts!

like i said - for people here, dance is a real investment - that's why i try to make as much of it as possible available to my students for the least cost.

 

[jenc]

I have Michelle Joyce - "Pops, Locks and Something. I have Jenna and sonia drum solos but I'm new to doing combinations, also hadn't done any pops or locks in whole year of classes, and it takes me too long to get what to do. Michelle drills each combo. Also fiendish hip bumps warm-up. On one leg!! I really like this but am taking it real slow.

 

[jenc]

please tell me about sizzlin hips i have sizzlin torso. much of it is beyond me (for now at least) and am currently not sure whether or not ~I will ever want to do a diagonal camel - tho you never know!!!
On the other hand, everything else I have on hips is American style eg sharp, percussive and i thought i would like something on fluid hips. I think Ava Fleming in general a bit too balletic but I like the way her hips move
Jen

 

[Reen.Blom]

well it's a combination of exchange rates and shipping.
our exchange rate is roughly 6.2 TTD : 1 USD so once a dvd hits $30 I'm paying $180 just for that and then maybe another 5 US for shipping (= 30 TTD) taking me to $210 TTD and then i have duty when it comes into the country and of course the shipping cost from my sky box in Miami - another 20 US roughly - that takes me to what $330 or thereabouts!

like i said - for people here, dance is a real investment - that's why i try to make as much of it as possible available to my students for the least cost.

Yep same story with me..... grrrrr and then pray that after all that the post office did not pinch the disc!

 

[Missybell]

Thank you all so much for the great reviews. I'm so sorry to hear of the trouble a few of you have in getting your DVDs. I'm quite lucky in that I can take weekly classes for most of the year and possibly more if I wanted. Right now I'd like to supplement my classes with some guided home practice.

The only DVD I have so far is Rachel Brice Arms & Posture and I don't know that I could really add anything to the excellent reviews so far. I'm beginner-intermediate but haven't done any Tribal, I absolutely love watching Rachel and made my boyfriend sit through a few YouTube clips of her so he got me this for Christmas. I think at the moment it's slightly beyond me in that focusing on just arms and shoulders is a bit too narrow to do regularly. I have gone through it once and really appreciate the effort that has gone into making this DVD. The exercises, teaching of movements & combination are all thorough and for the most part easy to follow but my arms felt like they might drop off This will certainly be used now and then to improve my arms but I'm looking for something a little more general.

I think the biggest help for me would be to work on flexibility and isolation so I'm looking at getting "Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah" especially after all the great reviews it's received here. I'm also considering Rachel Brice's "Tribal Fusion - Yoga Isolations & Drills for Bellydance". Also "Bellydance Basics and Beyond: Technique for a Solid Foundation" by Jenna seems to be so highly recommended here I'm now quite interested.

My question for everyone here would be would you recommend any one of these over the others & why? In particular how much different/extra would be gained by getting the Rachel Brice DVD with the Ariellah DVD? I'll probably get them all at some point but if not all now then which should I prioritise?

Another slight issue is getting them in the correct format (Region 4 for Aus)... Ariellah's DVD on Amazon is region free (perfect), though if that's all I get I'd love to support the store associated with this site and get it from here if it were in a format I can use. Ultimately I can get around it if need be but just prefer the correct format if possible.

Thanks all again for the great reviews and your help!

 

[Missybell]

Ok so I've just watched the trailers for a couple of Jenna's DVDs and have totally fallen in love with her personality, she seems so sweet and the instruction looks great. She looks a bit like nelly furtado with her hair back to Ah... what a dilemma...

 

[jenc]

I have 3 of Jenna's dvds. They are region-free, and are among the tops for sheer amount of stuff crammed in. I am still using "Basics and Beyond" to review basic moves and also have just started to learn the practise routines, which I had previously neglected as they are very good for switching from one movement to another (transitions). Her style is cabaret, so she doesn't teach Egyptian style fluidity, but as you like tribal, the basics are more or less the same.........well I think so, correct me if I'm wrong someone.
Have just bought then new one Turns and Transitions, again loads of stuff there to work through, or to dip into for revision.
I also have Ariellah, which I like and would probably like more if I were tribal. She covers arms quite well in that, probably easier than RBrice. Similar heavy drilling style to weird music "Rain of Blood"!!
I hated the Rachel Brice, mine was faulty. you need to be able or prepared to do quite energetic yoga moves without much instruction. The Bellydance instruction was quite brief. Ariellah is better, but I'm not a RB Tribal fan.
One thing you can do is log on to Amazon.com, the American site to check out reviews. I always do this before seeing if I can buy dvd in UK. There are way more dvds featured and more reviews, although you should also look at who is revewing. Some reviews talk about whether its a good workout and also it appears that they don't actually do BD.

 

[Missybell]

Thanks for the reply, it's really helpful. I think I'm going to go for Ariellah and probably Jenna's basics - my classes are for the most part cabaret style and I do like the precision popping of tribal so those two should work out well, also because both are region free and I don't have to worry about them not working.

Rachel Brice's stuff can seem a bit intimidating and full on, there seems to be quite a bit of polarity as to how people feel about her style, I find it nice to watch but very technical to follow, it's something I'm sure I'll work up to. As for wacky music, doesn't worry me... I listen to metal, heavy rock etc and some of that is a bit of a trip, I create bits of dances to Nine Inch Nails in my head and practice to whatever I'm listening to at the time, it all has a pretty strong beat

I have been reading reviews here and on amazon, and you're right people's opinions differ depending on what they're looking to get out of the DVDs. From what I've read these 2 should do the trick of reinforcing technique and guiding me through practice to supplement my classes.

 

[Reen.Blom]

Hey Missybel! The Jenna's DVDs are my favourites! If you want basic moves systematicly explained her Basics and Beyond is the DVD for you. She explains the "mechanics" of every move so well, so If I ever doubt how to execute a certain move its a DVD to look it up! And like Jenc I have recently started with the short drills on that DVD and I love them! It is a recap on the learnt moves, so great for developinbg muscule memory!

I bought twice from Jenna's website and the service was lightning fast and personal! (I asked her to sign the DVD and she did, I told already in detail in this thread that she sent me a replacement for the stolen one for free, which I find very sweet of her!)

Ariellah's DVD is great for gaining muscule strength and flexibility- a lot of material, welol shown well paced and it does help again with the muscule memory thing! (bought it from Salome's store here and it also was fast and personal!)

In a word, these 2 DVDs are my favourites!(Also Heartbeat!)

Hope that helps

*hug*

 

[Missybell]

Thanks Reen.Blom, couldn't ask for a better reply... I'm hoping to purchase these DVDs from the same sites you did unless other family members want Amazon stuff as well.

Thanks all

 

[Missybell]

Argh the suspense is killing me, I ordered my DVDs a couple days ago and can't wait to get them, I'm itching to to get drilling.

 

[jenc]

Review of Drills, Drills, Drills by Michelle Joyce

this dvd is designed to start you on the process of layering, not by teaching individual combinations, or a choreography, but by exercising your muscle memory. It starts with strenghthening (killer) exercises, including glutes (see 2 sepatate threads).
after that you practice various basic moves eg hip up, hip down, hip square, ommi, maya etc - poss more, going to the right and left, changing leading hip. first practice is over a simple foot and arm pattern, then over a grapevine. you then learn 3 simple zill patterns and use these 2 create a further layer. I had always said I was not interested in learning zils, but I like this aspect of using them as a brain trainer.
This is difficult to get because you are not combining 2 movements, but 2, 3 or 4 patterns. V challenging.

Next there is practice of 3/4 shimmies with hip up, then hip down.

after that shimmy practice, agai with arm and leg movements.

Finally, there is a choreography of the patterns learnt, not because any of them are worth dancing as such, but to practice the skill of learning a choreography, and of switching between patterns.
I did some of this last night, but some of the time I just slumped on settee in awe. There is plenty of content to keep me happy for months. It addresses my problem of not being able to co-ordinate my feet with the rest of me, for example, I can do all sorts of complicated things with the rest of my body, whilst falling over myown feet. :lol:

YouTube - Drills! Drills! Drills! - belly dance DVD trailer

I also have her Pop, Lock and Shimmy which I may have already reviewed. This teaches a drum solo by way of drills, although I think Drills, Drills, Drills will be more useful to any style dancer as it is more general. plenty to work on in both dvds though, and they are both in my top favourites for working on.

YouTube - Pop, Lock and Shimmy - Drum Solo Technique and Choreography

Also check out Secrets of the Stage, which is on my wish list for later

the website is Belly Dance DVDs - Cheeky Girls Productions

 

[Reen.Blom]

Review of Drills, Drills, Drills by Michelle Joyce

this dvd is designed to start you on the process of layering, not by teaching individual combinations, or a choreography, but by exercising your muscle memory. It starts with strenghthening (killer) exercises, including glutes (see 2 sepatate threads).
after that you practice various basic moves eg hip up, hip down, hip square, ommi, maya etc - poss more, going to the right and left, changing leading hip. first practice is over a simple foot and arm pattern, then over a grapevine. you then learn 3 simple zill patterns and use these 2 create a further layer. I had always said I was not interested in learning zils, but I like this aspect of using them as a brain trainer.
This is difficult to get because you are not combining 2 movements, but 2, 3 or 4 patterns. V challenging.

Next there is practice of 3/4 shimmies with hip up, then hip down.

after that shimmy practice, agai with arm and leg movements.

Finally, there is a choreography of the patterns learnt, not because any of them are worth dancing as such, but to practice the skill of learning a choreography, and of switching between patterns.
I did some of this last night, but some of the time I just slumped on settee in awe. There is plenty of content to keep me happy for months. It addresses my problem of not being able to co-ordinate my feet with the rest of me, for example, I can do all sorts of complicated things with the rest of my body, whilst falling over myown feet. :lol:

YouTube - Drills! Drills! Drills! - belly dance DVD trailer

I also have her Pop, Lock and Shimmy which I may have already reviewed. This teaches a drum solo by way of drills, although I think Drills, Drills, Drills will be more useful to any style dancer as it is more general. plenty to work on in both dvds though, and they are both in my top favourites for working on.

YouTube - Pop, Lock and Shimmy - Drum Solo Technique and Choreography

Also check out Secrets of the Stage, which is on my wish list for later

the website is Belly Dance DVDs - Cheeky Girls Productions

Thank you so much for review! It just looks like a DVD I would like.... It just could be my next one..... very tempting! Also link to the site is Quite useful, interesting discs!

**hug**

 

[*leila*]

Thank you all so much for these reviews, I will be having my first lesson on tuesdy, but thought i would invest in a few DVD's for me to practice, during the week. I love to dance, but have not done any structured kind of dance, and i cant wait to get into these, I just ordered the following off amazon, based on your reviews, I have put off ordering any for a long while because i didnto wantto just orde rany old DVD,


The Art of the Drum Solo With Sonia & Issam


Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning

The Heartbeat Of Bellydance

Bellydance: The Next Level with Jenna

i cant wait to get them, I know some are way past beginners, but I would still love to give them ago eventually, plus I am so enthused just now lol

 

[jenc]

If you are only just starting I strongly recommend that you get the first Jenna Beyond Basic Dance - I still use this regularly after 18 months dancing, still haven't got all of it down and am only just starting on the others you mention.
The next Level is intended for dancers of 18 months to 2 years experience and I am finding it difficult, so am still only doing a little bit each day.
all the dvds you mention are very good but you may not be able to do much with them for a while. I got some of them after a year and was a little taken aback to find I couldn't do them straight away.
Good luck with your new class, which one are you going for?

 

[*leila*]

If you are only just starting I strongly recommend that you get the first Jenna Beyond Basic Dance - I still use this regularly after 18 months dancing, still haven't got all of it down and am only just starting on the others you mention.
The next Level is intended for dancers of 18 months to 2 years experience and I am finding it difficult, so am still only doing a little bit each day.
all the dvds you mention are very good but you may not be able to do much with them for a while. I got some of them after a year and was a little taken aback to find I couldn't do them straight away.
Good luck with your new class, which one are you going for?

Thank you for the advice, yes i figured the others were a little too advanced , but when i get into something i go at it all guns blazing lol. I have decided t go with the class which is more established.

 

[jenc]

I would also like to review Sensual Bellydance by Blanca. I think I have seen someone somewhere (Ayizade?)say how much they like it, but I thought it should be reviewed here.
Having done a lot of drilling to get clean isolations, I was very pleased to get this dvd as it teaches how to move the whole body around your isolation, if that makes sense. in other words how to gently flow like a wave. you learn a choreography, but you also go over the moves in detail, once t learn, once to improve the flow, once upper body, once lower body. Well you choose the emphasis. The chorography is a nice flamenco influenced one, and the whole thing puts you back together if you have been drilling too hard!

 

[jenc]

Could anyone give me advice on which Shareen al Safry to get?. I've been dancing about 18 months

 

[teela]

only one of her DVD versions is chaptered. So most you have to go through like you would a video. The thing about her material is that its very informational and about 2 hours long. As she teaches the choreography she teaches the moves, tells you where she got them, etc. I find them to be worth having. As to which one? I don't know, I like all that i've gotten.