Review of World Dance New York “Love Potion” Bellydance Fitness DVD

Love Potion from World Dance New York is the unofficial sequel to Luscious, a previous entry into the bellydance fitness market with the same instructors: Neon, Blanca and Sarah Skinner . Using American bellydance technique, they put together a drill session and workout. In addition to drilling the movements, the instructors make note of head angles, posture, and grace – the little details that make the dancer. As always, beautiful and flattering costumes are worn by the three instructors, varying by each section, and each of them trade off leading. The DVD is split into 7 different sections, each with a different inspiring name such as "Creative Flame" or "Goddess". There is a feel-good element to the DVD as well, little mantras uttered at the beginning of each section about loving yourself, talking about how shimmies give us joy. So, if you need a bit of a psychological boost, this DVD may just give you one. If not, these sentiments easily fade into the background.

It is more advanced than Luscious, as few movements are drilled consecutively and everything is mapped quickly into a combination. The viewer is expected to pick up on the combinations quickly and follow them, which is the reason why this is more of an intermediate/advanced DVD. There is, however, a beginner's practice flow, which goes through each of the sequences slower. I actually consider this to be a good thing, as the DVD will keep me entertained even if I repeat it over and over, which as a fitness DVD, I intend to do.

The movements themselves are not advanced – ranging from smooth moves like pelvic circles and infinity loops to hip accents and shimmies. You will get a core workout if you are utilizing proper posture, maintaining your core, and – as my teacher says – squeezing your princess. After the 40 minutes, I'm actually feeling it! For the cardio aspect, it's hard to gauge, since I'm 8 months pregnant and we don't seem to have the air conditioning on. I was sweating, but I don't know if the average person would. You might even see it as a "interval" workout, since the sections varied from undulating and circling movements to the more intense hip drops, accents, and shimmies, and back again.

The DVD is set to new-agey music. Most of it was OK. As a huge fan of Arabic music, the music on this DVD didn't really get going. It did make for nice backdrop music, but I wouldn't run out and buy the CD. The last section, where many of the combinations are joined into a dance, is set to a composition called "Goddess". I found myself feeling a little funny about the music – I just don't go in for this sort of thing, sung in English. It's very goddess-power type stuff. I don't object to the message, but it's not really my thing either. Luckily I was alone in the dance studio because otherwise I would feel pretty silly dancing around to "I'm a Goddess, Set me Free" if anyone could see me. That said, it's really nice to see the combinations and movements displayed in a dance, that was obviously connected to the music (as dance should be), and the dancers/instructors on this DVD display grace and, well, a goddess-quality when they demonstrate this section.

I should also mention that either of the two workouts on this DVD, Love Potion and Beginner Flow, can be done without voice cues, with the music only.

Overall, I got exactly what I ordered, a fitness dvd that works my core, drills my bellydance vocabulary, and keeps me entertained as I do it.

Review: Ranya Renee’s Two Disc Instructional DVD on Baladi

My favorite new DVD has got to be Ranya Renee's first in a series of three DVDs on Egyptian Dance, this one on Baladi. I have longed for a video or workshop about baladi, not just a choreography demonstration, but something that explained the essence of baladi. Baladi, in terms of this DVD and Egyptian dance, is a specifically Egyptian dance performed to their baladi (or country) music. Ranya explained that baladi can mean other things in the surrounding Arabic countries. It is commonly done at weddings and parties, by both men and women, but Raks Sharki performers will often do a baladi section to their full routine. The DVD is all I hoped for, and then some. It is actually a two DVD set, containing 3 hours of material.

The first DVD focuses on the baladi music, and movements stylized for baladi. She spends the first 30 minutes explaining the music, with live musicians, one of whom grew up on Mohammed Ali Street in Cairo. He demonstrates on the accordion how the baladi is different in Alexandria, Upper Egypt, at a street wedding, or a nightclub. Ranya Renee also had the drummers demonstrate the different rhythms you will hear in the progression, and how they play off the accordion. She demonstrated the differences between a women's street baladi, men's street baladi, and a nightclub baladi. Then, she demonstrates each style, in costume.

On the second half of the first DVD, she teaches techniques for each section of the baladi and demonstrates how to make them more "baladi" style. The drills are separated into movements for each musical section, the taqsim (musical improvisation) that starts each baladi, then the call & response section, the maqsoum rhythm – slow and fast – and the 2-beat Ingerara. The ingerara section (the fast section at the end of a baladi progression) was a challenge in the past for me. I always felt like I couldn't dance that fast and didn't have enough "fast moves" to fill the time. I would look for baladi progressions with a very short Ingerara. With Ranya Renee's DVD, I am no longer limited, except my own endurance!

The technique section begins with posture and even an advanced dancer should not skip over it. First, it is taught in a most charming way using props to demonstrate. The use of the amusing props, such as a miniskirt to show how your muscles are tight but fluid around that area, or the zipper up the pelvis to show how you are "zipped up" through those muscles, brought the points home to me in a new way. I have talked to several others about this DVD and all have remarked on this section, how it made them feel very different. Given these postural changes – and understanding the muscle mechanics – I feel I am getting a juicier look to my abdominal isolations.

With all this in mind, she talked about framing. She demonstrated the hows and more importantly the whys. I was thrilled that Ranya showed that you can in fact use your arms in baladi to express the music. I had a private lesson where I was taught not to use them as much, and I found it a little restrictive. It is just a matter of understanding how to use the arms. The abdominal core and hips are still the main focus of musical expression in the body. Ranya also talked about making it personal, letting the music sing through your body. As this music has always moved me to dance, I felt freer hearing this – I had let other people's hang-ups about what you should and shouldn't do creep into my mind until I became insecure dancing baladi. I loved the way she described this dance as one where you feel confident in yourself, your body – proud and strong.

While the movements she teaches in the instructional section will all be very familiar – aside from a new type of "jewel" that I had not seen before – the student may find they feel entirely different when engaging the muscles as instructed in the postural section. The fluid taqsim moves were quite delicious with that sense of holding and fluid tension in the core! The ingerara section could serve as a workout in itself – Ranya has endless energy.

The second DVD focuses on improvisation, as baladi is an improvisational dance. Ranya talks in general about improvisation in baladi, and then leads the student into drills. There are three baladi progressions on the DVD for improvisations. For each one, she discusses the music, danced through it twice, and then goes into the drills. It was not clear to me if the dancing section was intended for the student to watch, follow along, or dance alone to the music. In the drills, Ranya loops sections of the music over and over and you can follow along with her, although there is no voice instruction. You also have the option to flow into the music and dance your own improvisation. However, I found it instructive to "follow the bouncing butt" so to speak, and follow what Ranya chose to do – to try to capture the essence of it into my own body.

In summary, this DVD is extremely economical for everything you receive with it. I am looking forward to the next in the series – on Modern Cairo style.

Review of 1-2-3 Drum Solo with Bahaia

This is a review of one of the newest releases from Cheeky Girls Productions - 1-2-3 Drum Solo with Bahaia.

 

This is one of the best beginner drum solo DVDs I have seen. Bahaia has a sweet voice and demeanor, and is enjoyable to watch. She does an excellent job of describing and drilling the movements, and then the simple choreography is demonstrated in 6 sections, each with 3 opportunities to practice. This drum solo choreography includes three different types of shimmies, and creative use of directional changes to spice up the hip and chest articulations. Best of all, the choreography is very adaptable. I learned the initial choreography and have already come up with some advanced variations and ornamentation, so that I could use this choreography in my own shows.

 

The DVD begins with technique practice. Bahaia explains the muscle dynamics and body positioning needed to execute the movements, and then the student has ample opportunities to practice it to movements, with variations. This section contained 9 different techniques, including the Saidi hip drop, the choo-choo shimmy, and the 3/4 shimmy. Next, the choreography put these movements together, with Bahaia facing towards a mirror, so you could see both the front and the back of the movements. The DVD ends with a live performance in costume. Because of the way the choreography was taught, I have it completely memorized only having done the video once. I loved the fact that the full choreography itself was repeated three times. Often, a dancer completes an entire choreography video and only has the chance to do the whole thing once - or even not at all on some videos.

 

Cheeky Girls Productions is known for their excellent video-graphy and this video is no different. The camera angle choices and panning made it very easy to follow. As dancers themselves, the producers understand that the audience can't get enough practice, and that we love to see costumed performances by the instructor we're already inspired by. This DVD also contains a number of extras, from a delightful performance by Bahaia to an Oriental composition, to descriptions and demonstrations of the drum rhythms used in this drum solo. There is also the opportunity for extended practice and drilling of the technique without the instruction.

 

I would not shy away from recommending this video to beginner students. For advanced students, the vast majority of the instruction would be review, although the choreography is cute - and the DVD footage of Bahaia is a nice to have. Intermediate and Advanced Students may also enjoy Michelle Joyce's Pop, Lock, and Shimmy, which shares a similar format, but has more advanced combinations and movements.