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 Belly Dancing I: Beginning Instruction with Mara
ASIN: 0970328702
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: This is an excellent video!
Comments: Hi, I've been studying belly dance with Mara for two years. Her video is really good, both for the beginner, or for the intermediate dancer who really wants to break down and refine the core 12 belly dance moves that Mara explains in her video. I've bought this video for four of my friends, most of whom have never studied belly dance, and they've found it to be a great introduction to this dance form. I've seen other belly dance videos, and Mara's is much more clear, concise, and easy to follow. Check it out. :-)
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 Belly Dancing with Mara III: Advanced Techniques
ASIN: B000064989
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: An inspiration for beginning dancers
Comments: This is the third in a series of videos produced by Scottish Winters Productions, Inc. Our instructor, Mara, uses the same movements learned in the two previous videos but adds enhancements and tells us how to put the movements together. The format consists of 3 sections of 4 movements each. After each section, there is a dance segment and Mara emphasizes that each of these dance segments is improvised just to demonstrate how you can create a routine even with only a few moves to work with (one of the strong points of this video series).
As she demonstrates the moves to music, Mara uses a "voice over" telling us which steps she is using and giving hints to remember (e.g., "remember to isolate your lower body"). At the end of the video, Mara performs in costume, once again demonstrating a beautiful, free-flowing dance with a limited vocabulary of movements.
This video is recommended for any beginner who is ready to progress past basic movements since it is helpful to dancers who aren't quite sure how to put movements together. It would also be good for a more advanced dancer who can use the video as a practice aid.
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 Belly Dancing For Fun and Fitness
ASIN: 6303334385
Customer's Rating: 3
Summary: I'm O.K. with it.
Comments: I agree that Eddie Rabbitt should have not given the "aint-she-puurty" speech. This video is not ment for the person wanting to be a proffessional, it is more for a person wanting to make some exercises with the very basic steps of this art. Janine Rabbitt teaches some basic steps and displays a routine that one can follow and feel good (again just for fun). The dancing with the hankies was rather funny, but from my point of view (not a proffessional one) dancing is about having fun. It's more for people who are just curious about belly dancing,and would just like to learn it as a sidekick.
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 The Art of Belly Dancing with Joynan
ASIN: 0966579011
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Great performances! Inspiring and Challenging!
Comments: Finally! A belly dance video worth adding to my collection. This video has challenging moves for all levels and performances that are inspiring and entertaining. I have purchased three other belly dance videos (one from Amazon) and was a bit disappointed but The Art of Belly Dancing was worth the purchase and I look forward to an advanced video from Joynan.
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 Egyptian Belly Dancing with Hilary Thacker
ASIN: B00004W3GB
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Brillant video for Beginners
Comments: I found that this video was an excellent introduction to the basic moves in belly dance and is ideal for a beginner. The steps are clearly explained and all it covers all the building blocks to allow you to start making up your own dances or improvising. I enjoyed the music and found the setting very evocative. I have spoken to quite a few beginners and they all recommended this video. I certainly didn't have any problems with the sound quality, but then I've just got a new TV and video so maybe that's way. I think that comments about this video being too basic and about the instructor's accent are unfair, it is aimed at those who have never belly danced before and it is refreshing to have commentary without an American accent, as it highlights to true international nature of belly dancing today. I would thoroughly recommend this video to those who want to something to get them started on the basics of belly dance.
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 Egyptian Dancing with Hilary Thacker
ASIN: B00004W3GD
Customer's Rating: 2
Summary: Uninspiring
Comments: I don't see the point of this video. It is essentially a showcase for Hilary's dancing which is technically excellent and undoubtedly authentic but somewhat uninspiring.
It says on the case it can be used as an advanced instruction video but no movement instruction is included. The explanations of the various rhythms are so brief as to be worthless and I have similar feelings about the finger cymbal instruction - why is a section on such basic finger cymbals included in an advanced video anyway?
Advanced learners who find improvisation difficult are unlikely to draw inspiration from this video which I found frankly tedious and definitely overpriced.
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 Egyptian Belly Dancing for Intermediates with Hilary Thacker
ASIN: B00004W3GC
Customer's Rating: 2
Summary: Good as an introduction to English styled raqs sharqi
Comments: There isnt any real explanations about the moves but if you are use to just following along it would work out ok. I personally would rate her as an intermediate dancer who has a teaching video out. Her costuming in the cane section is lovely and I did enjoy her use of cane, it is her one strong point. This tape is pricey but it is the only example of this style of Raqs Sharqi teaching in the USA. The style was developed in the UK by a dancer named Suraya Hilal but Hilary is teaching it so poorly I hesitate to mention any connection between the two.
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 Belly Dance - Instructional Fitness Workout Within Traditional Movement
ASIN: B00005UMAW
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A REAL Bellydance Workout
Comments: This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I haven't belly danced for a number of years - I don't need instruction, just someone to walk me through warm-ups, cool-downs and and some dancing. She even inculdes a number of ethnic moves, which I really like. This is not for the beginning dancer; in fact she tells you to find a beginner class if the moves are not familiar to you. If you are at least an intermediate dancer and are just looking for a tape to walk you through a work-out, this tape is for you.
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 Belly Dancing II: Intermediate Instruction with Mara
ASIN: 0970328710
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: A Solid Instructional Video
Comments: This video is a wonderful follow-up to the first in the series. Mara explains moves in a way that anyone can understand. By breaking down the moves first BEFORE setting them to music, you can really understand what you are supposed to do. That makes it easier to do the beautiful free-flowing dances she presents. The production is straight-forward, without distracting camera angles and flash-pots, which make you focus on the point of this video - learning how to belly dance. I look forward to many more in this series!
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 The Ancient Art of Oriental Belly Dancing 1
ASIN: B000009RWA
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: Bad production but sound instruction
Comments: Ancient Art of Oriental Belly Dance Volume I was probably filmed in one afternoon without retakes. The background noise is sometimes distracting, and music stops and starts are harsh. Regrettably, the lessons are conducted immediately in front of a rather tacky belly dance wall tapestry. Since Alexandria King has dark hair, sometimes her head kind of blends into the background.
Despite these flaws, Alexandra King does have some interesting moves to teach. She is very good at explaining just how something is done. Some of the moves are geared towards absolute beginners, and some towards intermediate level dancers. In either case, Alexandria breaks down the moves, demonstrating them slowly before picking up to a faster beat.
She is a lovely dancer, and the video starts out with a full-length performance. Unfortunately, the background mural is very distracting. Although a nice dancer technically, it's a shame she doesn't smile more.
All in all, I would recommend this video for a beginning or intermediate level dancer.
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 The Ancient Art of Oriental Belly Dancing 2
ASIN: B000009RWC
Customer's Rating: 3
Summary: Good beginner quality tape.
Comments: Alexandra King is a gifted belly dancer and a good teacher. Her instructions are clear and performances are very enjoyable to watch. She is very good about taking the student through well-thought out drills to practice the steps and transitions. Quality of the video isn't the best, but it is certainly usable (and better than some others I've bought!). I loved the floor work and the performance section (floorwork and a drum solo) was inspiring!
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