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Books

Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love by Anne Thomas Soffee

I want to make it clear as Soffee does that this is not a history of belly dance book and it is not an instructional book.  This a belly dancer's memoir. However, she does include a small resource section at the back of the book that covers well-known dancers of different styles, musicians, suggested readings, and useful websites.  This section concludes with a glossary of terms used in the book that some readers may not be familiar with.

This book was published in 2002 by the Chicago Review Press.  This 262 page book is a must read for any belly dancer.  No matter where you are at in your belly dancing, be it a beginner or a well seasoned veteran, you will be able to enjoy this book.   Soffee is a Lebanese American and the majority of this book takes place in the Richmond, Virginia area which was also charming to me since I'm from the South.  For some of the characters she writes their dialogue phonically so you can really hear the Southern accents in your mind as you are reading.  Her attention to details and her style of writing makes the stories vividly come to life in your mind.  I found myself remembering my own belly dance story as I went along reading her story.  It was so wonderful because I constantly was thinking “oh, yes, I remember being in a situation like that” or I would be thinking “Thank God I've never experienced something like that.” 

 The book is full of wry razor wit from chapter titles such as "Your Daddy Ought to Smack your Face: Nice Girls Don't Undulate" to the hysterically funny telling of her first performance where she was caught topless while trying to change costumes at a county fair.  The book starts with her trying to recover from the heartbreak of being dumped by her longtime boyfriend and her friend jokingly suggests taking a belly dance class as a way to get over her depression.  I found this interesting because it seems that so many of us find our way into belly dance because we are searching for something to make us feel better about ourselves and to heal some sort of wound that we have endured. 

 This memoir covers all the important milestones of a belly dancer's career, experiencing going to see your first belly dance stage show, attending that first class, the first time performing, picking a dance name, buying that first costume, getting publicity shots, joining a troupe, first solo, dealing with troupe conflicts, roadtrip with fellow dancers, first workshop, having to leave a troupe, getting indecent propositions, seedy venues, and unappreciative audiences, and on top of all that just dealing with regular life experiences such as crazy family situations and getting into dating life again.  Soffee leaves no stone unturned.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Looking for Little Egypt by Donna Carlton reviewed by Anala Rabari

I have to say when I first found this book in the store I was very excited.  The one comment that was made to me over and over when I started belly dance was "Oh, are you going to be the next Little Egypt?"  After the hundredth million time that I heard this I decided I really needed to get to the bottom of who this Little Egypt was.  I mean I had heard the name even before I started bellydancing, but I had never really learned who she was or more importantly who she was suppose to be.  And because of this I never really had an answer for all those people asking me if I was going to be the next Little Egypt.  I wasn't even sure if it would be a good thing to be the next Little Egypt.  I'm happy to say that after reading this book I now feel a little more confident in a reply to all these questions about Little Egypt.

This book is broken into 7 chapters, including a bibliography, illustration credits, and index.  The two things I loved about this book are  1) that Carlton obviously set about to write a book that was thoroughly researched and she used a lot of primary and secondary sources and included those in her bibliography so the reader can consult them if they choose to do so themselves and 2) is that even though she set about to write the results of her academic study she didn't write it in an academic, stuffy way.  Carlton has a very relaxed easy going way of writing almost as if she is just talking to a friend over coffee about her research.

The purpose of Carlton's book was to discover the real woman behind the legend that is Little Egypt.  Thus it also tends to be a history of bellydance in the Western World.  She starts with the 1893 Chicago's World Fair and exams all the possible ethnic groups that presented dancing girls and the community's reaction to what they perceived as immoral movements.  She then follows the spread of bellydance and some of it's variants, like the hoochy coochy, to amusement parks, carnival and circus sideshows, burlesque houses, vaudeville stages, and even the opera.  And Carlton examines the lives of several specific dancers as possible Little Egypts.

Throughout the book wonderful visual aids ranging from historical artwork, historical photographs, maps of the Chicago's World Fair grounds, historical ads, political cartoons, and photos of modern dancers are used.  I particularly liked the fair maps and photos as they really added to the author's words and made me feel as if I were actually on the Midway in Chicago.

Although there were a few places that I felt the author came up short, such as not even addressing how the term belly dance came to be used, on the whole I feel that this book is a must read for Western dancers to learn the historic roots of the dance in their regions.  It is also a good read for anyone who has ever been asked "Oh, you're a bellydancer?  You mean like that Little Egypt?"

                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

A Rough Guide to World Music Vol. 1 Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Published by Rough Guides.

This book is organized in 4 parts. They are Europe, Middle East, Africa, and directories. There are a total of 87 articles covering roughly 71 countries. Some countries are covered by multiple articles for instance there is an article for Spain on flamenco music and then there is an article on regional music. The articles in this book are chalked full of information. From the history behind instruments, to the structure of the music, to the way it is used in its region of origin. Each article then concludes with a discography section that covers compilations, and then specific artists and their CDs. Part 4 which is the directories section concludes the book with a listing of record labels and record shops. There are a ton of great photos, maps, and even more insert texts in each article, I only wish there were more photos or drawings of the instruments themselves. This is a truly great reference for anyone interest in world music. There is also a Vol. 2 that covers the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing by Rosina-Fawzia B. Al-Rawi

As a reader you need to understand that this book is not really a history book or an instructional book. This is the type of book that Anthropologists call Ethnography. It's a more personal account of how the author views the history and meaning behind the dance and of course the author's view is colored by the way she was raised, her personal living experiences, her living environment and various other elements. It is also a book that explains how she has incorporated the dance into her life for physical benefits, personal growth, and spirituality.

The book is divided into 4 sections and throughout the book these sections are divided into shorter segments which make it easy to find a stopping place which is nice if you have the type of lifestyle where you can only grab a quick minute here or there to read. One criticism I have for the whole book is the lack of information about the photos. Credit is giving to the photographers; however, credit is not giving to the subjects in the photos and I would dearly love to know who some of these dancers are in the photographs because they are all striking women that I would like to see more photos and perhaps video footage of.

Section 1 entitled How it all began
This section is simple memories of childhood life lessons written eloquently. Most of the these stories feature an adult in the author's life, mostly women. It starts with remembering how her grandmother taught her the letters of the alphabet in terms of body carriage and movement. The lesson starts with drawing a dot that is the navel of the world and moves onto the first letter of the Arabic alphabet which is the alif, for English speakers it kind of resembles a lower case "L." As the author states "The alif is three dots sitting on top of each other, it is the dot's longing to show itself." Soon the author sees the alif in everything including her body as a living alif. I can't say how much I wished I had these simple alphabet lessons when I was taking Arabic classes. The chapter concludes with the author becoming a young woman and being invited to dance at the women's only party to celebrate her rite of passage. I love this chapter because of the great vignettes of Middle Eastern life through the eyes of a child. I find myself enchanted by the similarities and differences of her childhood to mine. My only criticism of this chapter is that there is only one visual aid. I think this section could have benefited from more family photos or other photos of normal Middle Eastern life.

Section 2 - A history of women's dancing
This section offers a very brief, easy to read history section hitting all the important highlights of the history of women's dancing, and that is the history of women's dancing not just the history of belly dance. I think this section is good for people that are a little curious about the history of the dance, but who also aren't real history buffs. If you are a history buff this will just wet your whistle or be a re-hash of things you may already know, presented in a very simplistic straight forward style. Covering the history of women's dancing is a very broad topic and other books offer more in depth exploration of the topic for those interested. This section also benefits from pretty good visual aids of artifacts, photographs, and artwork.

Section 3 - From Head to Toe
This is the more exercise, instructional part of the book. Like with any book, reading instructions for movement is hard. For dancers with some experience it will be easier to understand these directions; however, beginners may struggle. I like the fact that she covers parts of the body that many other books/DVDs leave out such as eyes, ears, nose, and feet. Some of these exercises are more in the vein of body awareness and wellness instead of actually belly dance, but I feel that these exercises can be useful to dancers as a way to become more aware of how their body works which will improve the way you move your body and thus improve your dance. And these activities exercise the body both physically and mentally. This section also offers lovely photos of dancers and candid shots of Middle Eastern cultures.

Section 4 - Variations and Rituals
The dances discussed in this section are the floor dance, stick dance, veil dance, walking and whirling, menstruation dance, wedding dance, birth dance, trance dance, and mourning (or death) dance. This is the chapter that I think can be the most confusing for some readers. This is the chapter that mixes fact and personal opinion the most. But I love this chapter. I love reading how this author has taken the historical nature of these dances and mixed her own feelings with them to make the dance more meaningful to her. Visual aids for this chapter include photos of dancers and these dancers are of all ages and body types. I think this chapter means the most to me because I learned the most from it about how I can make this dance mean so much more in so many aspects of my life and how I can use it to help me through dramatic changes, both good and bad, in my life.

So if you are looking for an accurate history of the dance or actually instruction on how TO belly dance this book is probably not the book you want to buy. If you ARE looking for a book that will let you peak into what the dance means to another dancer and how she incorporates the dance into all aspects of her life and suggestions on how you too can incorporate the dance into more aspects of your life this is the book for you.
                                                                                     Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Belly Dancing Basics by Laura A. Cooper

This book has 8 chapters and a resource section. All the chapters are short and even subdivide into smaller sections, making the book a quick read and easy to find a stopping place if needed. Like most books it starts with the history and origins of the dance. It then covers how to get started such as what to wear, how to relax, and how to select music. The next chapter goes into more details such as how to count music, posture, and warm-ups. Chapter 3 covers basic moves, Chapter 4 focuses on the art of veil work, chapter 5 features the sword, chapter 6 highlights Isis wings, chapter 7 covers candles, cane, and zills, chapter 8 discusses performance topics such as stage fright, costumes, make-up, repertoire, and etiquette. The book concludes with a resource section with suggested books, vendors, music, classes, and dancers.

I think this is an excellent book to cover the basics of the dance. The moves that it covers are broken down in easy to understand language and a number of photos. For instance, wrist circles are broken down into 7 steps and there is a photo to accompany each step. I also think the book does an excellent job of featuring all types of women in the photos( there is a pregnant woman, some senior citizens,and women of all sizes and ethnicities). And the variety of costumes used is stunning. I do have a few criticisms. Even though a number of props are covered in this book, tips on how to select props to buy, how to make them, and how to take care of them is not included. I also feel that candles, cane, and zills should have been covered in individual chapters with more information included on each rather than being lumped into one chapter. But I remind myself that as the title clearly states this is a book on belly dancing basics and in my opinion just by including props it delivers more than the title promises. This book will be a great beginning to any dance library.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari 

Greek Cooking for Everyone by Theoni Pappas & Elvira Monroe

This cookbook begins with a short chapter on what it means to have the "Greek Touch" in your kitchen by covering the staples of Greek cooking such as having a bowl of yogurt, a platter of cheeses, wedges of lemon, and Greek olives always included at the table. It also covers the staples of a Greek spice rack, pantry, wines, and coffees. The book then proceeds to layout 22 full meal menus. It breaks these down into meat, fish, poultry, and vegetable meals and each menu has about 5 dishes. Some are easy and probable more familiar to you such as roast chicken & potatoes with a spinach & feta salad; while others like fried squid or fish head soup might be more, shall we say challenging, for most chiefs. The cookbook concludes with chapters on breads, desserts and a chapter on delicacies commonly found at food stands in Greece, such as roasted chestnuts or spinach pies.

I feel this is an excellent cookbook with a great variety of recipes to both excite the palate and wet the appetite for Greek foods. The fact that they layout full meal menus is wonderful to me as I often find myself floundering when it comes to figuring out side dishes that will compliment the main dish for many of my meals. They also do a wonder job of including both the Greek and English names of dishes & giving the reader glimpses into Greek life. It includes beautiful photos of Greece; however they are all in back & white. I only have two small critics of this book. One is that it doesn't include photos of the food itself; the other is that its not a lay flat binding which I love in the kitchen when I'm cooking. Of course these small flaws can be overlooked and completely forgotten after you taste some of these delicious recipes.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari 

The Oldest Dance by Zarifa Aradoon, Illustrations by Antonio Miriyo

*Note: It appears that this book is currently out of print, so look for it at your local library or used bookstore.

     This is a wonderful book that I was lucky enough to find at the Springdale Public Library.  This book covers the full history of belly dance in every aspect.  The book is divided into ten chapters which cover everything from the dark ages of dance to the future of belly dance.  Chapter six, which covers the musical instruments used in belly dance, really got my attention as I have a particular interest in dancing with a tambourine (def).  There are numerous maps, songs, illustrations, and even actual photographs of early dancers (such as the infamous Little Egypt).  At the end there is a reference guide, poems written by belly dancers, and information about the author and illustrator.  This book is an easy read and very informative.  Anyone interested in belly dancing and its history is sure to enjoy this book.
                                                                                            Reviewed by Delilah

The Art of Belly Dance: A fun and fabulous way to get fit by Carolena Nericcio

     This kit includes a spiral-bound lay-flat book, a sample DVD and CD, a pair of zills, and a belly jewel.  This book comes from an author who practices American Tribal Style belly dance, so most of the information is geared toward that style of dance; however, even a cabaret dancer can find the information useful.   First, I love the lay-flat book.  How often do you get an exercise book that has regular binding and you spend most of the time wrestling to keep the book open while you try to do the exercise?  The book covers the author's view of the history of belly dance, how Tribal is different from other styles, costuming, music, and illustrated / written instructions for basic and some advanced steps.  Like most exercise books, there are those instances where the reader will have problems understanding the written instructions and how they fit with the photos; however the enclosed DVD helps with that. The book ends with a zill lesson and a suggested choreographed routine.  I like the zill lesson as it has charts that help break down how the strikes are suppose to occur on which part of the beat.

     The DVD is a compilation of parts from other productions done by the author/troupe.  It includes sections on warm-ups, slow and fast movements, zills, and a dancing demonstration. I found the zill section very helpful as it concentrates on how to PLAY the zills and not how to DANCE with the zills.  The images are all close ups of the dancer's hands playing the zills so you can really tell what they are doing.  Then for ideas of how to DANCE with the zills you can watch the dance demonstration.

     The CD features cuts from Tribal Dances Tribal Drums and Itneen. It is broken into three sections: slow movements, fast movements, and a complete dance suite.  Its an excellent introduction to the sounds of traditional instruments and rhythms.

     The zills are great for a beginner or for practice (I say this as a beginner).  They are lightweight with two slits at the center (not a center hole) as to allow better control.  I find the timber of the ring to be nice and they have some nice designs on them instead of just being plain.  I did have to change the elastic on them to better fit my fingers, but I suspect that this is something that may have to be dealt with when buying any zills.

     Lastly, the belly jewel, well its obvious that this is not the main attraction of the gift set, but it is a cute, fun little addition to the set.  In my opinion, this is a very nice set that helps one explore a lot of the foundations of belly dance and well worth the price (ranging from $10.00 - 15.00).
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

CD Reviews

A Time of Peace by the Brothers of the Baladi

 This CD is great Middle Eastern arrangements of 15 classic Christmas carols. I felt the instrumentation was very inventive, but the songs retain the feeling of ancient music. They did a great job of mixing traditional Middle Eastern rhythms in the bridges of some of the songs such as “O, Little Town of Bethlehem,” "Little Drummer Boy", and "The First Noel." The song choices are a great selection of tempos and moods and the liner notes do a great job of explaining the instruments both by their name and a simple definition of what that instrument is for people who may not be knowledgeable of Middle Eastern instruments. This is the perfect CD if you are looking to make a performance more relevant for Winter parties and the songs are great lengths for performance purposes as well, all but one song is under 4:00 minutes. I think this CD would make a great addition to any dancers library. "Joy to the World" is my lest favorite track, but that's because I'm not a fan of the Zurna (a double reed Turkish Folk Oboe). Some of my favorite songs are: "We Three Kings," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Silent Night."
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

The Official Music Created for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Ambient Sounds of Ancient Egypt

 The cover for this CD says The Official Music Created for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Ambient Sounds of Ancient Egypt. All the music on this CD was written by David Mauk. All the tracks are under 5 minutes in length which I think makes them excellent candidates for a dance repertoire. I was rather disappointed in the liner notes as there was no information on instrumentation or how individual songs were inspired. I realize that since this is ambient music a lot of it was probably simulated instruments but it still would have been nice to have more information on what the composer was trying to achieve. Mostly I have listened to this CD as background music while at work or home and I have found it to be refreshing and relaxing for that purpose. For dancing it might take a more experience dancer to figure out what to do with this music. Most of the songs leaned themselves to quiet, seductive, mysterious, dramatic, or conceptualized pieces. I imagine veil, Isis Wings, or Rachel Brice style dancing to several of the songs. Some of my favorite tracks include Luxor, Ptah, Ka, Amarna, and Shu. On the whole I would not recommend this CD to cabaret dancers or beginning choreographers, unless you are looking for a nice relaxing Egyptian inspired ambient music CD. However, advanced choreographers, or dancers looking for conceptualized unique music should definitely give this CD a listen.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Adventure Cargo Echoes of Egypt by Diane and David Arkenstone

Echoes of Egypt is different than most traditional CDs because it only has 5 tracks; however, the nearly hour journey through Egypt that it offers is no less exciting than any other Egyptian music CD. Since the majority of tracks on this CD are over 14 minutes they aren't very conducive to performance. But I love to crank up the volume on this disc for personal warm-ups or longer practices. There is one song that is almost 6 minutes and my class loves it when I use it for warm-up in class or it would be excellent for a troupe choreography. I know you will fall in love with the steady driving beats, repetitive rhythms, and haunting melodies just as I did. So run out and grab a copy of this disc today.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Putumayo Presents Greece: A Musical Odyssey

If you aren't familiar with the Putumayo world music series you should get familiar with it. They release music compilations from various regions of the world. This particular CD is of Greek music. The liner notes are fantastic! It's a 39 page booklet in English, Spanish, and French. There is an entry on every song, including a bio on the artist and translations of the song. There is also a Greek music glossary that covers music instruments, genres, dance styles, as well as other terms. A recipe and photos of Greek life are also included. Pronunciation is also included for all the song titles and artist names.

Most of the artists on this disc are commercially successfully in Greece, so the songs all sound very polished and professional. This may leave some listeners disappointed in the lack of a really raw folk sound. However, I think most listeners will be pleased with passion present in these songs, most of which are about love. Tempos run the gambit from slow, to walking tempo, to fast. You will recognize traditional Greek rhythms that are stereotypical of what is used in most movies and TV shows, but each has its own twist. The instrumentation is beautiful in every song with the familiar accordion, guitar, bouzouki, and santouri. Some of my favorite tracks are Pino, Ela Mia Nichta, and An M' Agapas, Tha S' Agapo.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Mediterranea by Johannes Linstead

This is the 5th CD by Johannes Linstead who is from Toronto, Ontario
Canada. Among his influences Linstead counts Spanish guitar masters Tarrega and Sor and classical composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. This particular album was released in September 2004 - and earned the accolades of reaching #6 on Billboard's New Age Chart; Winner "Best World Album" NAR Lifestyle Music Awards; #7 on NAR's Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart for Sept.'04.

I love this album. It has a very earthy flare to it and for me it just brings to mind Mediterranean benches with families having dance parties while they wait for the village fishing boats to come in. The songs vary from sensual rumba rhythms to matador bull fights to flamenco to sambas to Greek folk dance type numbers. It's the perfect mix of slow, moderate, and fast paced tracks. A few of the instruments included on this CD are Spanish guitar, bouzouki, palmas, doumbek, djembe, tabla, violin, congas, bongos and timbales. Its really hard to pick a few favorites out of the ten tracks but I'll name Andalucia, Sangre Del Toro, and Ambrosia. He also has free sheet music downloads to a few songs on his website incase you have a musician that you would like to play live for you. If your dance style is Spanish infused, Flamenco influenced, or gypsy than without a doubt this CD is for you.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari
  

Eternal Egypt Musical Influences of Ancient Times composed by Grayson Wells

This CD is the soundtrack to the traveling art exhibit "Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art" by Wonders: The Memphis International Cultural Series and the British Museum. This is actually one of the first Middle Eastern CDs I ever bought. I really love the music on this CD as it mixes traditional with electronic and it tries to cover various regions, instrumentations, and classic rhythms. Instruments include the darbuka, riqq, camel bell, nay, crotale, tar, and quarqqab as well as others. I believe this CD is good for beginners to start with as the composer is from the states so the music is more structured and has steady beats. This will probably make the music more audience friendly as well since most audiences aren't use to the structure of Middle Eastern music. When you listen to this CD you can't help but be whisked away to fire lit dances at desert camps, Islamic inspired prayer ceremonies, crowded market places, and ancient rituals being performed in temples during the days of the pharaohs. My favorite tracks include Overture, Desert Dance, and Requiem.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

The Sensual Art of Bellydance Fast Rhythms by Ron Wagner

The Sensual Art of Bellydance Fast Rhythms CD was composed and performed by Ron Wagner and is a collection of songs used in the Neena and Veena belly dance exercise series. As the title indicates all the songs on this CD are fast rhythms. The songs are simple, repetitive, and have strong regular beats. I think this makes them ideal for beginning dance students or beginning listeners to Middle Eastern music because sometimes when you are not familiar with Middle Eastern music it can be confusing. The simplicity of the songs also makes the CD nice for background music at work, driving, or around the house. Most of the songs are under five minutes which makes them a good length for exercising to or performing to. I have only a few complaints. One is that this CD is all fast music. I am aware that there is a slow rhythms CD, but I think I would have preferred that they mixed the two track lists and just call them volume one and two. The other complaint is the liner notes, or more specifically the lack of liner notes. I would love it if they had included more information about Ron Wagner, Neena and Veena as well as the songs such as instruments used or inspiration for the songs. Sadly they missed a great educational opportunity there. However, if you like the Neena & Veena exercise DVDs than you will surely like the music on this CD.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Bellydance Superstars various artists

     This CD has 16 wonderful songs to listen or dance to. This CD has brief biographies of the eight dancers in the liner notes. It tells a little history of how long each dancer has been dancing and what kind of awards they have won. There is a dancer named "Delilah" which is my belly dance name also, so I am fond of this. This is the Belly Dance Superstars first CD and I am very impressed with the good mixture of traditional songs, the drum solos and the hot new Arabic beats. I am partial to the Arabic and Turkish type belly dance songs so I especially enjoyed this CD. There is such a good mixture of songs on this CD that you are sure to find a song that you like. Belly Dance superstars followed this CD up with a second version soon afterwards.

                                                                                      Reviewed by Delilah

Bellydance Superstars, Vol. 2 various artists

     This CD has 13 super hits from various artists including the famous Hakim Orchestra. One of the songs is an original piece exclusive to the Bellydance Superstars live show. I personally like this piece of music. There are short biographies of the dancers in the liner notes. This CD has a brief paragraph telling about which music each dancer prefers. This CD has a great mixture of choices. There's a good sampling of drum solos on this CD as well as some great tribal beats. There are the seductive sounds from Wael Kfouri and Abdel Wahab and the edgy beats from Miami, Khaled Aggag and the Hakim Orchestra. I personally enjoyed Belly Dance Superstars volume I better than volume II but I like the gypsy type music the best. However, if you like the tribal sounds and the drum solos and you're ready to shake to some really good beats, this CD is for you!

                                                                                     Reviewed by Delilah

 DVD/VHS reviews

Tribal Fusion Belly Dance Yoga, Isolations, and Drills: A Practice Companion with Rachel Brice

This DVD has an introduction by Carolena Nericcio, creator of American Tribal Style belly dance. It has 3 different workout options in 15 minute increments in which you can turn the instruction on or off. It has a 3 minute bonus performance of Rachel Brice and outtakes from Carolena's introduction as well as information on other Bellydance Superstar products and merchandising.

Carolena's introduction gives a brief history of American Tribal Style dance and segues into information from Rachel on the program such as supplies needed for the workouts, these include basic yoga supplies such as a mat, blocks, and a blanket.

The workouts themselves are great. I love that you have 3 15 minute increment options so you can always fit some workout into your busy schedule. When I first got this DVD I felt that she talked very fast while trying to explain some of the yoga poses in the warm-up section and it was hard for me to follow. However, by about the fourth viewing this was no longer a problem. Also if you aren't use to doing yoga you may think some of the positions are impossible. Be sure to be patient with yourself and don't push yourself to stretch further than you are comfortable with.

After the warm-ups she starts each belly dance move at a slow speed and then increases the speed as the workout continues. Again you may have problems processing the instructions at the speed she gives them for the first few views. And each workout option ends with a set of yoga cool downs.

The 15 minute workout covers hip lifts, stepping hip lifts, hip drops, stepping hip drops, chest lifts, and chest down to stomach undulations.

The 30 minute workout has a slightly different warm-up, and builds on the previous workout by doing all the previous moves and adding chest drops, stomach up to chest undulations, pelvic tucks, and hip circles. The cool-down is also slightly different.

The 45 minute workout has the same warm-up as the 30 minute one and it includes all the previous moves covered, except for the hip drops, and it introduces the moves of combining chest lifts with chest drops and vertical ribcage figure 8. The Cool-down is slightly different from the other 2 routines.

So as you can see each successive workout builds on the previous shorter workout.

My main criticism about the DVD is more info on optional moves and positions. Brice does a really good job of saying if you have weak wrists do this, or if you are new to yoga stay in this pose and do not go on to the next. I like that she does this, but I wish the production had taken it a bit further. She does not always demonstrate the optional pose or move and when she does it goes by very fast. I wish they had thought to have more people in the room who could continue to demonstrate the optional beginner moves.

Also I wish that there were chapter selections with in the workout programs. There are times when I would just like to practice certain moves and it would be nice to go directly to that section of the DVD rather than having to fast forward. And finally when Rachel is doing hip work such as lifts, drops, or circles she is doing these really nice hand movements that I think are wrist circles, but they look nothing like mine and I think it would be nice if she took a few seconds to explain what she was doing.

 The camera work during each workout routine is great giving you a variety of close-ups and full image shots at appropriate intervals and lengths. The setting of the DVD is a dance studio in front of a mirror which is also really nice as you can see different angles at the same time. The background music during the warm-ups is from the Tribal Metamorphsis CD by Pentaphobe and I really like this music. The workout music is from Issam Houshan which I also really like. The bonus performance piece is hard to critic. There are a lot of severe cuts and changes in camera angles which makes it hard to follow the motion of the dance; however, these artistic cuts and angles do flow with the movement of the music even if they make it hard to watch the dancing.

 I think the main thing a potential viewer needs to know is that you do not need to be a tribal dancer to benefit from this DVD. These are basic moves that all dancers need to know and everyone needs to repetitively practice these moves as they are done in this program. I will also say that you do not need to know yoga to use this DVD either. The movements are very simple and easy to pick-up and they make for wonderful warm-ups and cool-downs.

 If you find that you have a hard time practicing your moves over and over and you need a little encouragement to do so, I think this just might be the DVD you need in your library.
                                                                                     Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Nadia Gamal: The Legend

This program is an hour and is probably another production converted from VHS to DVD because of this the picture quality isn't as sharp as I would prefer in places.

I've heard of Nadia Gamal, but this is the first time I've got to see her and let me tell you guys this woman can work a room! For me the first routine which was cabaret was very interesting because I got to see how Egyptians use the veil. I have read about and heard about how their veil work is different than American so I was glad to finally see it. Her shimmies are captivating and her face is so expressive. During the fast paced energetic numbers you can almost feel her joy through the TV screen and during the slow melodic music you can see her expressing the longing of the music in her body and face. I was also blown away by her spins.

The second piece was a folkloric number complete with zills and face veil. She has great interaction with her orchestra led by drummer Setrak Sarkissian. She then switches to cane which really seems to get some audience members excited. My guess is that they knew what was coming. I was very impressed by her skill and control with the cane. I'm not sure I have every seen a dancer twirl a cane with such power and speed for so long only to stop on a dime and switch to a soft flowing movement with it. The party really begins again when she leads a small procession of musician into the audience to dance and dances with what seems like nearly every audience member.

I mean seriously this is a sight to see. They were dancing on and off tables and chairs. Gamal would sit down and become the audience to some of the audience dancers. A lot of the female audience members would just hop up and start doing their moves while most of the men just imitated Gamal or did simple hand-waving. I think section is a great part of the DVD for Westerns to really see how belly dancing is viewed in the Middle East. Everyone in that room became involved in that performance they were all dancing with her and no one looked like they felt uncomfortable that the dancer suddenly wasn't on stage any more. Compare that with American performances that I've seen where a dancer can hardly get an audience member to join her. American women always respond with that shake of the head. You know the one I mean, that one that says "I couldn't possible get up and move my body that way in front of all these people." And American men seem to either be too embarrassed or to grabby.

After all this excitement she goes into a great drum solo routine that turns into a little dance to the theme from Bonanza (I'm not making this up folks) and then another traditional routine. For the last routine she is joined by a mixed gender troupe of dancers. The costumes are beautiful and the dance is fun to see what kind of choreography is used in the Middle East for a mixed group. Again the dance ends by breaking down into a large dance party when the dancers pull audience members up on stage.

There is some annoying camerawork with negative overlays that make it hard to actually watch Gamal at times. And as with all Hollywood Music Center productions you have the annoying website crawler at the bottom. However, I still feel this is a great program to watch so you can see how belly dancing is done in Egypt by one of the great dancers and so you can see how audiences really view this dance form and how it is not just an artform for Egyptians but a way of life as evident by how many audience members join in the dance.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari 

The Heartbeat of Bellydance

In this one hour and 25 minute DVD Jenna offers 3 levels of choreography, beginner, intermediate, and advanced all are to the maqsoum rhythm. You have to be ready to use the pause button as the moves are gone through quickly. The emphasis on Jenna's technique is to dance to the accents rather than any underlying beats or music embellishments.

The thing that made warm-up stand out from that of other DVDs is her actually inclusion of the ankles and feet which is something that a lot of programs neglect.

Choreography Workshop. The choreography has 4 segments: performance, breakdown, demonstration, and then practice. The performances are the same ones that you find in the performance section of the DVD. The breakdown section quickly breaks down every move in the choreography from start to finish. The demonstration section is her dancing the choreography in the practice studio in front of a mirror. The practice section is the breakdown of the move followed by the demonstration and then a demonstration of all the moves up to that point. For instance, on the second move you get the breakdown, a demonstration of it, and then the demonstration of the first move going into the second move. During the breakdown, practice, and demonstration sections there is a double box at the left side of the screen that shows you what choreography you are on and what combination in that choreography. For instance if it says 1-5 you are seeing the 5th combination in the first choreography. During the practice the name of the combination pops out next to the box when Jenna starts to each it and during the demonstration section they have smaller numbers pop out to the side that show the sets of 8 counts for the move.

Rhythm workshop with Raquy is an excellent resource for anyone trying to understand Middle Eastern rhythms. Popular rhythms such as Baladi, masmoudi, and ciftetelli are covered as well as 5 others. Each of the 8 rhythms are explained clearly as to where the heavy accent beats fall (or doums). Raquy then claps the beat while counting it and then demonstrates it on her drum. Finally each rhythm is played to performance caliber with Jenna joining Raquy with example moves that might look good with the rhythm.

The Shimmy Drills section is broken into 2 parts: shimmy layering drills and 3/4 shimmy drill. In my opinion her shimmy layer starts out very simple by just having you do an Egyptian shimmy with various upper body movements. Then she moves on to shimmies with pelvic contractions/releases, hip slides, releve, level changes, hip lifts, hip swings, slight lean back or forward, spine flex, hip circles, hip figure 8s, mayas, umis, and undulations. I wish she would have talked more about her weight distribution during these moves. Her 3/4 shimmy drill breaks this shimmy into it's most basic form and you learn to step forward, back, and to each side with it. she then speeds it up to about a walking tempo, then to a normal tempo, and finally to a fast tempo. She also covers how to do this shimmy with a scissor step and a hagla step. For me, as a more advanced dancer, the beginning tempo was painfully slow, seriously I don't remember ever seeing anyone do the three quarter shimmy this slow. Although I think it was good for me to remember to slow my moves to a more extreme level because it helps me to concentrate on my form and to be a better teacher.

4 performances She performs in front of a live audience with a mirror behind her so you can see her from a variety of angles at the same time. It looks like this might be in someone's house as she has a small dance space. The thing I found odd was that the audience wasn't doing anything. They weren't smiling, clapping, tapping toes, or zaghareets so it looked like they weren't enjoying her dancing. In the fourth performance she dance to live music and only then did the audience start clapping and only for part of the dance.

In the music section they give the CD information for all the "canned" music that is used on the DVD. They show the cover are for the CDs that are used in the main choreography section with all pertinent information that you would need to know to buy the CD. They then list the songs and CDs they are on for the warm-up and shimmy drill music.

The extras section is pretty simple with bios of Jenna and Raquy. I think the bios could have been in a bigger font to make them easier to read, but their website information is a big enough font that you can probably go there to read more comfortable. Also included is Raquy's discography and a photo slide show of her trip to Cairo. You then have the usually ads for other products, contact information, disclaimer, and credits, although I will point out that they do give you the privilege of teaching or performing things on this DVD as long as you give credit to Jenna.

In overall terms of this DVD the video image quality could have been sharper in places, but not to the degree that you miss anything important. At times the editing between move breakdowns and demonstrations is jarring and it appears that the production company didn't know how to use fades to transition between scenes so you often get a green screen editing marking which can be distracting. Sometimes the lighting is a probably too as there is a large window to Jenna's right that can cause problems depending on the angle she faces. The sound quality is excellent. It is shot with Jenna facing a mirror so you see the front and back view of a movement at the same time. This program does assuming basic knowledge of a lot of moves and proper dance posture. As with any DVD there are times when you wish the instructor would be more clear on what body part or which side they are talking about, but Jenna overwhelmingly gives very clear simple instructions. I think she does a great job of explaining transitions between moves which I feel is something other programs leave out. At times there is no sound at all and I actually think this helps me concentrate more on watching what she is doing. Because it goes assuming some knowledge of dance posture and certain moves this DVD might be too hard for true beginners; however, I think for anyone who has been through a belly dance class this DVD is an excellent resource for learning drum solo technique, rhythms, and shimmy drills and with 3 choreographies to choose from you are sure to find something you like.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Veil Obedience School How to Become a Material Girl

 The DVD starts with a short history of veil work and how veil work is used in performances and differs from style to style. Then there is a section on the different types of veils. Such as how they are embellished, materials they are made of, the size and the shape. I love that in the warm-up there are stretches for the hands because other programs rarely do this.

The first section after the warm-up is going through options for entering with your veil tucked into your costume in various ways. Farhana does an excellent job of explaining each way and giving you options on how to gracefully get out of it. Then there is a section on hand position. This is a great section because there is a zoomed in insert on her hand while you are seeing a full body pose.

Next Farhana goes over several framing positions with the veil and what movements they compliment. The program than covers walking entrances with the veil and how to discard the veil when you are done with it. A truly fabulous part of this DVD is that several times she demonstrates the move with out the veil. I love this because so many times you can't really tell what movement the arms are doing in order to manipulate the veil. She than demonstrates with the veil from numerous angles. The next sections cover several standard veil movements with turns and spins and other footwork. There is than a very useful section on veil work with zills. And the useful hand zooms return to demonstrate how to hold everything. The DVD ends with a section on care and maintenance of a veil.

I have a few criticism which are common for a lot of instructional DVDs. I wish there had been more music and there were some audio difficulties. However, the features of this instructional DVD more than make up for these tiny flaws. There is also bonus performance footage of Princess Farhana as well as bonus footage of some additional moves with the veil.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Princess Farhana: Belly Dance Basics

This 50 min. program is divided into three sections: intro, warm-up, and techniques

During the warm-up Farhana demonstrates the moves incorrectly to show you how not to do it. Which as a teacher I find that showing students what not to do can be extremely helpful to them and most videos do not show common mistakes which could be helpful in correcting yourself.  My only complaint about the warm-up section is I wish it had been a little bit longer.

After the warm-up section she explains belly dance posture.  I was happy that she addressed this issue as a lot of videos do not; however, I feel since she did incorporate some bellydance moves in the warm-up she should have discussed posture before the warm-up.  She also briefly covers some basic arm movements.

Basic hip movements: Like most commercial bellydance DVDs she demonstrates hip movements on the doing. During hip drops she talks about isolating and making sure that you aren't rotating the non-working hip at the same time. Hip drops with brush kicks.  She gives good illustrative and analogies such as magic markers on the hips to draw the circle.  I like her attention to little details that get left out of most instructional DVDs such as how to finish off a move with a little stage presence and discussing where your weight is in the body.

After going over the moves by themselves at a few different speeds she then goes over how to do them in combinations with other moves she has gone over. 

Basic shimmies - I really would have liked it if she had spent more time on the shimmy; however, she does go back to the shimmy later on in the program.

Travel steps - I like that when she is teaching the traveling moves the camera angle is such and she exaggerates her moves just a little to where you can really see the transitions she uses to change directions.  I also like how she demonstrates the traveling moves using various strides of steps and from various angles.

Hand positions - she demonstrates wrist circles in both the inward and outward positions. This is then expanded on in the hand and arm technique section where she has you go through nearly every arm position you can think of in bellydance.

She then introduces layering by having you again work on the arm and hand movements with a stationary shimmy.  I like this idea as I have a few students who struggle with their shimmies and I think a lot of us forget to pay attention to the detail of our arms and hands.  So what better way to tackle these common problem areas than at the same time.  

Figure 8's: She reminds you to separate your upper body and lower body.  She addresses the issue of trying to make both the circles of your figure 8 the same size.  She teaches both the forward and backward horizontal figure 8 and the vertical figure 8, otherwise known as mayas.

Undulations: At first I was surprised that camels would be included in this DVD because I think of them as a more advanced move rather than a basic although in hindsight it probably is a good idea to include some challenging moves so you can use the DVD to help you grow as a dancer.

Bonus Features: Performance, Bio, and a guide to belly dance styles

The DVD would have been better with more chapter options so you could choose which techniques to go to.  Overall there are car noises in the background at various points in the program but not too much to be really distracting.  Also halfway through the program the audio fades but then later comes back up.  I guess this could just be on the copy that I rented though. Farhana continually reminds you about posture through the program.  Her sense of humor makes things really fun to learn.  Farhana does a great job of explaining to you where your weight should be during the moves.  The video production was really good too zooming in and out so you can see the moves close up and at a distance.  I feel that this DVD would be great as a supplemental to any beginner's class, but like even the best of DVDs it is not substitute for a really life teacher.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Bellydance Superstars Live in Paris at the Folies Bergère

This DVD offers a mixture of 9 solos, 9 group pieces, and 1 duet. It covers the dance styles of Cabaret, Folkloric, Hawaiian Hula, American Tribal Style, Bollywood, and Spanish infused. Prop routines include double and single veil, zills, canes, Isis wings, and gourds. The routines are danced to both live and taped music as well as being danced in both heels and bare footed. This is a live recording of one of the tour shows in Paris at the Folies Bergere. I think that this is an excellent production. I enjoyed it so much more than the first Bellydance Superstars DVD. I think the camera work is infinitely better because in this production they aren't constantly zooming in on the dancers' faces, so you see a lot more of the routine and the movements of the dancer as a whole; although they do have an appropriate amount of close-ups on the body to show off certain moves.

I also think that this DVD probably does each dancer better justice, in that I mean you are better able to see how the dancer enter acts with an audience and more of their stage presence comes through and because of that I found myself liking some of the dancers more than I had previously based solely on the first bellydance superstars DVD. It's true that most of the solo performances on this DVD are the same routines from the first DVD, but I think seeing them in this live project gives them a new light. I really enjoyed all the group pieces as I hardly get to see a troupe perform since I'm usually dancing with the troupe myself. I really liked the way they meld the Tribal dancers with the cabaret dancers in some of the group numbers. If your troupe is a majority of one style over the other, but you have some individuals who like the other style you might watch this for ideas of how to mix the two. This DVD has given me inspiration as I'm choreographing for the troupe and for my own solos.
                                                                                      Reviewed by Anala Rabari

Bellyqueen: Bellydance Jam

Bellyqueen is a New York based dance troupe founded by Amar Gamal and Kaeshi.  This DVD features 3 sections: introduction, technique, & improvisation. This DVD covers both performance quality techniques and social, club dancing techniques. They do a great job of breaking down movements with clear directions and descriptive language like rooting your heels into the earth. These movements are then put together into a cute little routine that they call BQ Boogie. I like that they go through the routine at 2 different speeds and they break it into 2 sections. Although when they get to the performance of the routine in a nightclub setting it looks like a quirky cross between bellydancing and country line dancing. The improvisation section covers some great ideas for practicing improv such as dancing to different parts of the music (meaning the beats opposed to the melody) and improvising with a partner (mirroring each other, synchronizing, etc.). Special features include 2 montage videos of Bellyqueen performing around the World and with Bellydance Superstars as well as a solo from each girl. There are also interviews with various bellydancers & musicians about being a dancer, how Bellyqueen got started, making the music for the DVD, and Arabic music in general.
                                                                                     Reviewed by Anala Rabari

American Bellydancer

This DVD is an awesome look at how the Bellydance Superstars became a phenomenon. Included are depth interviews with the production team of the show and the lead dancers. You get to hear the honest details of what it takes to make a living at bellydancing such as doing 6 shows in one night back to back. You also get to hear the good and bad of what dancers experience from their friends and family because they have chosen to be belly dancers. One of my favorite scenes was all the dancers in Bali, Indonesia having a round discussion about what they think is important for an audience to know about belly dancing. There is a short segment on the affects that 9/11 had on dance classes and the teachers that is further explored in the bonus footage. The history of the dance, costumes, and historical movie footage are covered throughout the production. You also gain insight into the hazards of touring such as getting cards stuck in ATMs, costume malfunctions, sharing stages with rock bands, inter-state child labor laws, accidentally driving the wrong car, and all the girls sharing a charter bus as a dressing room. There is some great bonus footage of Mary Ellen McDonald, a dancer and musician on the techniques of playing zills and tambourine while dancing. She also does an amazing job of explaining shifts in rhythms and the structures of some rhythms.
                                                                                       Reviewed by Anala Rabari

The Goddess Workout with Dolphina (3 Disc Set)

     I had received a three DVD set of the "Goddess Workout" by Dolphina as a gift. Since I don't buy into the "goddess" genre; I was predisposed not to like it. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality and instructional value of the set.

     The first DVD covers the basics very well. She goes over proper posture, teaches a routine and has a good cool down. She does an excellent job of breaking the individual movements down so the viewer is able to master them.

     The second DVD is called the "Warrior Goddess Workout" and is very challenging even for a more advanced student. I learned several movements that I have used since. Once again, there is a good warm up, cool down and routine.

      The final DVD concentrates on finger cymbals and veils. She has a unique way of teaching rhythms on the cymbals using some very interesting phrases. I really like the setting she uses for the veil part. She is out doors so the viewer learns about controlling the veil even in windy situations.

     These DVDs are a quality production and I would recommend them to beginner and more advanced alike. I'm constantly looking for good ideas and instruction and these have both. They are definitely a good value and a welcome addition to my DVD library.

                                                                                     Reviewed by Ngaio

21 Shimmies and 1001 Variations with Leyla Jouvana and Roland

     Presented by The International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance, this fun and encouraging video is intended for someone who has a least some belly dance experience who wants to build on their skills. Leyla Jouvana does an excellent job of demonstrating each type of shimmy, first as the original movement and then with variations. After the demonstration, she breaks down the movements in a lesson. Her husband drums the rhythms for her and she explains them in clear musical terms. A history of belly dance and a performance is included.
                                                                                                  Reviewed by Adira

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