The Sensual Art of Bellydance: Beyond Basic Dance

This video is simple enough for someone who has never danced before to follow but challenging enough so that if you have been dancing, there are new things to learn. I would actually give this tape to a beginner rather than an intermediate level student.. If you have studied Hawaiian or even Tahitian dance.. you already would know 1/2 of what they teach here (with slight variations on hand positions).. The girls dance and you watch and the instructor explains their every movement and how to make it.. and even encourages you the whole way through.

If you have never danced before.. this tape is just what you need.. but please be aware that you will need to rewind this a few times to get your steps down.. and it will take LOTS of practice to move like the girls on the video. If you are buying this for fitness, practice the stomach moves over and over again. Your abs will tighten up in no time however, if you are wanting to lose weight, you will need to diet as well.

If you have weak knees or bad ankles, make SURE you check with your doctors because there are a lot of movements on these parts of your body. If you have had a back injury or suffer from stiff lower back and/or pelvis.. this tape will help you loosen them up!

Overall this is probably the best tape you could give to a beginner for either learning belly dance or for dieting! You learn all the steps needed to finish the dance at the end. The backgrounds and music are complimentary to the girls dancing and is definitely one of my favorite tapes.

I however, was a little disappointed that the title suggests that this is an intermediate tape and its really more geared for beginners. Try the advanced if you have already learned some basic belly dance.

I thoroughly enjoyed simply WATCHING this video-the voice-over was less distracting than when an instructor talks as she teaches, and the camera shots glide smoothly from front, side angles to zoom-in and pan-out. The outfits worn by Veena and Neena are attractive (midriff tanks, leggings and hipscarves) and allow a good view of how the legs, arms, torso and hips should be moving.

In both the warm-up segment and the dance segment the moves are carefully explained and demonstrated. (I did not agree with two particular techniques...hip shimmies are shown with straight legs, with the knees bouncing forward and back. This can cause damage to the knees over time. I prefer shimmies to be taught in a bent knee posture, which protects these extremely vulnerable joints. Secondly...single hiplifts and drops are demonstrated on the tips of the toes. This is immensely difficult for a beginner dancer-and for many experienced ones! I teach this on the ball of the foot, which makes it easier to maintain balance, and cuts down on cramping in the arch).

The twins show a nice, simple choreography which utilizes the movements taught in the video...once in the workout clothes with a pretty chiffon skirt added, then again in vintage-style full costume!

I REALLY liked this video-the quality was impressive and the price reasonable. (The twin's physiques inspired me to diet)! I recommend this as a practice video, or as an instructional tape for a dancer without an instructor in her area.