Product Details

• Actors: Brianna
• Directors: Michelle Joyce
• Format: NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Cheeky Girls Productions
• DVD Release Date: April 13, 2009
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001XW6PIU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,389 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars View the Trailer, March 20, 2009

By 

M. J. Dance (oakland, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballet For Belly Dancers (DVD)

Length:: 5:10 Mins

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully produced, much-needed video for dancers!, April 10, 2009

By 

Alison M. Dreyer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ballet For Belly Dancers (DVD)

Another great Cheeky Girls video!! This instructional contains floor exercises that increase hip flexibility and tones key leg muscles, posture modification tips, ballet arm patterns that can be modified for belly dancers, a section on basic turns and one on arabesques, and loads of interesting floor patterns.

The DVD cover itself contains a glossary of ballet terms with proper spelling and pronunciation for French dance terms like pas de bourre, soutenu, and tendu as well as proper terminology for facings and staging. The various floor patterns offered in the video are great for drills and for adding dynamic transitions into your dance, and include level changes, spins and lovely arm movements. This DVD would be great for all levels, and especially beneficial for the intermediate dancer who knows basic belly dance moves and wants to add an element of polish and refinement to his or her presentation. Brianna is very articulate and easy to follow, and the floor patterns work perfectly with the music selection. Well produced, much-needed video for dancers. Three thumbs up!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fills an important niche - and gap - in dancer's education, May 18, 2009

By 

Shannon B Davis "Nepenthe" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ballet For Belly Dancers (DVD)

This video fills a long-open gap in many dancer's education. For those dancers who did not study ballet as a child, many dance workshops can be baffling, when ballet terms are used in the choreography and one has no idea what they mean. Eventually, one figures them out but perhaps not as cleanly and clearly as one would if instructed.

A beginner could use this DVD, especially the first third for strengthening and arm gracefulness. S/he would then grow with this DVD because the combinations are at an intermediate or advanced level.

This DVD contains three sections.

The first section is a strengthening and training section, like barre exercises. While practicing plies and arm positions, a dancer gains grace in her arms while building strength in her feet and legs, important for dancing on releve (half-point).

The next section goes over common ballet terms, such as pas de buerre, arabesque. These terms are often used in choreographies, even by native Egyptian dancers, because Raks Sharki was so influenced by the Russian Ballet. Often they are not broken down in workshops because people are assumed to know them. Brianna breaks them down into their component parts - I felt like lightbulbs were going off above my head. Brianna gives many opportunities to practice these movements, in combination with other movements.

The final third of the DVD is a series of combinations set to music. I have to confess that I watched some of these rather than do them. The combinations grow in difficulty. Even if everything else on the DVD seemed like a cakewalk, this section can grow quite difficult, combining the new ballet terms with bellydance movements is not something I was used to and so it will take practice. This a good thing - it's never good when you get a DVD and can do everything on it right away.

My only complaint about the DVD was that sometimes the music didn't seem to fit - aesthetically more than beatwise, but the company is probably limited to using the music to which they can acquire a license.