Customer Reviews

Belly Dancing For Fun and Fitness [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

This video would be laughable, except that in many libraries, etc. it is the *only* bellydance video available; it does NOT represent this dance form well! Rabbitt is well-intentioned, but is only a mediocre dancer and much of her history is inaccurate.

In a recent conversation on videos on med-dance (an email discussion group composed of Middle Eastern dancers, musicians, and aficionados), this one ranked at the bottom. I would have given it a ranking of "1" except that at least it has decent production values and she's not wearing a stripper-esque costume. END

This was the first belly dance instructional video I ever bought. When I popped it into the VCR, I was excited. I soon became disillusioned.

If this is the only exposure anyone ever gets of the dance, s/he will be disillusioned. Between Eddie's sickening ain't-she-purty speech and Janine's horrible "dancing" (flailing/hopping) there is little of educational value which can be gleaned from this horrid tape.

Nevertheless, the video is entertaining in a B-movie kinda way. Janine hopping and twirling the hankies made me burst into laughter despite myself.

The only thing this tape can teach is how NOT to dance.

I am Arabic and I brought this tape to have a routine (keeping in mind i already know how to belly dance from family in the middle east ) when I watched the tape it was not even right she had it all wrong and she stunk at it . If you are considering buying this tape DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY .

I bought this tape when i was a begginer dancer and the only thing i have learned from this was the basic zills rythm otherwise do not follow her instructions because she can't isolate anything and she is swaying all over the place in all her moves. It costs too much for a poor instruction video and poor performances ,you should spend your money somewhere else.

Please don't make the mistake I did and buy this one. This was my first video on belly dancing and it was very disappointing. I force myself to watch it. I do recommend the Bellydance: Fitness Workout for Beginners series instead.

After 3 months of training in belly dance I was planning ot move and picked this up as a practice video to help me keep in form... BIG waste of money.
To begin with the production felt like it was talking down to me (even if I had NO background I would have been offended by that aspect). It appeared to be more of a husband videoing his wife doing a few performances for him. LOTS of face shots, bad/NO movement instruction. Lack of warm up or gradual development into different moves. Cut abruptly from shot to shot or dance to dance. Sound quality was VERY poor... was it just a cd player off screen?
The best part of the video was at the end when it showed her performing moves she had not explained in the video. I was most interested in her floor and veil work but there was No instruction on either.
She didn't even explain where the moves were from but she did say a few bland comments on the "history" of the dance at hte beginning.
I felt like it was a bad waste of money and I was almost ashamed when I shared the video with my friends who were interested in dance.

Yes, even this tape has worth. I was a professional dancer and still teach the dance. One of my favorite past-times is collecting BAD BELLY DANCE TAPES and this tape is one of my prize acquisitions. When I teach dance in a set number of lessons (like 12 at the YMCA) I usually pull out my BAD belly dance collection at lesson #6. For beginning students who may still be self-conscious or feel that they are "just not getting the hang of it" this tape is a great boost to the ego. They laugh and can point out the errors. They feel good about their own level of beginning performance. As one student put it "And I thought I was doing bad...and she got paid for this!!" But even on this tape I saw a "nice move" here and there that can be performed correctly and incorporated into a good routine. Now would I recommend it to someone who wants a tape to learn by?.... NO, but if you bought it already - don't throw it away. Even bad examples are examples... just don't repeat the same mistakes. Besides, if nothing else, this tape is a testament to the fact that Eddie "really" loved his wife - he supported her in this effort, didn't he? It is just a shame that so many people purchase it "seriously" hoping to learn belly dance from it.

This video was terrible!! I was so upset when I bought this. I could not believe that I actually spent my money on this junk! Luckily, the store I purchased it from allowed me to return it. I cannot believe a vhs tape was wasted on this... Do not waste your money on this one...better yet get any video from Atea and enjoy a real bellydance video.

I don't feel that all the previous raters gave this a fair chance. Yes it is amateurish, and not at all glamourous and fancy, but if you overlook that, you will see some valuable information. She packs a great deal of basic moves in a short time. The key is to stop the tape when she has demonstrated (acknowledged that her demonstrations are brief) a move and to work it over and over again. If necessary, rewind and keep practicing the moves. Yes it may be a minor nuisance, but for the price of the tape, what do you want? If you are a beginner just learning the basic moves, there is some valuable information here. Although I am taking a beginner class, I found this tape helpful in supplementing my lessons. In lessons you don't have the luxury of visualizing every move when you get home, at least with a video this can help reinforce what you have learned (plus extra). I had difficulty trying to master snake arms just by my class alone, but when I came home and reviewed the video, I not only picked up snake arms more quickly, but also classic arms and other moves etc. Just keep an open mind and remember you are getting what you pay for. This video is what you make of it. Don't have high expectations and you won't be disappointed

I'm a second year belly dance student and I rented this video and was amazed that it was ever mass-produced. Ms. Rabbitt seems like a sweet woman, but was not ready to put out an instructional video. Her movements are stiff and lack grace. Please research before you buy-$10 worth of trash is still trash.