Product Details

• Actors: Tempest
• Directors: Tempest
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: StratoStream - WorldDance New York
• DVD Release Date: September 6, 2006
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GJ26G6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,483 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For the free spirits and the urban rebels, for Beautiful Freaks of every persuasion who revel in the unusual and the unique, welcome to an offering of self-expression through dance. Join Tempest, a pioneer of Gothic Bellydance in the US, to learn steps and combinations based on the vocabulary of bellydance and adapted to look awesome on a club dancefloor.

Bellydance is an ancient dance of sensuality, body awareness, and cultural blending. In the course of its long history, it has experienced celebration, exaltation, rejection, and ban. It has been worshipped. It has been damned. It has traveled continent to continent and become infused with the wealth of many cultures. If you are looking for a movement style that is different, darkly-exotic and sophisticated, yet feels natural and can be easily modified to fit your individual body language, dance, and clothing style, Belly Dance For Beautiful Freaks will bring you the dance club experience you are seeking - and may inspire you to delve deeper into the world of creative movement.

You can bellydance to any kind of music, from ambient and ethereal to the most pounding hardcore. Whatever mood you need to match, Bellydance for Beautiful Freaks has the engaging, expressive movements you want. Bellydance is a great way to increase your energy level: Even casual social dancing tones the body -- as well as the mind.

If you are a dancer interested in Raks Gothique, or Gothic Bellydance, welcome home. Captured by a camera lens, may this be a glimpse of the realm where - across age groups and national borders - we share our vision of Gothic Bellydance as both social and performance dance - the beautiful, soul-capturing, inspiring art. Enjoy performances by Tempest, hear her thoughts on projecting our individuality through dance, and reflect on the long path the Beautiful Freaks of the world have traversed to create the dance culture we call our own.

Set to amazing Gothic, Industrial, Dark Cabaret, and Dark Ambient music by Collide, Skinny Puppy, Jill Tracy, and Nox Arcana, this dance exploration pays no tribute to the rules and rhythms of the mundane world. The Beautiful Freak within will feel the heartbeat that resonates in time with yours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool, cool, cool, August 4, 2007

By	Eden Russell (Provincetown, MA United States) - See all my reviews

After watching Ansuya's Hot Combinations DVD, my exact words were, "Hot, Hot, Hot!". Unlike her and just like her is Tempest. She's simply cool. So cool.

A friend of mine and I share our collections of DVDs as we have the same taste but this one I got as a freebie from her, at a bottom of a plastic bag. "Sell it for me or just take it, whatever" she rolled her eyes when I took it in my hands. I had a feeling about it though and I wanted to give it a shot chance, so I did. It was great.

The title does leave some space for speculation. At first, incorrectly, I thought it referred to the type I call Snowhite's-stepmother (no one's prettier than me...). In fact it teaches some interesting moves to goths at heart who need some dancefloor suggestions.

When you pop the DVD in the ROM, you see first a young woman, rather homely than beautiful, dressed in black. You may be ready to get unimpressed but Tempest's appearance is very misleading. First off, she's a brilliant dancer and a very good instructor, and there we go, she's got a sense of humor to kill.

This DVD targets those who have some dancefloor experience but don't have a lot of, if any, bellydance skills. Tempest takes 4 combinations, 2 slow and 2 fast, completely breaks them down, providing detailed instruction of all basic moves such as chest slides and hip bumps. I believe that for the purpose of this video, Tempest does a great job, often dropping hints at the right time, all a total beginner would need to show off at the dancefloor. But how about us, advanced bellydancers? Those of us who can shimmy for hours and do complex Raks Sharqi choreographies? When do we do when we go to a party, or a nightclub? This is how the DVD can help us, suggest a couple of good moves we already know that we can use safely, getting the *right* kind of glances.

I thoroughly enjoyed this video for several reasons. I really appreciate the way Tempest took time to explain about the "attitude" of gothic bellydance, in other words, educate us how it is different from other styles and what makes it unique. She is totally correct, it is that attitude, or lack of it thereof, that can make freaks look beautiful, or ridiculous. I adore Tempest she is SO FUNNY! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard watching a bellydance lesson! For example when she demonstrates hip circles, she leans in and says, with a very straight face to that, "don't put too much dip in it because there will be too much chest showing... maybe we do, but let's pretend we don't!" IMHO it's a true art-form to crack up smart jokes all the time and amuse people - I don't think I'd be able to say any of that without bursting out in giggles. But isn't that what the gothic subculture is about?

Maybe I should have started with this but this DVD may be the worst, or the best, depending on what you consider 'cool'. If you are a goth fan and if you mean to dance in a club with other fans, you would definitely enjoy it. It is so full of insider jokes. Whether of not Tempest's video is good or not is as debatable as to who is a true goth and who's a goth-wannabe. I say, it would appeal to the true goths. To the wannabes it won't.

*What I liked about this DVD:
1. Tempest's personality and sense of humor
2. Paisley undulations (first time I see anyone explaining it)
3. Explaining how some moves work in crowded areas and what to be avoided
4. The warmup section - very important not to skip it
5. Clear and sound instruction

*What I disliked about the DVD:
1. I would have prefered to see another combination or two suggested even if that meant shortening the 'attitude' part
2. Both performances were OK but I think they were an understatement of Tempest's skills.

*You may want to have this DVD if:
1. You hang out at goth clubs and want to learn a few bellydance combinations good for the dancefloor there. Tempest actually takes into consideration the limited space in clubs and the kind of shoes and clothing you may wear.
2. You like new wave/ new age/ gothic, etc contemporary music.
3. You have experience with bellydance but don't know how to apply your knowledge in dance clubs
4. You appreciate a good joke being told with a straight face

*You should better skip this DVD if:
1. You don't plan to apply your bellydance knowledge in nightclubs
2. Gothic bellydance is just not you
3. You want/need a DVD teaching you a wide variety of moves
4. You hate drama and anyone who has anything to do with that

Depending on your taste in music and dance, you may like, or hate this video. My friend didn't care for it, I love it. Whether you will or not totally depends on your definition of a "beautiful freak".

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensual, fun, and totally dripping with cool, September 30, 2006

By	Mala Bhargava (India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I got Beautiful Freaks, I really didn't know what to expect. But about an hour later I'd pulled out my high-heeled boots, worn one of my more rebellious skirts, put on my best Kill Bill look, and was dancing to Collide's Halo (acquired at top speed online). Blame it on Tempest.

I don't know whether this is what belly dancing is supposed to be or whether this is true to the gothic culture or not. But it's so much fun dancing this way, I don't really care.
No point re-describing this video since anyone who's interested will find enough information on it at the World Dance New York website. Also photographs that give you a very good idea of the mood of this dancing. I'll focus instead on what I think of it. It's funky, dramatic, sophisticated, and sensual. Very sensual. I particularly love the slow combinations and the song they're set to (though you could do these to any other music you think fits). I also love the way you can do these anywhere. These are made up of temple arms, chest circles, hip circles, figure 8s and undulations. Tempest doesn't go into as much detail as you'd find on a full fledged belly dance dvd, but if you're aiming to just have a bit of fun and turn heads on the dance floor, that's just fine. She does give safety and technique tips as she goes along. For these combinations,s she wears a black dress I'd kill to get.

I see this being quite easy to do on a crowded dance floor - except you might put a halt to everyone else's dancing as they turn to look. Which is fine with me. The fast combinations are more funky and freaky with some hip work. On the video the fast and slow combos are done in different costumes, but that doesn't mean you can't combine them while dancing to a piece of music that has both slow and fast bits.

If you've never danced before, follow Tempest through a warm up (unless you're very keen on dance injuries), then go on to the combinations. Also listen to what Tempest has to say about gothic belly dance because... well, because she's very, very cool and funny.
As a passionate dance hobbyist (latin, jazz, belly dance) and owner of 46 belly dance videos, I'd have to warn you that you won't find as much detail on belly dance as you'd find on a full-fledged belly dance isolations and basics instructional dvd. I don't think that's what this video is intended for.

I'm tempted to shave off a point because I find the combinations too few. But to someone who hasn't belly danced before, anything more would probably be intimidating. So would a lot of information about timing, transitions and muscles. A small annoyance is that the Step by Step section and the About the Combinations lead to the same parts.

Anything that ventures into uncharted territory has the thumbs up from me, and this one is definitely a unique video. For a new dancer it'll give a quick bit of funk and style with moves that can be done on the dance floor any time--doesn't matter if it's not dead serious isolation-based movement. For the seasoned dancer it sets a nice mood and gives ideas on doing more with the combinations you already know in this style. For both, it's fun, and so well-made. For me--it gives me that it's-go-good-to-be-bad feeling that I love.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fabulous!, September 22, 2006

By	Catresea Ann Canivan "CatAnna" (NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Inspired by Tempest's hypnotically beautiful performances in the Gothic Bellydance DVD, I ordered this one. Not only is Tempest a fabulous dancer with great style but she's also an excellent teacher, demonstrating and describing four combinations of goth/bellydance fusion moves with a unique blend of clarity and humor. There's also a series of yoga-inspired warmup exercises, insights into the nature of raks gothique and two enchanting performance pieces at the end. Love it!