Product Details

• Actors: Ranya Renee
• Directors: Ranya Renee
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: StratoStream - World Dance New York
• DVD Release Date: March 31, 2009
• Run Time: 165 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001JGK4BE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,593 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Instruction for All Levels, March 21, 2009

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bellydance Egyptian Style - Modern Oriental (DVD)

This 165 minute "Modern Oriental" DVD is a marvelous way to learn the current Egyptian style of dance, with Ranya Renee, an internationally acclaimed performer and teacher, giving us a clear understanding of the technique, as only she can do. Ranya has a way of making her explanations visual, as in "your foot hitting the floor like your hand hitting a drum." Her depth of knowledge and expertise combined with this clarity makes this a valuable bellydance DVD to own.

It starts with a Welcome that explains Egyptian dance and its history in an overview of what will be taught on this DVD, and then you get the basic posture, alignment, and technique in detail, as well as a good warm-up.

The choreographed piece comes in 2 levels. #1 is for beginners and is much simpler and shorter, #2 for advanced/intermediate. Both include a demonstration, a step by step breakdown and "drills" for practice. Ranya has a nice habit of saying "left-right-left" etc., so our feet don't get mixed up in fast passages and weight changes. The DVD concludes with a gorgeous costumed perfomance.

Dramatic and dazzling with her mane of red hair, Ranya is a delight to learn from and watch. She dedicates this DVD to her longtime teacher Yousry Sharif, who must be so proud of her! Music is excellent and authentic, by Mohamed Ali.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Choreography, April 6, 2009

By 

Shannon B Davis "Nepenthe" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bellydance Egyptian Style - Modern Oriental (DVD)

Ranya Renee's "Modern Oriental" DVD is a single DVD focusing on Modern Oriental style of bellydance. The DVD is intended for intermediate dancers, or at minimum, beginner dancers with other classroom or DVD experience.

Ranya begins the DVD with a discussion of music for Oriental dance, and how it has changed over the years. These changes have affected how dancers respond to the music. The historical background provides the viewer with an understanding of what differentiates Modern Oriental from other styles of bellydance.

Ranya also includes a valuable section on how to best learn choreography. I put this into use already this weekend at a Yousry Sharif workshop (Ranya's dance mentor). This video, like her baladi DVD, includes a useful posture section.

Then Ranya teaches a choreography to Layalina by Yousry Sharif. First, she teaches the finale choreography, for beginners. Then she has an intermediate section with the entire song. Each section contains both choreographic instruction and practice, as well as drills to build ones skills. Ranya does not merely explain the movements, but she explains where your weight is, the "feeling" of the move, down to the angle of the head. Not only that, but she tells you why she wrote the choreography this way. She also discusses the music, and how the movements go with the music. The DVD is packed with so much more information than your typical choreography DVD, and Ranya's delivery is entertaining, never stiff or boring.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great video for Modern Egyptian, April 12, 2009

By 

Shara of Desert Dance (KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bellydance Egyptian Style - Modern Oriental (DVD)

This is a fabulous video on modern Egyptian belly dance! It is for intermediate and advanced students, but it would be good material for a beginner to watch in order to understand the music and the dance concepts. I'm really looking forward to the next video in this series. The whole series will be required viewing for my students! These DVDs are packed with information! I like to watch DVDs through, take notes, then go back and work with them. You may want to do the same with Ranya's videos, because they have so much information that you will want to remember.