Customer Reviews

Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss featuring Rania: Pure Sweat [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

While I agree with some of the complaints in the other ratings (Rania's space cadet expression, elevator-style music, not true bellydance instruction), I still LOVE this DVD - so much so that I just bought the other three workouts. What's great about it...

* No props or equipment needed, not even shoes
* A 25-minute cardio workout (with warm-up and stretching) that actually gets you sweating
* The women who accompany Rania represent a a nice range of ages and body types - it's good to see women bellydancing without perfectly flat abs or stick-like thighs
* No need to be coordinated. Rania starts slowly and repeats the movements until they build into a "dance" routine.
* Excellent voice-over. She may be a space cadet, but she has a clear, calm speaking voice and doesn't sound like a wind-up doll. She also counts and speaks just enough to get you going - she doesn't blab throughout the workout.
* Bonus 10-minute ab workout is extremely challenging (not necessarily for beginners or people with lower back troubles), but seeing Rania's rock-hard abs is inspiration enough for me.

I've purchased and tried so many exercise videos, and this is the first that I really enjoy and look forward to doing. It's great to find something that feels effective, but doesn't punish my body as so many workouts do. I think that's the trick to actually working out, i.e., having so much fun that you WANT to do it. Best of all, and this may sound corny, but I feel feminine bellydancing, even though I do it in a gawky, goofy-looking way. All of these positives outweigh the negatives of this DVD for me.

Ok, I've been a dancer (although not a belly dancer) most of my life and a certified fitness instructor since 1988, and I've never seen any anyone simply go through the motions like Rania. She is beautiful and has impossibly incredible abs but she is SO stiff. AND she is absolutely vapid. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know where she is. Rania's background dancers have more talent and panache than she does, and are apparently happier to be doing this video than she is. The workout itself is good for beginners and fun if you watch anyone but Rania, but I didn't learn much about belly dancing. I'd hoped I would learn a little more than was begrudgingly offered. Many "moves" are basic for any aerobics class.

I recently started working out again after having had a slipped disc. I needed to start with something light yet exciting enough to keep my interest. So, naturally I thought this dvd would be perfect.
I barely broke a sweat in this workout, so everytime I see the cover, I break into a laugh.
I expected to have some authentic belly dance moves. I've taken a class of beginner's belly dance and I guess I expected something along those lines.
This dvd left me feeling cheated out of my money. Now, I feel hesitant to buy another belly dancing dvd workout. Maybe I just need an intermediate dvd workout.....Hope this helps.

I am half Lebanese and have been bellydancing all my life. I am fully aware what great health benefits it has (I have 3 kids and it does not show). Also I am a big fan of Rania and of Veena and Neena (the same company produces their videos and I have all of them!). I think Rania's new videos are dynamite. She is responding to people who want to learn bellydance without having to hear Middle Eastern music, so all the workouts have different type of music. She is a real bellydancer and great teacher. I read some of the negative reviews and all I can think is that they are expecting the bellydance looking set and music, whereas this set is more high-tech. If you can just look at the quality of instruction and the moves and combinations, you will be very happy, she teaches a lot. You will be doing bellydance combinations by the end of the tape.You will learn alot and not realise you had a workout.

With well-chosen Latin music and a fast-tempo'd pace guaranteed to satisfy the aerobic-dance crowd, this is the most accessible entry in Rania's Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss series. Travelling steps, such as the grapevine, the duck walk, swivel walk, with a little shimmy to boot are featured. The "dessert" at the end - Rania's playful Folkloric performance with veil and cane - shows how these travelling steps are used to advantage.
I firmly believe, though, that the sum of entire Bellydance Fitness series is greater than its individual tapes. Use Pure Sweat and Cardio Shimmy on your aerobic days, Bellydance Boogie when you want to really work on your torso moves, and Hip Hop Hip Drop on your yoga days and when you need to work out sore muscles. You need to master the elements in all the tapes, not just one, to become a well-rounded dancer.

I did enjoy this workout, and the performances, but I did not give it five stars because the music was to 'elevator' sounding. I don't hold it against Rania because most of the workout videos have that kind of music, but then again, the box said 'hot latin rhythms', which is false.

Rania's bonus workout was great and showed her fitness experience, and her performances were pretty good (way better than the Twins), so I was impressed with the bonus material.

But the main reason I chose to write this review is that I did learn some fun new steps to go out clubbing with, and I feel I got my money's worth.

Rania's tapes are well-produced but this one did not make me sweat and it was much harder to follow than the Hip Drop Hip. I felt more like a club dancer than a belly dancer. Maybe it was my lack of connection with or inspiration from the music? I did not like this one very much. A fun fitness workout and I like the fact that she repeats things but I felt that some of the movements weren't explored/explained or done slow enough or enough times before trying to choreograph them into a tempo routine.

Not only did I not sweat, but my heart beat didn't raise any. I will grant that I work out a lot.

This is probably a good workout if you're really out of shape. A total beginner might get a workout, but if your already work out regularly, keep your money and invest elsewhere. The Cardio Shimmy from the same series is actually pretty good.

Also, the music is indescribably awful.

That's the feeling I get from watching this video!! The instructor is so stiff and looks like she is trying so hard to look pretty, happy and to actually do the moves properly that it just makes you feel tense watching it. I just didn't feel like these were traditional belly dancers. I feel like this was someone that is fit, and is just sort of going through the motions of the moves!! The Veena and Neena videos are so much better because they are more relaxed and really look like they know what they are doing.

I really enjoyed working out to this video. Rania is great - very graceful, full of energy and enthusiasm, she is very mesmerizing, just a very talented dancer. This is a fantastic and fun way to burn calories and a great way to work that most difficult area of the body, the mid section. When I first learned about this video, I read one of the reviews that was not very positive, but then noticed it's by the same company that produced the Bellydance Slim Down video with Veena and Neena which I also love. I decided to give this one a try and was very impressed - the music, production, and Rania herself make this a really fun filled dance workout.