Customer Reviews

Bellydance! Slow Moves

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

 

 

One gets the feeling that the producers of this video could never quite decide whether they wanted to make an instruction video or a performance video.

As an instruction video, it's strictly for beginners. It teaches only the most basic belly dance moves: hip and rib slides, hip and rib circles, figure eights, camels (but not reverse camels), and one traveling step. It does an adequate job, but if you already know these moves, you will learn nothing new.

There are also two or three arm movements taught, although the movements are neither explained nor performed especially well. Even with the hip movements, there were a couple of times the dancers weren't using really good form or clean isolations. In fact, novice that I am, I thought there were places where I could've demonstrated the moves better myself.

Three dancers demonstrated each movement, with verbal instruction provided by voiceover. To me, this gave the teaching a sterile, unfriendly feel. I prefer video instructors like Neon or Sarah Skinner who give the impression that they're personally interacting with the viewer.

The most useful part of the video for me was the brief but clear explanation of how to transtion from one move to the next.

Much of the video is devoted not to instruction, but to performances by several different dancers, most of whom were good but not great. Here would have been a wonderful opportunity to show the viewer some creative ways to use the steps taught in the video, but the performers seemed more interested in showing off their advanced skills instead.

What I liked best about this video was the lavishly beaded costumes. Even the practice outfits worn by the instructors were beautiful and eye-catching. If you love bright colors and glittery 80's-style glam, as I do, then you'll enjoy that part.

But if you want to learn anything beyond the very simplest dance moves, this is not the video for you.

Get a load of these gals! I wouldn't mind the cheap cheeziness if this taught or inspired anything. Atea speaks very slowly and sweetly to us and tricks us in the beginninng into thinking this just might be a nice slow move instructional video. There is only a very brief and deceptively easy instructional part when she and others, one gaudier than the next (and one not graceful at all) go into showing their impossible to follow routines. They even include complicated but not very appealing floor work that was never even touched upon previously. The costumes and make-up look more like trick or treat than dance and this is definately a trick and not a treat. Why they dug this out and dusted it off for DVD is a mystery to me. The only thing I can say for it is it does obsess about transitions to the point I actually got it. Darn, and I was so glad to see someone older doing bellydance, as I am certainly no spring chicken myself. I was ready to forgive a lot but there is virtually no instruction in this and certainly no entertainment unless you want a not so good laugh. I'm trully not being bitchy and have given other bellydancing DVD's and other products four or five stars but this had no redeaming value. I'm a beginner and if I'd seen this first I would have been so turned off I wouldn't have taken on the challange. I was so eager to learn and listened to the other reviews. You guessed it -- I bought Fast Moves also. I'm sure all the ladies in this are very nice people (they even show a large group socializing at the end) but this should just not be on the market for twenty dollars.

So sorry about the title. I seldom write reviews. It is really because the video is so bad that I feel I have to jump out to warn the future victims.

I have been learning bellydancing for 2 years and own more than 50 bellydance DVDs and VHSs. Atea's "Magical Motion" and "Slow Moves" and "Fast Moves" - my most recent purchase, are the worst.

I don't know how old Atea was when she shot this video. She looks like in her 70s in this video and in "Fast Moves". She looks a little "younger" - in her 50s in "Magical Motion". So imagine for yourself... I would have given "Slow Moves" and "Fast Moves" 0-star if I could.

Her dance was not gracious at all, very rigid, like a mummy. The dance moves are very ugly. I cannot call it dance at all.

To be frank, even this video was free, I would not want to have it or even watch it. But instead, I paid $20, a total of $60 together with Atea's other 2 videos, all thanks to the good reviews from this site.

At the beginning, I hesitated to buy them, because there were extremely good reviews and extremely bad reviews. Now I could guess who have posted the good reviews.

I hope those who posted the good reviews should be responsible for bellydance community - they shouldn't gain profit on others' loss by misleading us.

So for anyone who is contemplating on buying this video, please take some time to do a thorough research, ask others in the bellydance community who have actually seen the video and who are not members of Atea's group.

I hope as a gramma, I look like one of these ladies! I thought that the idea of bellydancing, is to embrace our femininity, and that it doesn't matter how old anyone is, that bellydancing is for everyone. I did feel that Atea is a far better dancer than speaker & should stick to her dancing! The dvd showed some beautiful dancers who really enjoyed their dance- isn't that the basis of why we are dancing anyway? There are wonderful solos. I'm not much on the 'actual' learning to dance aspect on this dvd, but found the solo's to be very fun to watch. Not only do these women have different body proportions, (all look good), but they are of different ages, and show that they dance beautifully and enjoy what they are doing. One woman, Fahtiem, her solo showed the amazing control of her stomache muscles. I have never seen that kind of control. This isn't a favorite dvd of mine, but it does have it's good points & I hope I mentioned the one's that I enjoyed.

I so enjoyed this DVD. The instruction was clear and easy to follow. I found that I could do all of the movements as they were instructed right away! The workout is gentle. The costumes are beautiful. I cant wait to move on to Bellydance! Fast Moves.

This is a wonderful look at the strength, grace and beauty of slow bellydance moves. Most dancers underestimate the skill necessary to perform the mesmerizing and hypnotic slow movements. This DVD not only provides excellent and easy to follow instructions for learning to master many of those movements, it also gives advanced students wonderful demonstrations of sophisticated, highly developed techniques.

These are essential skills for every belly dancer, and Bellydance! Slow Moves is an essential instructional DVD for every serious dancer.

This is a 2008 update to the review I posted back in 2005.

Magical Motion Slow Moves is absolutely wonderful. Easy to follow instructions with moves demonstrated by lovely and talented dancers make this a must have for anyone just starting out in belly dance.
I have been dancing for almost four years now and I still use all of the Magical Motion DVDs to re-inforce what I learn in my weekly classes.

Atea is a wonderful, patient teacher who clearly explains and demonstrates the moves she is presenting. Granted, these dvds were made "back in the day" and look dated by todays standards BUT DON'T LET THAT KEEP YOU FROM BUYING THEM. Hair, make up and clothing may change, but good solid, dance instruction never goes out of style.