Customer Reviews

Dance Today! Flamenco - Active Lifestyle Makeover

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been looking for a DVD like this one for years! I've been dancing Middle Eastern for years, but have always been fascinated by gypsy and flamenco dance. I've bought several videos, some of them better than others, but with one exception (and that DVD only offered a few steps), they don't break down the posture, hand movements, upper body/lower body steps, etc.

Lunaris' DVD is completely the opposite! Lunaris breaks down both dances into combinations, which she then carefully breaks down still further, beginning with the absolute basic -- how to get your skirt up to your hand. From there, she explains posture and attitude, separates and explains upper and lower body steps and hand movements, and then demonstrates how to put it all together.

On top of this, Lunaris is lovely, and her demeanor and accent are delightful. She provides additional personal commentary on a few steps, too -- for instance, she describes how, in Spain, children learn one hand movement as "picking an apple, eating the apple, throwing the apple away." The DVD is so detailed and careful, I'd happily pay this much for a video that provided just *one* of these dances!

I also *love* the way Lunaris explains dance as a language. She teaches the steps as "vocabulary," then suggests that once you know the vocabulary, you can improvise to music.

My only complaint with this video -- and it's slight enough, I still wish I could give this DVD a dozen stars! -- is that she faces the viewer and uses terms like "this leg" instead of "right leg."

Nevertheless, this DVD is an absolute must-buy if you've ever been intrigued by Spanish dance, whether gypsy or flamenco. It's a fantastic addition for Middle Eastern dancers who would like to add a little flair to their dance. When I'm finished with this review, I'm going to buy both of Lunaris' other videos!

Beautiful, beautiful! Who doesn't want to dance majestically like this beautiful lady? She is captivating from beginning to end.
Learn the beautiful Gypsy tango! Hips, swaying, skirt flying, beautiful hand movement. From posture to skirt basic technique, arm and body placement to hand, finger, wrist, movement very well broken down and easily explained.

11 combinations guide you into a beautiful gypsy tango. Learn turns, skirt technique, intricate footwork.

The Farruca with 10 combinations; the most interesting for me was the flat, point, heel. Try it with speed for a challenge!
This is bold, heavy footwork with aggressive combinations.

2 live performances by Puela Lunaris, who beautifully executes the Gypsy Tango and Farruca two dances of Spain. Although I am a belly dancer, overall I feel this program has brought more grace and elegance into my personal style. Dance being so universal marries the common ground in gypsy tango that I devote to my dance to create my own special blend. This was a good learning experience bringing variety and versatility for my audience.

Puela speaks very clearly. You will feel comfortable with her. Her explanations are quite thorough and you can see that she has worked hard in this production.
Her style is "classical". Her choreographies, as a whole, are not what you might see in Spain today. She does get across in a fun way, which is a good way to get acquainted with the dance, since modern-day Flamenco can be quite demanding. My review is based on my experience as an "intermediate" dancer who has studied (and lived briefly) in Sevilla.

This was a very informative dvd, broken down in digestable combos that are very easy to follow. A great dvd to have in your dance library!

In my discovery of Gypsy bellydance, I noticed there were alot of flamenco moves and hand gestures. I went on to Amazon and checked out reviews of flamenco DVDs finding that Dance Today and Flamenco You Can Do It (both demonstrated by Puela Lunaris) had great reviews- many from other bellydancers!
After quickly receiving the DVDs, I was very impressed on the step-by-step instruction and the enthusiasm and charm of Ms. Lunaris .
I would certainly recommend these two DVDs to learn this beautiful art.
I'm pretty sure clips of these DVDs can be reviewed on YouTube.

I've been dancing for nearly 20 years. I've taken mostly ballet, but some modern, tap, jazz, swing, and other styles here and there on the side. I took a Flamenco class for a semester in college and really enjoyed the experience. So, clearly, I'm only just a Flamenco novice, but I do know how dance classes of various skill and formality levels are run. I thought I would refresh my memory and sneak in a bit of post-work activity with an instructional DVD. This not only seemed to be the most popular Flamenco instructional DVD on Amazon, but it also had the best reviews. I couldn't wait for it to come.

Unfortunately, I immediately sent it right back to whence it came. While Puela's performances are lovely and her introduction to Flamenco is informative, this DVD seems sorely incomplete. WHERE is the warm up? There is none. There's also no technique section to speak of. I should have taken the description more literally, I guess, when it said "learn two beautiful dances," because that's all that there is on this DVD. There are step-by-step breakdowns of specific routines. The end. While this DVD would be a nice addition for someone who can already do their own Flamenco warm up and technique, it is not at all what I expected from a beginner instructional DVD.

I wouldn't have given it such a bad review if I didn't feel like it was actively misrepresented. The "Active Lifestyle Makeover" label gives the impression of a class-like light activity/work out video. I have several dance instructional videos and nearly all of the beginning level have a "virtual class" sort of set up with a warm up and specific technique exercises prior to choreography sections. I really did want to love it, but it was neither what I feel like it was represented to be nor what I was looking for.

I was looking for some gypsy dance instructional DVDs & came across 3 names of interest: Dalia Carella, Vashti, & Puela Lunaris. All 3 have something to offer. The "Gypsy Tangos" on this DVD is a great choreography, which I have learned & performed in public. I like that Lunaris has the full version of the dance in both the instructional mode & a performance, and that you can download the music for $1 with either Spanish lyrics or English. The white background is also good in reducing distractions. On the negative side, you only see the choreography from the front (no mirror image or view from the back), and Lunaris' sense of timing is rather fluid. But it is still a good DVD, and a great value for the money.

The instructor was a very informative and descriptive, however it was hard to follow. She showed how to move and how to act but she didn't put the steps together very well. Was a lot of fun to do, but if you want to finish the dance from beginning to end you will have to be very patient because she shows you the moves she just doesn't show you how to put them all together. You have to do that yourself and by watching the demo.

The video came in in record time and the seller is great, but the video is not good. I used to dance Flamenco and just wanted a routine video to practice on my own, but this is not it. I don't know this performer, but she does not compare to my maestra Ana Esmeralda and others that I observed. Her hands are not like "palomas", her feet not strong, she sometimes are out of measure and beat... very disappointing...

First that all, the trader was great. Very fast deliver, I much appreciate that. But the dvd is... boring! It shows 2 dances that are the most stronger, passionate, vibrating dances in flamenco, with no passion at all!! Very very basic!!! the farruca is mean to be a hard footwork dance.. there is no hard footwork at all! I guess it's ok if you are thinking of learn "some" flamenco just to play around, not to get good at it. Besides the dancer has no grace to dance at all.. very dissapointed. It probably would be ok if was rumba or even sevillanas, but not tango and farruca, wich are such hard and complex dances. I don't recommended, was a waste of money.