Customer Reviews

Egyptian Belly Dancing for Intermediates with Hilary Thacker [VHS]

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

 

 

Coming from a belly dance culture, I know good, professional belly dancing when I see it! Although I know the basics as most people where I come from do, I always wanted to learn the moves properly and so I bought a few teaching videos but was never really satisfied, particulary by the belly dance teachers themselves, because although some of them can move, they don't really seem to feel the music which is essential for this art! so when I got this video I was so impressed by Hilary's dancing, the way she moves and the way she seems to feel the rhythm as if she was a real Egyptian (and a very good Egyptian dancer what's more!). Regarding the video as an instrument for learning, it is also probably the best there is in terms of clarity of instructions and expalanations of the moves not to mention the beautiful atmospheric setting where Hilary and her students are dressed in lovely shake your hips gear and doing some serious hip shaking to beautiful belly dance music! I would say it is just worth buying the video for the stick section at the end which is great fun to watch and do along with this proffesional teacher. However, as its title suggests it is for intermediate students and not for real beginners! if you want to learn the real basics then I would highly recommed Hilary's beginners video which I've also got and is also excellent.

This is a solid video for those with some previous experience of belly dance, with emphasis on Egyptian style movements. It builds on the beginner video but you should be able to follow this video even if you haven't got volume 1, as long as you've been belly dancing for a year or so. Some of my more advanced students still find it a practical practice aid. It would have been useful if the sections for each movement had been a bit longer, so that students could stand in front of the video and practice the movements without having to rewind every few seconds.

Almeh Amira (Christine Hall) Belly Dance Teacher

If I'd reviewed this after one viewing, I'd have rated it lower. But -the proof is in the use.The more I do it, the more I like it. It is a bit overpriced considering its length, but that's just the way things are with bellydance videos now.

Hillary has an authentic Egyptian style, and if you like that style(and are truly at least an intermediate dancer- she doesn't slow down to teach moves!) you will like this video. I'd recommend waiting for a used copy at a lower price, and you should be very happy.

The cane section is very nice. I just wish the whole video was longer and more detailed.

I think that this video is a very good next step for those who have already mastered the moves of the beginners video or who have had a bit of experience of belly dancing. The instructions where well explained, and commentary was useful. The atmospheric setting and music where enough to make anyone want to start shimmying. I liked the studio scenes where you could compare what you where doing with other dancers, they all looked like they were enjoying themselves which is a bonus. I found the section on the stick very interesting and something which I'm keen to try out just as soon as I can get my hands on one. I would recommend this video to anyone with experience of the basics and its a great way to build on them and take your dancing to a new level.

This video caught my eyes because it was meant for the intermediate dancer and I thought, let's give it a try why not, but I have to say, the dancer has very nice moves, excellent if you love the Egyptian style, but this video is in a twilight zone. I mean, is it intended to teach or to entertain? Is this a preview of what a teaching video should look like? I watched it and I just couldn't believe how fast this lady goes, not that she should go super slow, after all it is for intermediate dancers, but either way you want to know what you are doing and how to do it properly. As she describes the movements it is very hard to concentrate into her narration, it is too low, it just looks like a video you would do at home. It is not wise to expect too much from things because then you will always be disappointed, but I guess I was disappointed somehow. It is a very short video and it leaves you longing for more and certainly expecting a little quality. Things that are not done with love do not come out very well, but my saying is good or bad you could always learn something even from the things you don't like!!!

This is an excellent instructional video for anyone with at least a basic knowledge of bellydance moves. Hilary Thacker does not spend too much time on teaching the moves, but the time she spends on the moves is sufficient. The video is broken down into teaching percussive hip movements, traveling steps, and cane. I especially enjoyed the cane section, and Hilary made the steps with the cane look simple and easy to do. Whether a dancer is considered "intermediate", "advanced", or whatever, is just subjective perception and opinion. Of course she dances like an intermediate bellydancer -she is teaching only "intermediate" moves. I would not recommend this video to a total novice who must condition herself first to get used to bellydancing, since the video is a somewhat strenuous workout. Overall, this is a great bellydance video to add to a collection.

There isnt any real explanations about the moves but if you are use to just following along it would work out ok. I personally would rate her as an intermediate dancer who has a teaching video out. Her costuming in the cane section is lovely and I did enjoy her use of cane, it is her one strong point. This tape is pricey but it is the only example of this style of Raqs Sharqi teaching in the USA. The style was developed in the UK by a dancer named Suraya Hilal but Hilary is teaching it so poorly I hesitate to mention any connection between the two.

I purchased both the Intermediate and Beginner tape from Hilary Thacker. Both are *ok*, but not worth the price. If they go on sale for 50% off it would be a good buy. The video quality is decent and the backdrops are not distracting. She is not very good at explaining moves and positioning. My friend who was a beginner did not like the video at all. I was able to get more out of it because I already knew what she was talking about.

this was bad.

i expected a much more professional product from someone who has a set of 3 videos.

for every instructional video i buy, i expect a professional product, precise movement, detailed instruction, and clean performances. i rate this a D.

the sound isn't to great,the setting is in a basement, and everyone looks pretty shabby. you can tell her backup dancers are some of her students; thats not a bad thing, but they look like they are wearing whatever they threw on to go to class that day, and Hilary looks grungy the whole time and her hair is a mess. it is also very short for the price- 30 minutes.

besides the production values, this is prety bad in terms of instructional help the viewer is given. there is no breakdown of moves, and things are done only once or twice at a slower speed. she gives you help sometimes with weight changes, but thats not much help when you only did that move 3 times with one hip and then moved on. it would take a very determened student to get each move picked out, watch it over and over, and then practice it on their own enough to master it.
Her posture is bad- she looks short and squatty the whole time- you can keep your knees soft without looking like a toddler with a full diaper. Also, i think she has a very wide stance that looked a little iffy to me- although that might be part of her style, i don't know. my sister and i finally figured out that she looks weird as she dances because she has flat and weirdly stiff flipper-feet, so maybe her wide stance would be fine on someone else. she also has limp, but stiff, arms. maybe this is another stylistic thing, but they just sort of flopped around.
her hands are held in, to me, an unnatural way- they are turned forward in that classic "jazz hands" position. just watch. after you notice them, you won't be able to keep your eyes off of the horror of her little stiff hands permently waving at you. her little hand-flippers swim aroud here and there, but they are pretty frozen. its mesmerizing after a while. anyway...

in the begining of each section hilary is by herself in front of a mirror (where you can se a 3/4 shot of her back if you look hard). then we move to a hilary in front of a class doing the moves. there are 5 sections in this video-

the first section is labeled "Hits". she does a couple of this, a couple of that, and she just kind of dances along and the voice over talks about it. this lasts for about 5 minutes, then we move to the classroom to do the same set of moves again with her students. (sometimes she actually breaks things down more in this second portion than she did in front of the mirror, so i'm not sure which is supposed to demonstration and which is practice.) it is easy to get distraced in this and all of the class settings because the students behind her are either off time with her, or each other, or both. this classroom portion lasts about 3 minutes.

Then its "Hip Drops". the mirror section of demonstration is about 3 min, then class time of about 2 minutes. by this time you notice that no move is done more than a few times, and almost nothing is done on both sides. there are a lot of people out there with tired rewind fingers.

The next section is entitled "The Egyptian Walk" and lasts a little over 3 minutes for both sections combined. there is almost no explanation of this set of moves, and the students are just as lost as you are. it's hard to watch.

Next is "Adding Steps", with about 4 minutes of mirror time and
just under 2 minutes of class time. this is mostly how to turn the moves in a circle or doing step-together-step with a particular move, rather than more moves or layering as you might have thought.

Now we get to the last section - "The Stick". there is about 3 minutes of instruction in this section where she covers alot- none if it explained. how to hold the cane, moving the cane around while doing camels, walking camels, shoulder hits and circles, etc. (she is in full costume for this section and there is a nice set. you wonder why the rest of it was filmed in her basement rec room.) then a 3 minute cane dance performance -disguised as a instructional part of this video with a voice over. she likes doing this and does a good job at it- or maybe its just so much better than what you've seen so far that you think it's better than it is. i think this is the only section where she has stage presence and is engaged with her home audience, and this is the only section where she is a dancer.

so, reccomendations-
if you have been taking dance since you were a small child and can just "watch and learn" you might be fine with this and be able to pick out moves you like, but to anyone else who needs moves explaned to you- pass this one up.
this should also be a "Pass" for people who like lots of repetition for learing muscle memory. you will have to do that on your own with this video.
this should also be a "pass" for those who like a very flamboyant style of bellydance. i'm not sure what THIS style is, but there are no sweeping arms and swishy skirts and dramatic pauses for you.