Customer Reviews

Flawless Floorwork: The Lost Art of Belly Dance Floorwork

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 5:43 Mins

As someone who originally learned to dance back in the early 70's, I'm glad to see floor work make a comeback.

First there is a pilates-based strength workout which is great for core and upper body. I would have liked to see more emphasis on building strength in the legs as well.

Ruby gives a large enough number of moves that you will be able to create a flow for your own music. She demonstrates several ways to get up and down from the floor. She even has a dramatic drop that looks a lot less dangerous than the classic turkish drop. Next there are two "combos" which are actually sequences or flows for you to adapt to your own music, one relatively easy, one a little more advanced and dramatic.

She also offers a 10-minute warm-up that you can do in costume for those who perform. No getting on the floor!

Ruby is a lovely dancer to watch and she definitely vibes with the slow music.

This dvd would be great for anyone interested in American Classic bellydance and could be adapted for tribal-fusion. Not good for those with weak or damaged knees.

I can sum it up in one word - WOW! This DVD is fantastic and is a MUST HAVE for any dancers video library. Ruby has proved to be a master instructor and her dancing is exquisite. And on top of being absolutely amazing, she is such a down-to-earth and generous instructor. I would have bought this DVD for the Pilates-based workout alone, and after going through that extensive warm-up, there was instruction enough to fill a 3-hour workshop! What I love about the instructional section is that it's so thorough, offering dancers clear postural alignment, and safe progressions to more advanced movements. And the dance movements and combinations are so much fun to do, my personal favorite is the "Hip Spin." I especially valued the 10-minute back stage warm up, and as if that wasn't generous enough there was a costume tutorial as an added bonus! This is one DVD that I will go back to again and again and is a permanent favorite in my video library.

The Chapter menus are easy to read and sub menus labeled so the user can navigate to any part of the lessons with ease.

Introduction -
Pilates Terminology - Fundamentals of proper breathing, and how to zip up your abs. I've never seen this before and believe it to be a key to strong floorwork.

Strengthening Routine. aprox 35 minutes of exercises to build muscle strength and flexibility needed in good floorwork.

Technique: Kneeling Isolations, Kneeling Spin, Kneeling crawls, Extensions, Snake (hindulations), Back layout, Side layout, Hip spin, Side extensions.

Descents: Knee tap down & up, Foot Back Slide, Dragon Down, The Throw Down, Turning Descent.

Ascents: Single leg kneel up, Single leg twist up, Lunge Side ascent, Snake up.

Combinations: Basic Combo, and basic combo drill. Advanced Combination and Advanced combination drill.

Extras: Backstage Warm-up, Costuming tutorial, performance, and trailers of other Cheekygirls dvds.

There is approximately 90 minutes of instruction on this dvd. I think you will like this dvd if you are wanting to learn Floorwork and or wanting to build strength in your legs and abs.

Flawless Floorwork is designed for the dancer with some belly dance background and a moderate degree of physical ability. Instructor Ruby is thorough and articulate. She generously offers tips from her experience in dancing floorwork and she is gentle in her pace of teaching.
Flawless Floorwork begins with a verbal history and purpose of floorwork. Ruby shares her philosophy and an explanation of her Pilate's technique for floorwork. This introduction is coupled with tantalizing videos of Ruby in performance and practice of her floorwork steps that are explained in the instruction portion. The introduction is rather lengthy for dancers who may play the DVD for the first time dressed and eager to practice and dance right off. I suggest watching the introduction and the Pilates terminology sections in a relaxed fashion when you are not expecting to actively dance. It is good information that does not need to be reviewed in each DVD dance session.
The Strengthening Routine section is the next best thing to having a certified Pilates instructor guiding you through the exercises and giving personal feedback. It is clear that Ruby has seen enough beginner level Pilates to know what instruction to give. She explains what to do and how to do the exercises safely. That being said, the exercises are challenging. Many Pilate's exercises are designed to use multiple muscle groups, which means that they are a lot of bang for your buck. Ruby does mention that floorwork is a dancer's opportunity to show her (or his) strength, endurance and balance abilities. This program prepares participants for an impressive demonstration of strength. Please begin gently and follow Ruby's suggestion to consult your health care provider if you have any questions regarding your fitness level and appropriate exercise programs.
The DVD is set in a studio with a wood floor and mirrors. This is helpful because Ruby can be viewed anterior and posterior as she faces the mirror and is recorded from behind in most demonstrations. The Prone Hip Extension and the Swan are initially awkward to view because it they are done facing the floor, but they can be learned by watching the exercise first and performing them with Ruby's verbal instruction.
The Technique section covers multiple belly dance steps and combinations that can be done on the floor. This is not a beginning level DVD, and Ruby assumes knowledge of basic steps such as undulations, Maya's, and hip circles. However, floorwork specific movements are given thorough instruction. She repeats each step enough to practice the movement a few times. Ruby covers descents, ascents, costume tips, and a performance.
Flawless Floorwork's total running time is 113 minutes. It is a generous arrangement of quality material that surpassed my hopes for a floorwork instruction DVD. Although I find it too lengthy to play through and work with in one dance session, it is valuable when practiced regularly in pieces manageable for a dancer's time allotment and fitness level. This DVD delivered both the inspiration and the quality instruction that I anticipated from a masterful dancer.
Idena Suzanne is an instructor and performer in southern Oregon. She is a member of Ayesha's Oasis Dance Company and is director of the Tasseled Camel Dance Company.
[...]

I have been dancing since 1996 and sword with floorwork is my specialty. Ruby has ascents/descents on this I've never seen before. I really love her 10 minute warmup you can do in costume, it's a great warmup even if you're not performing floorwork.
And her technique section???? WOW, that is my favorte. I am also a certified massage therapist with an anatomy background and although I typically describe moves in layman's terms when teaching, I do throw in the anatomical reference on top of it. So here is Ruby talking about thoracic kyphosis and how to avoid it. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

This DVD and Drills! Drills! Drills! A complete workout with finger cymbals for belly dancers of all levels by Michele Joyce were kind of a wake-up call for me. I've been a lazy practitioner of belly dance for a couple of years now and, in the last few months, started doing practice for an hour a day. Ruby and Michele are kicking my butt.

I can't do the Pilates strengthening routine all the way through yet, but I'm getting a little better every day. I know this DVD is really for advanced students of the dance, but it gives me something to work toward and challenge myself with. The material on this DVD is inspiring, to say the least, and extremely helpful in getting your body into peak condition. During the Pilates workout, Ruby prompts you to remember your shoulders and obliques almost exactly when you find your attention wandering away from them. She also explains why doing a particular move wrong is bad for your body (par for the course for Cheeky Girls, but not necessarily belly dance instruction DVDs in general) and what the wrong move looks like.

One thing that every buyer needs to know: this is not a play-through DVD. The information here is best in bits and pieces, pausing in between techniques to put on some music and drill yourself before moving onto the next part. The in-costume warm up is great, but since I'm not performing, I prefer to do a floor-based warm up before I start the DVD.

Overall, one of the best belly dance DVDs I've had the good fortune to come across. This is about pushing your body to the limit in the most graceful and beautiful way possible and showcasing your strength. I love it.

So here is the thing. Most DVD's are really good, but with a few things that you might change. There is nothing that I would change about this DVD.it is not just good, it is great.
It is thorough without being annoyingly slow.Ruby is personable and friendly without being ditzy. She is no-nonsense without being cold. The warmup is fantastic. She goes into great detail on the proper way to do things/avoid injury which in a floorwork DVD is vitally important. One wierd twist and kiss your knees goodbye.
The content is thorough, it is shot well, and she is INSPIRING. You can tell that she really enjoys floorwork, and she isn't just going through the movements. Buy this.

Glad I got this dvd. Ruby gives clear instruction, at the same time leaving room for more advanced dancers to elaborate on what she's taught. For the price, the information covered is fair. I would like to see more descents and ascents presented in the future as I am sure Ruby is a most capable performer and instructor.

I love buying DVDs from Cheeky Girls, they are always beautifully produced and chock full of information, for a fantastic price.

Ruby is a great dancer, I had the pleasure to see her live a while back and she blew my mind. I was very excited to learn this DVD was coming out.

The DVD includes a great instructional on floor work, no filler, just lots of good information, and some great extras including costuming help, a wonderful performance (my only wish is she had worn a color other than red, as it makes her harder to see at some points) and a great in costume warm up.

I will continue to buy DVDs from Cheeky Girls.