Customer Reviews

The Goddess Workout with Dolphina - Introduction to Bellydance [VHS]

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

The first bellydance tape I ordered was Veena and Neena's Bellydance: Basic Moves, which I enjoy greatly. So do my son, daughter, husband and sister, as well as a good friend of mine and her daughter. Basic Moves is attractive, a good workout, and well produced, by two women who manage to be athletic, sexy, energizing and classy all at once.

Dolphina's Goddess Workout, by contrast, seems to have been inspired by Playboy. If Playboy bunnies decided to make a bellydance tape, it would probably be something like this. Dolphina is a beautiful dancer, but there is a vampy quality to her dancing. She has a sex-kitten voice, and the number of her outfit changes on the tape is reminiscent of a beauty pageant. The metaphysical references are vague and uninformative. When she describes awakening Kundalini energy, it comes out sounding more like sexual induendo than spiritual insight. She definitely presents a good workout, but the tape seems designed to appeal more to men (there are countless shots of her breasts undulating up close when we are supposedly learning a hip movement) and movie star wanna-be's than regular women who want to use bellydance as a fun and sensuous way to stay in shape. It is the kind of tape that could discourage or frighten off older women, rounder-bodied women, and women who are out of shape to start. That is a shame, because belly dance is such a wonderful way to have fun, get a workout, and celebrate the female form, no matter what size, shape, or age it is. For people looking for a more accepting and authentic bellydance instruction tape, check out Fat Chance Bellydance's Tribal Basics. For great introductory bellydance workout tapes, Neena and Veena have my vote.

Sadly, anyone who looks reasonably good in a two piece outfit, has had a few Middle Eastern dance lessons, and has a good publicist can not only produce their own bellydance video these days, but can flog it to an unsuspecting public and no one will be the wiser. That's my review of The Goddess Workout in a nutshell. As a Middle Eastern dancer/instructor with 20 years experience, I am always on the lookout for good videos, especially beginner's videos, to recommend to my students. The Goddess Workout will not be getting a recommendation from me for several reasons. The movements are not well broken down or not broken down at all. "Be open" is not helpful advice for mastering undulations--just take it from me. The importance of basic posture--pelvis tucked, back long, shoulders down and relaxed, knees bent--which is very critical for doing Mid-Eastern dance movements safely and well is not emphasized or even mentioned. The neckrolls are not done properly--you should not allow the head to drop all the way back. The rhythm she identifies as "zar" is actually "beladi". And on and on. I don't know how long Dolphina has been dancing (and I even went to her website to look it up), but I suspect that she has either not been dancing very long or that she didn't manage to learn very much while she was taking lessons because she seems to be having trouble with her isolations and her movements in general seem awkward. The mark of an experienced dancer is that she is able to isolate her muscle movements and that her transitions are smooth.
In my opinion, the beginning dancer will be lost, the intermediate dancer will either pick up bad habits or will be frustrated since Dolphina tosses in (without breaking them down) some layered moves (shimmies with Figure 8s, for example) that can take a while to master, and the advanced dancer will be bored, amused, or nauseated (or possibly a combination of all three).
If you are looking for a New Age belly dance instructional video, I highly recommend Delilah's Bellydance Workshop Vols. 1-3 by Delilah Flynn... New Age philosophy makes me throw up, but Delilah is an excellent dancer and teacher. If you are looking for a dance teacher in your area, check out Shira's teacher's directory... Whatever you do, avoid purchasing Dolphina's video.

I had seen this video on TV over a year ago and looked for it everywhere, because I always wanted to bellydance, but couldn't remember the name. I proceeded to purchase 3 other bellydance videos, which weren't what I was looking for. While the other videos do have positive qualities, they lack the special quality The Goddess Workout has over all the others. The Goddess Workout is a beautiful video that makes me feel beautiful. I look forward to my workout everyday and feel like Dolphina has given me the secret to enjoying life. Everything about the Goddess Workout is amazing: the music, the set, the costumes. Dolphina is beautiful, like a goddess, but not intimidating.The video by Veena and Neena is good, but I hate the music and it lacks the spiritual aspect which Dolphina naturally embodies. The Magical Motion one is ok, but Atea is very awkward to watch. I would recommend the other videos, but if you were to have only one video, definately get The Goddess Workout

I bought this video along with another belly dancing video. I haven't even bothered to open the other one yet. One viewing with Dolphina's "The Goddess Workout" and I'm hooked. The video was not overly strenuous, yet I feel like my muscles were worked, especially those in my arms. I expected to work my stomach and hips, but I was surprised at the amount of upper body work performed. I also appreciated the discussion of the Chakra points worked through each movement. Dolphina is beautiful and I felt equally beautiful doing the movements with her. I feel like I learned a lot, and the best part is that I catch myself circling my hips through the day, practicing the movement's I've learned. I would recommend this workout to anyone new to Belly Dancing. If I had previously taken a class, I might not have benefitted as much by this video. Otherwise, its a beautiful, metaphysical workout, which leaves you feeling graceful, peaceful, and sexy!

I have taken belly dancing from some great instructors throughout southern California. Now that I am in an area that lacks a good instructor I thought I would try a video. After reading lots of reviews I thought I would give this video a try. Boy was I disappointed!

The video itself is beautifully arranged...which is why I gave it a two. The costuming, setting, music, constant smiling and the special effects were carefully detailed. However the camera work and attention to highlighting movements were not.

The video is more like a showpiece for Dolphina who is graceful and beautiful. But that is not what I was looking for. The poor camera work fails to show the moves clearly or at all! The focus on her face and other body parts while she explains or performs the moves does not help you with them; the costuming choices hide the posturing and nuances when the camera is occasionally in the right place.

I would look elsewhere if you want to use a tape for belly dance instruction and workout. Some reviewers liked this tape --I didn't, in fact I received it today and it is already boxed up so that I can ship it back tomorrow!

This was the third bellydance video I've tried and really enjoyed it. There were some parts that could have been better. For example, at times, the camera focused on her face when she was doing moves with the hips. I needed to see exactly how the move was being done but had to improvise and hope I was doing it right. Yes, she is very beautiful but it would have been better to watch the entire move. Also, some moves were only done once or in one set as soon as I was getting it. It was a little inconvenient to stop the tape and practice. Other than that, it is a great workout which is fun. The negatives don't detract too much from the overall tape. I look forward to doing the workout each day and do feel I get better each time I do it. I even work up a sweat! Overall, I do recommend this tape. It's a new and different way to move each day!

I have several videos and cds on bellydance. None of them compare to The Goddess Workout. I think the background scenery is fabulous, Dolphina's costumes are beautiful, and you get a spiritual lift as well as a terrific aerobic workout. If I had found this video first, I wouldn't have wasted my money on all those others.

I've enjoyed my Goddess Workout video for over a year. It was my first bellydancing video and though I have purchased others and enjoy them all for different reasons, The Goddess Workout is my favorite. Bellydancing can become addictive and this is the video that did it for me. I think bellydancing is personal expression of being a woman and not about being perfect, but enjoying moving and being confident enough to do so. Dolphina really expresses that clearly in her video. Though the video may have some flaws, Dolphina seems to encourage each woman to realize she is perfect just the way she is and adds interesting tips, history and information along the way to make each viewing interesting. What I find even more interesting is the reaction this video gets. I am always looking for new videos and hoping there will be more Goddess Workout videos and reading the reviews, I can't believe how one video can get such a range of reactions: some love it and feel like it's changed their outlook on life and their body(like me) and others seem positively angry that this video exists. If a video can get such strong reactions, there must be something very powerful that it provokes in the viewer. That's something to explore. Thanks Dolphina!

This is my first bellydance video, so I have nothing to compare it to, really. However I do have a few comments:
Dolphina is an accomplished dancer and presents the workout beautifully but her voice detracts from the material in my way of thinking. She sounds rather..uh.. flakey, I guess you could say. Her voice nearly put me to sleep while I was viewing the video before practicing it. It makes it that much harder to concentrate when trying to follow her instructions
The bits of metaphysical knowledge thrown in around the instructions make one wonder why the trouble was taken to mention them in the first place. The way chakras and Kundalini are mentioned, it makes one wonder if they were just added to further the "Goddess" aspect of the video or if the writers thought they were giving us some substantial information.
The special effects are just that- special effects which add NOTHING to the presentation and are annoying at times.
The "routine" at the end is about 45 seconds long, nothing to write home about. One may have expected that after all of the movements presented that it would be longer.
I think the Goddess Workout was so named to attract Pagans and and people exploring the Goddess in general.
There has to be a better bellydance video out there.

I am a bellydance instructor. I buy videos to get ideas for choreography and interesting moves. Dolphina's video is shot in beautiful locations, and I like the fact that she changes into different cute outfits for each segment...her full costume at the end of the video is quite lovely. The skill level however, is very beginnerish...many of the moves are incorrectly done & poorly explained. The camera man should also have been clued in that the body needs to be shown, not close-ups of the dancer's face. Dolphina looks good as long as she is moving slowly ( the warm-up segment), but when she executes the faster movements, she looks jerky and spasmodic...my husband (a co-instructor), actually laughed during the opening dance segment. I think Dolphina needs to stick with yoga until she has a LOT more lessons herself!What is really sad is that many women will buy this video and learn the incorrect way to bellydance!This video was a complete waste of money.