Customer Reviews

Instant Belly Dancer: A Crash Course in Bellydance, Vol.2 - Hipwork Plus

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

 

 

Beginners: Take a chance on this tape if you have had problems learning from other tapes. You can't go wrong for the price. You probably won't like this DVD if you want expensive production. Get the much hyped "Goddess workout" if you want to fantasize you are a gorgeous bellydancer... It would be a better gift for someone. It is production perfect: You will see a perfect looking blonde in a gorgous background. But, if you really want to learn and you are movement challenged like I am -- get this DVD. Nothing fancy, just pure learning.

I always read and trust the reviews of DVD's from Shira's bellydance website. Neon was never mentioned there so I didn't pay too much attention to her when I would see her DVD's for sale now and then on ebay. Then one day out of curiousity looked at her reviews from Amazon. I was very impressed at what people said. I took a chance and bought it since one was for sale cheap (used). I have a number of bellydance DVDs for beginners, but this is the first one that I can really learn from explanation as well as visually. Many people taking bellydance have dance backgrounds and are visual learners. For them it isn't too important who the teacher is as long as they have good form. They see, then do. They can look at someone and copy easily because they understand where their bodies are in space. They do well in classes.... I don't. I need to go really slow and have explanation accompanying the visual. This doesn't come easily in most classes or videos, but this video delivers.

Because Neon wears a LOT of makeup, I think people judge her as a "bimbo" who maybe couldn't deliver a good lesson. Trust me: Don't judge the book by the cover... this gal is SHARP. I am a teacher (not for dance) so I know a good teacher when I encounter one. This lady proves that she has an UNCANNY ability to teach.. better than American born teachers who might have a more serious appearance. If I hadn't seen the rave reviews I might have stereotyped her as well. Neon will blow you away with her breakdown of movements.. I promise. I learned a lot less from expensive tapes. I have also taken classes from excellent bellydancers at 100/hr private lessons who couldn't tell me HOW they do their moves... they could only show me. I think it takes a certain inborn teaching quality to break movements down to their simplest components. I agree with the other reviewer who said she liked the way she "relates moves to each other." You will see what I mean if you get the video. She will teach a move and show you how to tweak it and make it another similar move. I think even bellydance teachers should see this video because they could improve teaching skills.

This is my third bellydance DVD and it is by far the best one. It covers A LOT of bellydance hip movements and combinations, from basic to intricate. True to the title, it presents everything in a clear, intuitive way that I understand "INSTANTLY." As I was watching this DVD for the first time I was able to grasp quite a few bellydance concepts that I was really not getting after trying for months in weekly group classes. Neon is a terrific instructor, showing everything in an extremely well-organized and systematic way. For example, she arranges all the movements in categories that show how they are connected and what comes from what. With the categories I can remember things and combine them on my own. Every single move is illustrated in excellent computer graphics drawn on Neon's moving body. It's a whole integrated system. So after months of feeling frustrated in class and actually having a lot of doubt about whether I could do this, I'm now moving forward very rapidly. I know this is only because of what I have picked up from this DVD.

Like the "Curves" version of Instant Bellydancer, this focuses more on a few movements to incorporate into regular dancing. Sometimes the camerawork can be awkward as Neon walks toward the camera, and it starts to cut off her head. However, showing her at numerous angles doing the moves makes them easier, and she teaches them at a perfect pace to learn them quickly. I mainly dance at Middle Eastern and Latin nightclubs, so these moves naturally go with the music, but these can easily be used at any other club as well. I love this DVD and how easy Neon makes it to learn each move.

I've had Neon's "Instant Belly Dancer: A Crash Course in Belly dance Hipwork Plus" since summer and it still stays on top of the stack. I don't even bother to put it away. THAT's how much I use this DVD. Neon teaches hip work and also "walks" like no other video instructor. She treats belly dance as a system so you can understand connections between various types of walks and hip moves and the ways they can be combined. I started learning bellydance kind of randomly because I changed teachers. I ended up learning the same moves over again but with different names. Neon's DVDs have given a clear structure to my understanding of bellydance moves. Sometimes the only difference between two moves is the direction of an accent or the way you count and lay that movement on the rhythm. It's more than just remembering the different moves. Neon's DVDs (I have both "Instant Belly Dancer" DVDs) show the building blocks of each movement so you learn how even the simplest movement is a combination of even simpler ones. Once you get this you can see the mechanics of any movement, even the most complicated ones. So even though I already knew more than half of the material taught in this DVD, Neon's system makes it tons easier for me to handle new choreographies. By the way I am not a reviewer, I only wrote this because I read some other "reviews" here that struck me as personal attacks on Neon and that really say nothing about this DVD. If you are not ready for this material because you need more basic training, lay this DVD on the shelf and let it wait there for you to catch up to it. Don't proclaim your ignorance by bashing the most talented instructor who has done more than anyone out there to make belly dancing easy to learn.

I was disappointed when I watched these dvds. I purchased both of Neon's volume 1 and volume 2, and I am returning both. I am sure I could learn something from them, but the flavor and the spirit is not what I was looking for at all. I find her approach interesting, but I am going elsewhere.

I was expecting more of a traditional type of instruction. Neon seems very talented, and is quite easy to understand, but this was not what I wanted. I am sure she is an accomplished dancer, but I wanted authentic music, and more traditional instruction for someone interested in belly dancing for belly dancing, not for clubbing, not just a surface approach.

I have to say that the spacy techno music is HORRIBLE!!. How she chose that as accompaniment is beyond me. I love middle eastern music, and that was a real let down.

I have to move on to something more to my taste. Sorry Neon.

i also bought the bellydance dvd by Kathy Smith, but by far i loved this one by Neon (i really thought this was going to be more of a silly 'gimick', basing on her unusual name 'Neon', but it turns out she really knows her stuff!)

she takes you thru many basic moves, w/an overlying grid to show you precisely how to do it, and is taught an easy but not TOO slow of a pace either lol. i have both her 1 and 2 dvd, and i'm now ordering her "Dance Today! Bellydance - Active Lifestyle Makeover" dvd (for fun and to test out my newest skills).

this one's a real bargin for the price! :)

The Crash Course in Bellydance, the first dvd, was great! The learning pace is a bit fast, but the workout left me feeling quite toned. The Hipwork Plus was a shorter less intense workout. I probably won't be using it too often. It was not worth buying by the standards of the first dvd.

This is the second video in the top notch Instant Bellydance series. As a compliment to her `Curves" video, the instructor, Neon, has chosen a set of bellydance movements that all have a foundation in angular movement. The order in which she teaches them builds one movement upon the last. It is much easier to learn the movements when they all have the same foundation instead of bouncing around from one type of movement to the next. This helps to cut down the learning curve and make your proficiency more `instant,' as well as allowing Neon to pack many, many more dance moves into her video. You will find a huge amount of instruction and value for your money! If you don't already own the Instant belly Dancer Curves" video, I recommend you pick it up first. It's not required to view "Curves" before `Hipwork Plus", this video stands on its own, but the novice bellydancer will find it especially helpful to start there. The segments in the "Extras" section will be particularly helpful.

In this video you will learn:
-Horizontal Slides: hip slides, hip pushes side/diagonal, hip pushes back, head slides, chest slides, shoulder pushes, shoulder shimmies, hip twists, hip swivel shimmies, and combinations
-Vertical Slides: up-down hip slides, up-down hip shimmies, up-down hip slides with a twist, downward arc hip slides, upward arc hip slides, and combinations
-Lifts and Drops: side hip lifts/drops, 1 hip twists, front hip lifts/drops, back hip lifts/drops, chest lifts/drops, pelvic locks, stomough pulses, and combinations
-Parallel Arcs: front-back upward arcs, front-side upward arcs, side-back upward arcs, front-side-back upward arcs, front-back downward arcs, front-side downward arcs, side-back downward arcs, front-side-back downward arcs, and combinations
-Perpendicular Arcs: side upward arcs, front upward arcs, back upward arcs, side downward arcs, front downward arcs, back downward arcs, and combinations.

At the end of each teaching section the moves are layered and combined to create beautiful bellydance movement.

The production value is great! Neon is set against a black background which makes it very easy to see her movements. Neon's instruction is very clear. Although English is not Neon's first language, she's of Russian origin, she is extraordinarily articulate and elegant in her speech. She's one of the few instructors who does not require a voice over. One should have no problem understanding her clear and concise instruction.

One of the hallmarks of the two videos in her series (this one and the "Instant Belly Dancer: Curves" video) are the geometric overlays used to help explain the movements. The computerized geometric overlays are placed directly on Neon's body during instruction to help the viewer better see the angle and direction of each movement. These same overlays are also used on a figure in the background as a constant reference point. It cannot be stressed how helpful these overlays are in bellydance instruction. These overlays are very useful to explain the difference between movements that may look similar to the beginner but are actually done with different muscles in the body and are foundations for more intricate moves later. What a fantastic idea! Bravo Neon!

Most of the instruction either shows Neon's whole body, or body from the hips up so you can easily see how everything integrates. Close-ups are used to show specific areas of isolation but then return quickly to full length shots to complete the picture. Sometimes the close-ups are inset the full length shot so you can see more than one view simultaneously. One of the biggest faults of many bellydance videos is that they show close-ups when the viewer would need a full length shot and vice versa leaving the viewer very frustrated. This video seems to have the balance down correctly which is a very pleasant surprise.

Neon is dressed in a bellydance top, `nightclub' pants, and heels. Her outfit makes it very easy to see the movement of her body while she is teaching. The outfit is a little closer to what you might wear yourself in a nightclub rather than if you were a performer. It is important to note that the style of bellydance she teaches here is what one could easily do while dancing in a nightclub. It's an easy, sensual, and feminine way to spice up your dancing when going out. Her "Curves" video used both traditional drum solo music as well as techno/dance style music to teach the moves. This video almost entirely uses the techno/dance music.

One note, I almost didn't get this video when I saw the cover, which would have been a shame because it turned out to be so fantastic! Neon wears a lot of makeup and is in the category my husband would call "too much!" She would rival some of the locally famous drag queens in my home town! Although all performers wear lots of makeup while performing, don't let the unnecessarily giant quantity this beautiful woman wears be a detraction for you. It is apparently very normal for some Russian women to wear this much makeup, I'm told, and if this is the only thing `wrong' with this video, as far as I can tell, then you have a fantastic set on your hands!

This DVD was quite disapointing. The structure was choppy. The overall look was cheesey and rough. And quite frankly I just can't warm up to Neon. I have a another video where she is part of an ensemble and she's the low point even among lesser known instructors.

The DVD covers all the moves needed for belly dancing....but it's soooo fast paced you really don't get a chance to practice what you've just learned.