Customer Reviews

An Introduction to Bellydance Technique

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, this video is 1 1/2 hours long so it is worth the price. The video covers basic moves plus some beginning intermediate moves and has an exercise section at the end for practice of some of the moves taught. I am an intermediate dancer that owns over 20 bellydancing videos and I learned some new things from this video. It doesn't thoroughly break down all moves and identify mistakes commonly made when performing the moves so I would not recommend this as a first video unless you have some bellydance experience. I did like the exercises at the end but it was quite annoying watching them played in slow motion and then again in super slow motion. Each exercise is broken down into sections and the video doesn't show the exercises from beginning to end so you so you don't get the finished effect of what it looks like when performing the entire exercise. Other than this last detail mentioned, I enjoyed the video and will buy a sequel if one is made.

The only video we recomend to our dance students at the Pyramid Center for World Dance. It is very detailed.Starting with the warmup excercises ,then basic techniques steps followed by combination excercises.Appropriate for beginners to advanced. I have dancing & teaching for 30 yrs. and I also got something out of it.

One star went down immediately because of the visual effects (or lack of such thereof). I find it a sign of very bad taste to dance in dark clothes on a dark background! Nourhan has dark shoes on as well. Most of the time I found myself staring at the screen trying to make out the position of her feet or legs. It's impossible to see if she's on tiptoes or not. Her belly can be seen quite well (thanks god) and the choice of background could be been appropriate if she was dressed in white or yellow or baby blue. Black was not a good idea at all.

I took one more star down because:
1. At first I thought there was no music at all. Only when I played the DVD the third time and had the volume up I realized there *is* something.
2. I was skipping to the end looking for a performance... there was none! So how do I string these moves in a complete dance with music? I feel someone is missing if there isn't an entire performance in a costume.
3. The slow motion. That is NOT a bad if used wisely. It's great for some steps and turns and for more complicated/layered movements, such as the 3/4 shimmy and the undulations but even a first-grader can do shoulder pushes without much explanation, let alone slow motion! The same amount of time was spent on most moves and why since some of them are easy and some of them do need to be shown a few more times.
4. I wish Nourhan could give some intructions to avoid injury. I've been looking for this in DVDs because I have a weak back and by the time I realize I've done something wrong, it's too late.
5. I didn't find the excercises exciting. Others may like them but I thought them really not good enough.


What this DVD is good for:
It has a couple of good moves, especially hands/arms positions and a few traveling steps (even though as I pointed out, I strained my eyes to see them). Her 3/4 shimmy is probably the best I've seen, explanation-wise.

I'm not saying this DVD is good for nothing. As a buy, I always try to measure the contents and the quality vs the price. For half the price I would think it's an OK video for its 90 mins run time (which includes the slow motion I think). However at its current price there are MUCH better options. Jehan's DVD has a total run time of more than THREE hours and costs just as much as this one. Jenna's basic intructions plus her Heartbeat of Bellydance video come up to the same price and they have much more content. If you want to add up to your collection and have the extra money, this DVD is great. If it's your first video be prepared to see little (when you need to see all) and if you're intermediate be aware you already know almost all of this anyways.

The presentation of the material is neither logical nor visually/audially pleasing:

1. Every move is practiced at full speed first and in slow motion next.
2. The "full" speed is a "performance" speed which is ridiculously high for practicing some of the moves (unless you are already a professional bellydancer).
3. The "slow motion" doesn't mean that Nourhan moves more slowly. It just means that she replays the same segment of the film in slow motion. And this is extremely annoying. It results in poor image quality and just doesn't look natural. Occasionally she even uses "super slow motion", and it looks just horrible.

4. Nourhan's voice was recorded at a much higher volume than the music. As a result, the music is almost impossible to hear. What can be more meaningless and tiresome than dancing without music?!

5. Nourhan spends too much time on some easy moves and too little time on some difficult moves. The way she taught some isolations didn't make any sense to me:

- Hip circles. She was moving her upper body much more than lower body. I agree that the upper body drops naturally to some extent when you do large hip circles, but she was dropping her upper body profoundly; it was much more than even typical torso circles. She was almost touching the floor with her head. I tried practicing it her way, and didn't find it helpful. It didn't look or feel good at all.

- Undulation (full body). She jumped into this move right after hand movements, spent very little time on it, and played it only in slow motion. Also, she demonstrated it with the head moving, but didn't explain why you should practice it this way.

6. The colors that Nourhan has picked for the background, her outfits and makeup are unattractive and sometimes even disturbing.
7. Nourhan looks too serious.

Not only was I extremely disappointed, but also felt really cheated:

1. It should have been made clear in the title and description of this video that its real meat is turns and steps and combining them with isolations. "Introduction to technique" is not an accurate title.
2. The back cover lists "posture" among the topics included, which is misleading. What Nourhan calls "postures" is simply arm positions with respect to the body.
3. This "DVD" is not much better than VHS. You cannot select or skip sections.

I highly recommend "Learn lavish layers with Ansuya" instead of this video - no matter if you are a total novice or an advanced student.

I have the DVD edition of this video (don't think they have it on Amazon yet, but you can get it on Yousry and Nourhan's web site, www.egyptianacademy.com). I think this DVD should be in every dancer's library, beginner through advanced. Sometimes people get so taken away by choreography that they forget to practice the technique, and this DVD is great for doing just that. Nourhan goes through all the foundational belly dance moves explaining the move first, and then practicing it. The scenery is very simple, and Nourhan's outfits are also simple, which makes it easier to concentrate on the actual technique.

I didn't find the fact that you have to rewind / fast forward (even in the DVD edition) to be very bothersome. I think that all the good points of this DVD outweigh this annoyances.

I might not ever hire myself out as a Belly Dancer, but I will sure get a workout for belly and hips! The music is sensous, the movements sexy, the time spent, giggly, but fun. Perhaps I will give hubby a look-see, but only after I begin to look as good as Nourhan Sharif. This Introduction is easy to follow, the technique is simple enough for those who've only seen bellydancers. I will probably buy more of the videos.

This DVD version is not DVD player friendly. The entire movie is not divided into small chapters, so that it can't be jumped to play a particular part. You always have to play from start, menu screen doesn't exist. However, program is great! the best of all I've tried so far. I just regret..... I should have purchased VHS version, it wiil be less stressful to play with.

This video is an excellent introduction to bellydance. Each move is shown in full and half-time, and often from several angles. The focus is on correct technique, which seems to be lacking in even some teachers on other highly-rated videos. The difference between sloppy dancing and correct technique is the difference between looking silly and looking like the embodiment of grace!

If you're an intermediate dancer, I predict that you will be bored by the slow pace but learn something nonetheless. If you are a beginner, you'll be thanking Nourhan for going slow. Trust me -- it's good stuff!

I never realized how sloppy my techniques were until I viewed this video. Excellent for drills and working on the details of middle eastern dance movements.

Any person who practices regularly with Nourhan Sharif's "An Introductio to Bellydance Technique" DVD will - within just a month or so - not only have a more toned and elegant figure, but she will also have released a great deal of neck, shoulder, and back tension, opened up her rib cage so that she is breathing more deeply, and released stress in her wrists, so that she will feel less the tension caused by working at a keyboard. Someone who works with this DVD will gain increased elegance and poise, and function more calmly under stress.

The "functioning better under stress" will come about because of Nourhan's reminders to breathe throughout her instructions. These vary from reminding us to breathe during the opening warm-ups, to "having breath in this" as we do a certain movement, to "breathe (down) through your fingers" during the many lovely wrist and hand techniques that she shows early in this DVD. The consistent exhortation towards proper breathing will carry someone throughout the day, resulting in greater calm amidst all life circumstances.

Nourhan's posture is graceful and elegant. Simply watching her is inspiring, and anyone who copies her alignment will find that their lower back is lengthened and their pelvis is more aligned. This will also help someone breathe better and more completely, have greater spine flexibility, and feel better throughout the day.

Thus, even if someone just uses the first 1t minutes, on a regulaf basis, there will be great benefit.

For someone who is just starting in dance, this is a good DVD to use for regular practice. There are others that may build technique in a different manner (although this is one of the best DVDs for the 3/4 shimmy). However, as a "go-to" DVD when wanting a good all-round practice session, this one is superb!

I would recommend that a dance student purchase and use this alternating, say, with Gerson Kuhr's "Core Training for Belly Dancers." Core Training for Belly Dancers These two together would make a nice alternation pairing. And working the "core training" routines offered by Gerson would give someone the toned abs that we see on Nourhan Sharif!