Customer Reviews

Learn Drum Solo Technique & Choreography with Sadie - Belly Dance Lesson DVD

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ran into this DVD only because I was looking for anything related to drum solos. I already had Jenna's Heartbeat of Bellydance video which I loved and it inspired me to get a new one to add to my collection. Without any information other than the description of the item - no reviews anywhere - at first I was reluctant to risk my money especially because it's somewhat pricey.

Mainly because I did not know what to expect from Sadie's Drum Solo, the surprise turned out to be awesome! My few basic expectations turned out to be wrong though, hehe. 1. I thought Sadie would be showing some moves appropriate for using with drum solos. It turned out to be a complete choreography to a drum solo. 2. I expected to see Sadie demonstrating with finger cymbals because she has them on the cover but this never appeared on the DVD. I also expected that she would be the one playing the dumbek but she wasn't. 3. Sadie turned out to be really young, or at least she looks very young when she instructs.

First I have to tell you... THIS DVD IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS! I've been bellydancing very actively for 10 months and I consider myself intermediate at this point but I swallowed my tongue when I saw Sadie. She teaches a two-and-a-half-minute-long drum solo which is by far the hardest choreography in my collection. Sadie is an outstanding dancer, a BIG favorite of mine now, one of the most skilled and talented I have ever seen. This DVD is worth getting even for the sake of watching her perform.

The 103 mins of run time include:
1. An introduction with Sadie and a demonstration of the choreo
2. A warm-up and excercises for strenght. Outstanding material. She shows a couple of very very good excercises that help build muscle strenght in the right places. I've been looking forward to see that in instructional videos! Her pelvic locks are particularly helpful. She also shows the technique of belly rolls, flutter and undulations.
3. A breakdown of the choreography in 7 sections.
Be prepared to do a lot of fast undulation and flutters. I'm very happy Sadie decided to show something cool and fresh in this respect, proving that the art of the drum solo is much more than throwing shimmies from the first to the last second of the dance. Sadie breaks down each combination in several moves, shows it a few times with some explanation, then connects it to the next section. She's great at reminding how a move should or should not be done! Sadie also gives plenty of repetition, with and without the music, facing you or with her back turned tp follow. It's great.
4. A cool down and some final comments
5. An amazing, breath-taking live performance

This DVD is a true diamond. It's polished, brilliant and one-of-a-kind. The quality is decent, the lenght is good and the material presented is outstanding. Even though Sadie says this DVD is good for all levels, I believe it's targeted for the intermediate and advanced dancers. Truly, a drum solo is when a dancer can show off her skills and Sadie has a LOT to show off.

So can this DVD be better? I'm a very serious critic but as much as I tried to find flaws, I couldn't find any. Only here and then I wish Sadie would explain more slowly which I wouldn't call a flaw. :-)

It's been a month since this DVD got in my possession and I have barely advanced into it, there is so much to learn in it! If you like Jenna's Heartbeat of Bellydance you can be SURE you're going to love this one as well, just be aware the choreography taught here is harder than Jenna's third/advanced choreography!

This DVD is great if you have already mastered "Heartbeat of Bellydance" and "Jillina's Level III" Instructional cd's to name a couple. Not to mention having had some instruction from a teacher of Belly Dance! I was skeptical too because of the price, but it is worth the money! Of course nothing replaces having an instructor, but you do get alot out of the DVD. The chapters are user friendly for review- which some DVD's out there are not! And the moves are broken down easily enough for an intermediate/ advanced dancer. The moves are challenging and useful. They are not bland like some combination series are. I too swallowed my tongue when I saw the performance of the choreography to be taught and couldn't wait to learn it. My only complaint is that I wish IAMED would release a cd of the music used in their choreographies on their DVD's!

I decided to purchase this DVD as my second choreography after reading some of the recommendation lists here on Amazon.

I have both Jenna's bellydance basics and beyond as well as her choreography "the heartbeat of bellydance" Both highly recommended for beginners.

Sadie's Learn Drum Solo technique and choreography is really good, intermediate to advanced level but excellent.

I loved the costumes in this DVD, the last live dance was a real bonus and it was so cute the way her earring flew off near the end. The program feels very friendly and real, don't give up if you are turned off by your first viewing, it may look hard but sooner or later you'll find yourself looking for it on the shelf once you feel you're ready for it.
Looking forward to working with this DVD to master my dance.

This is the most challenging dvd I bought from Amazon! It contains a very very useful program and a very original choreography suitable only for experienced dancers. Sadie is a wonderful dancer and a good instructor. I didn't give five stars only because some movements are explained too quickly and so you have to watch them a lot of time before learning. However buy it! It is worth every penny!

This is a fantastic product. As a belly dancer it is always wonderful to learn new things and be able to pass them on to others who are learning. This is one of the most exciting DVDs I have seen and very well put together for easy learning, but not for the faint hearted! If you have experience and want a good challenge, this DVD will give it to you. Sadie is a wonderful and brilliant dancer who is simply wonderful to watch and learn from.
So, where's her next DVD?

Sadie is great, good technique, clear instruction, great choreography. Not for beginners, intermediate to advanced dancers only. Combinations can be adapted for improvisational dance and she teaches a full choreography. Even if you can't do all her layers, combinations can be adapted for personal use, she breaks each combination down clearly so you can pick how much layering you want to do..

I first saw Sadie perform a few months ago and was impressed. Based on that, and supporting a fellow Wisconsinite, I purchased this video. I'm only a beginning belly dancer and not too into drum solos. But this is a wonderful instructional video. The strenthening section alone is worth it! Sadie does a fine job of breaking down a dance into (mostly) manageable portions. An understanding of "down beats" and when to go "up or down" helps, but is not totally necessary. This is a tad advanced for me right now, but I will persevere and continue to watch and learn, and I look forward to growing into this video.

Sadie is a very talented dancer. A lot of patience and repetition needed to learn this choreography, but it is worth it!!!

I absolutely love this choreography. The music is energizing and the steps are taught well by Sadie. I love the warm-up as well. I usually get bored with the stretches/warm-ups but Sadie will explain the reason behind the different stretches/moves. I have a few DVD's to include Sonia, Sandra, Jilina, Hannan and Saida but this choreography is one of my favorite! Worth the money!

The only reason I will only give it 4 stars is because she doesn't explain how to do the stomach flutters...But other than that it is a great dvd...learned a lot!!!