Customer Reviews

Sadie's Complete Bellydance Guide

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Chapter List:consist of:
warm up
upper body isolations
lowerbody isolations
lower body isolations:horizontal and vertical
posture and carriage tips on do's and dont's
figure 8's :horizonal, verticle and variations
undualations
undualations with variations
verticle hip isolations and basic shimmy
traveling hip movements
basic egyptions variations:
traveling with hip variations and undulations
traveling hip cirlcles combinations and layering variations
choreography to shake me ya gamal
bonus performance: ah ya Zein

You can go to each one seperately and drill the area you need the most work in.
Very well put together. Nice astmosphere. Music fits the moves that she is teaching. The warm up is a drill of basic moves with no muscle isolations. It is a nice length in itself. The whole Dvd is a lot of drilling. For instance I counted how many times she did the figure's 8's(56 counts that is left right= 1 count) that was slow, then she speeds it up another 50 plus counts then she slow is down again for maybe another 30. each technigue is drilled.

the shimmy's for any one who has not mastered it here is your chance. she starts off with slow hip movements 60 left 1,right 2 counts she speeds it up a knotch maybe 1-2 more times and each level of speed you are doing the move for about 30-50 counts before she gets to the fast shimmy which she keeps you there for a nice while holding the tempo. by the time you get to the actual shimmy you may be hipped out. I got it now and can hold it.

The egyption variations are traveling moves she calls arabic 1,2,and 3. You do undulations, shimmy;s and other traveling moves on rela've as well. There is one move she did that had my hip burning and I was glad she switched to the other side.

The undulations variations is going from a upper undualtion to a lower undulation in one move. I looked at but have not practiced the traveling hip circles combinations and layering variations yet.

She mentions that many of the moves are not basic moves but she figure now is a good time to learn them. She makes you want to master the technigues. She makes you maintain proper form throughout the dvd. She mentioned also that she designed this dvd to equal an eight week course.

She expresses that it is very important to practice as much as you can to train your muscle memory and it is important to stregnthen the muscles. It is a lot on this dvd and for the price you can't beat it at all. I would have paid more for it. I actually paid more than you will if you get it from amazon. If you are looking for a good dvd to get you started and want to learn muscle isolation like Sadie you are in for a treat.

I don't give too many reviews but many has helped me not waist my money espcially the one's who do the video clips. I also would like to mention that rather or not something is beginner's or not depends on the person. If you have a dance background like salsa, african and can do the moves in dirty dancing or have taken folk dancing and line dancing many of the same moves are implicated just maybe done slightly different. the two step and three step and the grape vine I learned in a gym class under folk dancing along with other variations that I do not see but plan to use in my own dance style. You will catch on to the moves very easy if you have a dance back ground even if you have never belly danced because you have some dicipline alreay. If you work out doing yoga or pilates muscle isoalations will be easier because you have alrealy learned to control your internal muscles. Your dance style also makes a differnce. if you are a stiff person vs a flexable person who you learn from may make a difference. There are some dvd's that had a lot of good stuff in them but they moved too slow for I got bored. I like it when you keep moving. If you start talking a lot with no movement I will loose interest and never get through the dvd. Hope this helps.

First off let me say the bonus performance was worth the dvd alone.Absolutely wonderful. I wish she had included the choreography to it. I watched it over and over.Sadie is not the belly dancer to be played with she knows her stuff and she wants you to know it as well.

Sadie is a very technical teacher as well. She is teaching you the mechanics of what you are doing she even shows what you should not be doing. Go figure she herself is a very technical dancer. She really breaks down the movement and you can see everything she is doing.There are no weird camera angles.

The Menu is broken down in an easy way to get what you want, no need to go through the whole dvd to get to one section.
The choreography is a three part short choreography but you do use a lot of what you learned.She even uses a variety of arm and hand placement. Even the little that she uses is a step up. I have a couple of her dvd's and she is not a fan of hand and arm movements.

I recommend this dvd for everyone, even advanced students need to constantly drill the basic. The content is outstanding. This is a very thorough technique dvd. Some of her concepts are nice. Like when she did the upper body movement in something like a sumu squat. Her constant reminders about posture throughout the dvd is wonderful.The about me section is just a brief written review about her.
The first reviewer pretty much covered everything,there really isn't to much to say but this dvd is worth the money.

I can't wait till her Ultimate bellydance comes out I think its set to release in april.

I bought this dvd and got 3/4 of the way through it when I had to stop for the evening. This dvd is a very thorough workout. You're given lots of time to master each isolation as each one is repeated numerous times in various speeds. My muscles burned (particularly my hips and thighs)and I was drenched by the time I was ready to call it quits. Sadie really makes you feel it.
The dvd is easy to navigate through like previous reviewers have mentioned. Everything is broken down into categories on the menu so there's no fast forwarding required. The bonus performance is also spectacular. I really love this dvd.

This is a great DVD for those who want to learn proper technique and not just how to look pretty. It was designed to serve as an 8 week course similar to the one that she offers in Denver and the difficulty ranges from beginner to intermediate so there is plenty of opportunity for growth from this DVD. Sadie is my favorite belly dancer and her teaching ability is unmatched. I like the way that she breaks down the moves into two movements and always makes sure to remind you of proper belly dance posture. She even goes as far as to show you how performing the same moves with the wrong posture throws the whole look of the dance off. My only negative comment is that I wish they would have listed the music that is featured because I can't find the ones that I really like since I don't know the title or artist. This is really a great purchase and a fine introduction to belly dance. I will definitely be sticking with her DVD offerings from now on.

I purchased this DVD as an instructional aid for a woman I am working with who is interested in belly dancing. I am very, very impressed with the quality of instruction it offers.

Before I purchased this DVD I did a fair amount of research online comparing the dancing skills of a variety of belly dancers. Sadie was clearly the best I saw with amazing control of her body and an excellent ability to isolate different areas. She has an extensive range of techniques which she makes use of intelligently.

I have now watched her video--some parts several times. As someone who has taken some dance classes, not belly dancing, and as a stage director working with theatre choreographers, I can't tell you how impressed I am by her approach to teaching belly dancing.

Her lessons are clearly well thought out and build on the techniques she is teaching. She offers tremendous value and is a pleasure to watch. Her love of teaching and passing on the wonderful skills she has developed clearly comes through.

I could say more but I would just be repeating the raves you will read in the other reviews of this video.

I look forward to ordering more of her videos.

Don McCunn
Stage Director and Costume Instructor

Another reviewer here already did a really wonderful job of listing all of the chapters in this dvd, so I won't waste your time going over it again.

If you are considering buying this dvd, it's important that you know what it is, and what it is not.

This is a wonderful drills dvd. Sometimes I just want to practice a choreography for the troupe I'm involved with, and sometimes I just want to work on my form. The latter is just what this dvd is for. This is a great dvd for perfecting your form, gaining strength and flexability. Sadie does a pretty good job of explaining how to do each movement, and there is enough repetition to get your muscles and muscle memory working! I for one appreciate this sort of thing, because I am terrible at coordinating my own practice sessions when it comes down to just working on my form.

If you are looking to learn a little dance, there is a choreography section near the end of the dvd, and you will learn a cute little dance from that.

If you are looking for an exercise type dvd, like the videos by Neena and Veena that sort of incorporate bellydance moves into an aerobic routine....this is not the video for you. Also, if you are looking for a fancy choreography, this is also probably not going to make you happy.

The format of the dvd is wonderful. You can see Sadie from the back and from the front as she is facing a mirror. This is GREAT! I wish more dvds would have this sort of set up. This way the instructor does not have to think and correct for rights/lefts the way they would if they are directly facing the camera. If you have read any of my other reviews I am very harsh on "teachers" who say to move right but then move to your left or vice versa. The lack of coordination between what you are hearing and seeing is very distracting for many people. That is not a problem in this video at all due to the use of the mirror. For the most part, the camera is focused on where it should be. Sadie's outfit allows you to see what her body parts are doing without looking like she is just trying to see how much skin she can show. The background is pleasant and the picture and sound quality are very good. Instruction is given by Sadie as you go through each movement, it's not done via voiceover (not that I mind a good voiceover, but some find them creepy), and to me, the feeling is just about as close as you are going to get to being in the room with a real instructor as possible on video.

This is a good practice/technique dvd for beginners and intermediates. I think advanced students might find this a bit too simplistic. Also, please note, even though I said that it feels ALMOST like being in the room with an actual instructor, if you have never ever taken bellydance lessons before, I urge you to find a real life teacher who can watch what you are doing and make sure you are using proper form, even if you only go for a few sessions. Proper form is essential for keeping your knees and back healthy! Thank you for reading. :)

It felt more like a mechanics class on the human body than DANCE. I am not a novice at dancing and have done many forms of social dance, so I was really expecting to have fun with this vid. Unfortunately, I felt like the majority of time was spent doing endless drills and relentless stretches...not very fun at all.

If you are looking for a fun workout, this is DEFINITELY not for you. However, if you have your heart set on learning perfect and rigid technique for belly dancing, this could be your thing. There is no denying that Sadie is the reigning queen of bellydance, but I just found this vid too daunting to be very much fun.

PROS: (1) Great Attention to Detail in Physical Technique (2) Great attention to flexibility and proper posture

CONS: (1) Not exciting or engaging (2) DRILLS, DRILLS, and more DRILLS (3) Can become quickly discouraging, as each drill rapidly builds on the next

I really didnt know Belly Dancing was such a science, but after watching this I treat it as more than just shaking the hips. It is a lot of work, I respect Sadie as a pro and really works hard at this, it would take years to be half as good as her, but the journey is the fun and exercise is what I am wanting and how else that to get the best in their field,,, Sadie you are the best, I really dont see how anyone could give a negative rating on this,, unless they just dont know what belly dancing is. Sure there are alot of CD's that just shake the hips but that isnt all this is, Sadie is a pro and has lots of beautful moves, dont waste your money on nobodies, just because the DVD's are cheaper, cause that means the dance is cheaper, this is well worth the money.

I don't understand the negative review as I wonder if the reviewer has viewed any of the other belly dance DVD'S? I have and they are very stiff in their movement and all they do is cover up dance moves that they are not good at are can't do with dancing with the veil. Sadie does not do that, you can tell that she dances with excellence. Her performance is untouchable, I have viewed many of the DVD's offered here and none can compare to Sadie. If you look on Youtube, she has over a million views...... What I can't understand is how some of the other DVD's have great reviews and are bad on performance, they are stiff in their movement.

I don't know about you, but you get what you pay for, and Sadie is worth the money, everyone that I have introduced to Sadie and showed them the other DVD's listed here say the same, Sadie is the best. If you are looking for perfections, and real belly dancing, then Sadie is for you.

If you look at Sadie's history you will see that she has been performing for a very long time and is very good with belly dancing. She is international... many others can't claim that...

Well if you don't get this one, you miss out.. I am glad that I purchased Sadie! Her DVD's are worth your money, time, and investment into belly dancing. This is part of my workout routine and I have so much fun working out with this DVD! It is a great addition to your work out DVD collection.

My other DVD's are Denise Austin, and Billy Blanks Taebo, both are also great! So it makes for a great variety of work out.

Enjoy!

What can I say? But......EXCELLENT!
AS AN INSTRUCTOR OF BELLY DANCE TECNIQUE Sadie gives us A WONDERFUL WORKOUT AND LEARNING EXPERIENCE.
IN THIS PARTICULAR DVD, SADIE DID HER BEST TEACHING, HIGHLY DETAILED WORK, IN A FASHION OF ANOTHER BELLY DANCE PERFORMER, AUTUMN WARD, ALSO A TERRIFIC, GENEROUS, AND GRACEFUL TEACHER.
WE GET OVER 2 HOURS ON THIS DVD, WHICH HAS NO GLICHES AND IT PLAYS ON ALL PLAYERS, AND FOR THE BEST PRICE YET FOR "A SADIE DVD". THIS TIME OFFERED BY AMAZON, ACTUALLY FOR HALF THE PRICE OF HER PREVIOUS DVD'S.