Customer Reviews

Secrets of the Stage Volume 3: A Performance Course for Belly Dancers by Michelle Joyce

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 3:36 Mins

The goal of The Secrets of the Stage series is to fill in the gap between what you learn in class and the skills you need to be a successful performer, and that's exactly what you get. Volume 3 is my favorite to date.

I'm a big fan of the format as well: interviews with musicians and dancers overlaid over videos of their performances. It's not a play-by-play commentary of the performance you're watching, but it does give some context to what you're hearing, and who is speaking to you.


The section on dancing to live music was very good. It had a nice mix of practical tips (don't feel obligated to hit every note and accent, pay attention to the band members, etc.) and more inspirational ones (let go and accept uncertainty). I especially enjoyed the interviews with the musicians, and was glad that not only were they represented, but that several of them were interviewed.

The section on creativity was interesting and inspirational, but not as practical. I think it's value is to get you thinking about creativity and conscious of the idea that it's something you have to cultivate, rather than to give you a to-do list of things to try. (Although I second Michelle's recommendation for the book The Artist's Way.)

The segment on photo shoots was interesting, but somewhat short. Photographer Michael Baxter gave a series of tips, mostly on how to prepare for your shoot, plus a couple on how to get your photos to turn out well (face the light source, etc.) It's definitely valuable, but I would have liked to see a lot more, ideally including posing tips, etc.

Next, there was a step-by-step demonstration of stage makeup application. This covered a full theatrical face, including a very theatrical contoured eye look that I've always been curious about. I found this very helpful, but, like most makeup artists, the narrator used a little too much jargon. (How deep a color should a midtone be? I understand what "high mica content" means, but how can we tell when we're getting one when we are looking for products to buy?)


The video ends with a bonus section by Leyla Lanty that includes a few Arabic words and phrases that are commonly heard in belly dance music. The goal is to give the dancer an inkling of the meaning of a song. She'd introduce the word, variations on it, and give some background on the kinds of contexts it'd be used in. This section was fascinating and very useful, but a few of the items (like long and short vowel sounds) didn't really contribute towards that goal, so I would have preferred some more relevant content in it's place. I'd like to see this as a recurring segment in future volumes: maybe 3 or 4 more words on each disk?


All in all, the video has a great mix of practical tips and inspiration for any dancer who performs (or wants to perform), whether professionally or just in their living room.

I think this whole series is a must for every Professional Belly Dancer, or for students intending to perform on a professional basis. It won't teach you how to belly dance, but gives you insight to how to make yourself a better dancer by revealing interviews with performers critiquing their dance as they present their performances, as well as make-up tips; how to get the best from a professional photo shoot; and a few handy phrases in Arabic to further enhance a song you wish to dance to, by understanding the gist of the song. This DVD is a reference tool only; and not for entertainment or if you are seeking a tutorial on belly dance technique.

Production Quality
The production quality was great. Sound was clear, the video was good, the DVD menu was attractive and easy to use. The case is a thin, cardboard like case which saves on space and weight. Because the video uses clips from various performance situations including private gigs some have slightly more of a "home video" feel, but the quality is still very good and I hardly noticed. The dancers speaker were loud enough and their voice was very clear. The background sound from the video being shown was turned down enough to allow the speaker to be heard while still being able to hear the music being danced to so that the viewer could follow along with the dance while listening to the speaker. Some of the dance scenes are from staged shows on By Dancers For Dancers and included the full dance scene, so you get to see some clips from those performance DVDs. I also really liked seeing video of the dancers performing at gigs. I felt like this was a really great inside look at how a professional dancer behaves at a gig. There were some at restaurants and some at private functions including birthday parties, weddings and corporate events.

Topics Overview
The topics covered in the videos were many which can be found on various websites, so I think a lot of dancers will be quick to write this series off because they can read about it online for free. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions even though I have read countless articles on the topics covered. I still felt like I learned something and was left with lots to think about. For me, seeing the dancer in the situation being discussed and hearing her insider tips were really thought provoking. I heard some things I feel like I needed to hear on how to be professional. The show isn't always about the dancer or about fulfilling her needs to feel talented, beautiful and appreciated. Being a pro is hard work and if you want to be successful you have to think of your audience first and you cannot assume everyone is out to insult and disrespect you as an artist, they just want to have some fun and that's your job. Although this was always something I knew about in the back of my head, watching these videos really instilled this in me.

DANCING TO LIVE MUSIC
This mostly covered how to deal with the element of improvised music and not knowing what to expect as compared to canned music. Although I felt this was helpful because it's the element most dancers fret over the most, I would have liked to hear more on other topics of dealing with live music for those who are past being afraid to dance to improvised music. There were some other tips given, but I felt there could have been more.

CREATIVITY AND INSPIRATION
There was one dancer in particular (who's name I do not know) that discussed getting enough "input" and "output" to keep the creativity flowing and I felt this was really well done.

YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
Michael Baxter gave some very good advice and considering he is one of the best bellydance photographers in the field I felt like this section was gold! Adriana's section was good, but I felt like it was kind of a quick explanation of how to do one single look. I wasn't a big fan of the look she chose which was rather colorful and may not look good on everyone. I would have liked to see something that would be more universal that almost any dancer could do. But she did give some bits of advice that made me think. For example, her suggestion to use cream to powder foundation aka cake makeup made me stop and think. However, she didn't give any suggestions on how to find or choose this type of foundation so I felt like I didn't know how to apply the advice.

*BONUS* SURVIVAL ARABIC FOR DANCERS
I think the best thing about this section was being able to hear the words pronounced. A lot of these I already knew and was familiar with from hearing them in music a lot, so for me it wasn't much new material. But for someone who doesn't know the most used words in Arabic music this would be really helpful.

Overall I felt like there was enough information here to make me happy. Some sections felt weak, but I still think there is a lot of good information here.

After I watch a DVd, I notice what,"sticks". There was a lot in this one. The makeup section shows how to do professional stage makeup, and I LOVED the arabic tutorial at the end. The section on creativity was fantastic, with several really down to earth things said that stuck with me ( one dancer said that you need ,"input" as well as ,"output")...the live dancing section was a hair too lengthy, but also super informative. Another great DVD from Michelle.

Disclaimer

I am reviewing this from a complimentary preview copy I was lucky enough to obtain. I feel that I am an advanced "begintermediate" dancer, so please take that into consideration.

Dancing to Live Music

Yikes! The thought of dancing to live music sounds terrifying. Performing for a live audience to recorded music is challenging enough. In this section, five performances to live music are shown and voiceover by the dancer and sometimes the band members comment on the process. Communication between the dancer and the band, before, during, and after the show is very important. I just didn't realize how much until viewing this section. Advice is given on dancing to the music successfully, working with the band, performance tips, etiquette, and how not to stress out. Apparently, a little good band etiquette goes a long, long way in nixing stressing out scenarios. As I said, I have no desire to dance to live music so I didn't expect to appreciate this section as much as I did. The dancers' obvious love of dancing to live music and the musicians' enjoyment working with dancers to provide a unique, fluid performance experience was simply contagious. I felt this section educated me as an audience member as well as a bellydancer.

Creativity & Inspiration

Michelle Joyce introduces this section with a recommendation for the book, The Artist's Way. This is a book meant to help artists tap into their creativity, but not for dancers per se. Neon gave us "story" and Nadira Jamal "noodling" via their instructional dvds. Michelle has given us The Artists Way as a tool, but I would have liked some concrete examples on how she has modified exercises from this book to serve a dancer's needs. Some of us need a little more help. Well, maybe a lot of help, lol. This section, however, focuses on the creativity & inspiration of well-known dancers: Adriana, Bahaia, and Luna and I feel my request would have interrupted the flow. Nevertheless, it would be nice if Michelle could share her creativity exercises in written or clip format. Possibly, a Secrets of the Stage "More Secrets" club on her website where purchasers could access additional information through a code.

The performances of Adriana, Bahaia, and Luna in this section exemplify that a cookie cutter belongs in the kitchen and not on the stage. Each one dances beautifully in her own way. During the performances, each dancer shares what inspires her and how she fills her dance well from dry to overflowing. There was some overlap of tips between the dancers, but to me that serves to highlight the truth inherent in the advice--it works. It was reassuring to hear that these well-known dancers go through a specific process and that it is not always easy to birth their dance. The main point I took from this section is that Dance is 10% Inspiration and 90% Perspiration. The less well-known dancer, the semi-graceful, and the beginner should all be very inspired by that alone. If not, fine emergency chocolate might be necessary.

Your Professional Image

I have no professional aspirations, so I won't be spending money on a photographer. A cute bellydancer vanity picture at some point might be nice so I appreciate the do-it-yourself tips. This section with professional photographer, Michael Baxter, is short and interesting. He give tips on how to prepare for your photo shoot physically and mentally, what to bring, do's and don'ts of a good photo, and examples of a variety of attractive dancer photos. More could be said on the subject, but I feel the most important tip Michael Baxter offers is that your photo should be "alive" rather than a two-dimensional rendering. A dancer represents The Dance well when he or she appears vibrant, alive, and caught in a moment of dance.

In the make-up section, Adriana puts her show face on step-by-step. The results are very nice and I wish I could look like that for a performance! I know I'm going to spend some more time working with this section. Not all dancers, however, are in their 20's (or look like they are) and a few makeup don'ts were mentioned regarding the older dancer. It also would have been nice to have some flattering do's on that topic or another dancer's pre-made face to compare and contrast to Adriana's.

Survival Arabic For Dancers

I enjoyed the micro Arabic lesson in this section and found the cultural notes very interesting. It would be nice if other installments of Secrets of the Stage further explored the topic of survival Arabic. Even better, if Leyla's two-hour workshop (or more) was put on dvd. I attended a workshop where the presenter recounted a story of a dancer embarrassing herself by dancing to a catchy, but unfortunate choice of songs. Maybe, some cautionary material would also be appropriate.

Thoughts

Each section of the dvd is divided into an introduction and logical sub-headings making navigation and exploration a pleasure. You don't have to wade through unwanted material to get to the information you want and if you are rushed for time, just view a sub-chapter. The slim case also comes in handy for the bellydance dvd collector.

Michelle Joyce's Secrets of the Stage series offers information a bellydancer often does not have access to in class. Information that would take time and effort to obtain is now easily available by purchasing this dvd or others in the series. What a convenience. I enjoyed all of the topics covered in this dvd and, as a matter of fact, I feel that each topic had the potential to become its own dvd. Yes, there is always more to learn, but I feel that the content of Secrets of the Stage 3 is both varied and valuable.

I really enjoy all the videos Michelle produces. This was full of great information. The first section was about live drumming. Different dancers were interviewed. You see there dance clip as they are talking and giving tips on how to dance to live music. There was a section with make up tips, photography tips and how to prepare for a photo shoot. And also some basic Arabic. A great video!

In the "Secrets of the Stage" series, a variety of professional dancers give their insights on various topics in bellydance performance. The first segments of Volume 3 feature terrific performance clips, with voice overs by the dancers on dancing to live music, and creativity and inspiration. The music used in the performances is fully credited, so that if you hear something you would like to have, you can find it: Being produced by a dancer, there are many such touches in this DVD. The image/make-up segment showed performance make-up application, and had some great make-up and photo tips! The "Survivial Arabic" segment focused on basic words commonly heard in song lyrics. I thought this segment might be dull and dry, but Leyla Lanty made it almost unbelievably interesting.
I think a dancer is lucky to find one great mentor. The unique "Secrets of the Stage" DVDs bring you many.

Such good advice and it's stuff you don't find on other dvd's. All the info was helpful but I especially liked hearing from the non-bellydancers. As someone nervous about dancing to a live band it was nice to hear from one of them. It also includes advice from a bellydance photographer and a micro-Arabic lesson to help dancers identify some of the common words in songs in addition to the usual performances with voiceover from the dancers themselves.I hope Michelle keeps producing this series.