Customer Reviews

The Sensual Art of Bellydance: Mystic Dance [VHS]

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

 

 

Veena and Neena show you how to do a gracefully slower-paced bellydance with a veil. However, you can do this tape without any veil. In the choreography section, one sister shows the steps to the dance with the veil, and the other shows you without the veil. The music is perfect and I liked the background. They don't reteach you anything here that they already taught on another video in this Sensual Art of Bellydance series. If a previously taught move is needed for the dance routine, they show it to you very briefly and that's it. This is ethical. They know that nobody wants to pay for 3 different videos that repeat themselves. The performance taught here tones the whole body, especially the arms. This video isn't supposed to be an exercise video--just Egyptian bellydance--but isn't it nice to know that you can get in shape at the same time? One of the moves here is very challegning: the travelling camel undulation. They show exactly how to do it, but I still haven't managed to master it. This isn't a bad thing. It's good because it means that I can use this video for a long time without getting bored. I highly recommend all of the Sensual Art of Bellydance tapes. Veena and Neena are professional and expert and great instructors.

Mystic Dance, has the best music of the three Sensual art of Belly Dance videos. This video is a combination of the two previous videos, but is more complex in symbolism and movement. I throughly recommend Veena and Neena Bidasha as instructors for their easy going style and clear instruction. Together, these twin sisters also have another series, BellyDance: Fitness for Beginners, that series is also very good.

Two previous reviewers said some negative things about this video. One said the dancing was "all veilwork". There was a great deal of veil work within it, but, Neena and Veena make a point of saying that the dance works just as well without a veil (the veil work simply becomes hand movements in that case).

Another said the moves were displayed too quickly. There's an introductary warmup and teaching section where each move is taught, one at a time. I didn't find any later movements in the video that weren't shown at a slower pace before going through them at "normal" speed.

That said, I really enjoyed this tape. I also own the first dance tape, and all their exercise routines (on DVD). I guess that pretty much proves I'm a Neena and Veena fangirl, but, I enjoyed going through this dance much more than the first tape. It was slower paced and therefore easier for me to follow and keep up with. I don't move/dance "quickly", and so fast-paced routines are a big challenge for me. This one was nice and slow, which given the "mystical" title, made sense to me.

I bought this tape in a gift set with a veil and zills (finger cymbals). I was a little disappointed that there was no zill instruction, but, other than that, I thought it was well worth the price.

If you have ever wanted to try bellydancing, this video is for you. Veena and Neena present Mystic Dance in a style of elegance and grace, with music and background that adds to the flavor but does not overwhelm or detract from the lesson. You will find yourself walking around your house doing hip moves and other steps that you practiced in the video. The highlight of the video, and what will keep you smiling and using this tape, is the finale in which you link all of the moves together into a brief dance routine. You'll feel like a star as your body moves through the different positions and steps. The narrative, the precise explanations and demonstrations, allow you to relax, enjoy, and learn the moves!

I started in August 2001 with the Basic Dance tape, and am now going through Mystic Dance. (I also am now so into bellydance that I'm taking lessons. :)

While the moves on Mystic Dance are really neat, the explanations, frankly, are non-existent. Several of the veil moves are not explained at all; they simply do them at full speed and then move on! I went through them several times with the VCR on slow speed and did manage to get them, but I was surprised, given how well explained things were on their earlier tapes. Still, a lot of fun, once you manage to figure out those moves! :)

I've owned four of Veena and Neena's videos for several years and only used one of them regularly. I've enjoyed them as fun workouts and I think that Veena and Neena are incredibly skilled and beautiful dancers who have earned the title "Bellydance Superstars," but I learned very little actual bellydance from them. Teaching is not what they do best. I'd tried Mystic Dance about three times before retiring it. At that time, I found it confusing and too difficult to get excited about.

I started taking a class about two months ago and popped Mystic Dance into the VCR this evening because I wanted to play with my veil. Having had just a few weeks' training from a professional instructor made a world of difference in the usefulness and enjoyment of this video.

The problem that really stands out is that the twins only give about 60 seconds' instruction on each of the moves, so it would be difficult for the novice to learn without practicing regularly for months on end. If this was the only instruction you had, you'd have to be really dedicated. The twins simply go too fast for the inexperienced dancer and don't explain most of the moves adequately, either verbally or visually. I also noticed more than once that the photography was only from the waist up on moves where the motion is in the legs and hips!

I'm blessed to have an incredible instructor who enables her students to catch on quickly. After working with her, I enjoyed this video so much more because I had a good foundation. It sat on the shelf for a long time, but now I'll keep using it to develop my dance.

If your goal is to learn bellydance, try to take a class and use this video to supplement your practice at home. If you don't have access to classes and like Veena and Neena, the Basic Moves video is best for instruction.

If you are just looking for a fun workout that doesn't feel like a lot of effort, then just about any of Veena and Neena's tapes will do, except this one. It really is too fast to enable the inexperienced dancer to participate.

most of it was easy to learn and it does help if you have a veil or something to use like one, the only part that i think is difficult (at least for me) are the turns, I kept getting nauseous so that will take me awhile to get past, but the rest is fun.

I think this is a wonderful video. It is not meant as a stand alone but as an in addition to. And i think it works very well in that context. Neena and Veena's videos are great for those of us who just love a bellydance workout. I do not aspire to be a belly dancer but I love the relaxation and variety it brings to my workouts. It feels feminine and graceful. I like how accessable N and V make belly dancing. Guess I too am a Neena and Veena groupie too!

if you dont have accesss to a professional teacher in your area, then you may want to try these series of tapes. They are very good quality as mentioned by several other people here. Of course yo dont have the one on one intruction as given by a live person, but they are definatly a step in the right direction.

Although I have enjoyed all their other bellydance videos I was extremely disappointed with this one. The veil work they had was almost non-existent. They only showed the very very basic.."i did it in kindergarten with my blankie" kind of moves. On the other hand they did some very nice arms if you are looking for some different hand/arm positions.

All in all, the first two in this series were wonderful, this one should be redone.