Customer Reviews

Sensual Bellydance

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got this the other day, bought it more or less on a whim, but what a great deal. Quick FYI: The info said it was 60 minutes, but it's actually 2 hours of dance/instruction.
Blanca is very pretty, very serene, with a soft accent, which sounds very soothing. She's not perky with a huge grin splitting her face in two and she's not all bouncy and bubbly, none of that instant best friend vibe, just pleasant and serene.
It's a sensual dance instruction and she wears her part very well. The settings are very nice, not distracting, and she wears great costumes for teaching (you can see her legs when she does the moves). You can also see her perform the dances in full costume and she's very lovely to watch.
My husband really liked the music and the dance style for its sensuality and slow, languid movements. I watched one of the dances first and thought, 'wow, I'd like to move like her.' She moves like liquid, like silk, whatever elegant, graceful, flowing metaphor you want.
Instructionwise, she breaks everything down very well, from snake arms, using a lot of descriptive terms (like your arms are moving through honey, is one example), hip circles, figure 8's, and so on. Then she builds on these initial, isolated movements, and you learn more layers, combinations, steps, and build on and on. She even explains alignment, how to align your head, for example, to look more graceful. It's a bit like the Jillina dance instruction dvds, in how she gives you the basics and you build on and on until you are doing a choreographed dance. And of course you can skip and just do the basics or dance along with her, or just watch Blanca, which is what I want to do in addition to learning to dance like her.
The music is very nice too and the dances are slow and languid, nothing super fast, but your muscles will feel it nonetheless. It would be fine for beginner dancers or for intermediates. She doesn't spend a huge amount of time on each move, so you do get a lot for 2 hours, but you can always rewind 15 or 30 seconds and review.
I've got 20 to 30 bellydance dvds and vhs tapes at home and while I've seen and worked out to a lot: Mara, Jillina, Bellytwins, Kathy Smith (just that one), Bellyqueen, Bellydance Superstars, Suhaila, East Coast Tribal, American Tribal and more, I still am very happy with the dvd. It's shot a good angles (not distracting or only focused on the abs), the production is very good, and it's a nice focus on flowing dance. It's not something you pop in to learn a couple moves for the club, but a lovely sensual routine to stretch and dance to. Venus is the right name because it is very sensual and elegant and beautiful.

When I saw this DVD for the first time here on prelease status, I knew I just HAD to add it to my bellydance collection. There are 42 items in it by now and Blanca appears in 3 of them - Golden Apple performances, Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout and as one of the 'students' in Ayshe's Core fitness. I already had an image of her as a graceful dancer and good teacher, so considering the price of the DVD, I went ahead and preordered.

For me there are a few telltales if the money I've invested in a video will be worth it. Here is what I look for:
1. Quality/fame of the instructor
2. Lenght of intruction
3. Producer (NY and IAMED being my favorite)
4. Target bellydance level (beginner/intermediate/advanced)
5. Instruction or fitness
6. Reviews

I had some information about 1,3,5 but nothing about the rest, so I wasn't entirely sure what exactly to expect. It came as a nice surprise when I popped the video in the ROM, pressed "play all" and saw Blanca seated on green grass offering some introduction in her crispy accent to what she was about to teach. I always consider it a plus when they spare the time for a few words to say about the product and its concept.

Next we see Blanca in a brightly lit studio with red curtains. Even though her outfit is red as well, it never blends with the background, so everything can be seen very well. Her belly, hands and feet are visible all the time, very important while learning bellydance from a video.

The first part of the DVD is entitled "FLOW". In the first few chapters Blanca breaks down the movements in the second part in segments, offering a warmup, articulations and a cooldown. She goes slow, without any repetition, just pinpointing the important aspects of the movements. She uses a lot of visual descriptions and comparisons which makes it easy for students to imagine and copy her style. The influence of Ayshe and Jehan Gamal is evident in the entire DVD too.

Blanca pays a lot of attention to the "articulations" section. She would first show step patterns, then elaborate hip and chest movements, then completes the combination with hands and glances. A student can easily see all segments of a particular movement and observe the gestures and hints that make it look graceful and fluid.

In the flow sections all are tied together accompanied by Blanca's explanations. This is a faster paced section and the stress is not on the mechanics of the movements but how to string them up and elaborate a combination or give it a little spice. Next you can play the entire flow section voice off, only with music. It allows for great practice.

The next section is a choreography entitled Venus. Blance performs it first in the beautiful red costume from the cover and after down breaks it down in several combinations, calling out the movements as she goes through them. She offers very little instruction here, instead falling back on what she already taught previously in great details. After that you can follow Blanca as she dances in her training outfit, with the music on only (no voice).

The next section is what makes this DVD truly unique. In it the choreography is shown once again, this time names of different poses pop up as certain movements are highlighted. It provides a great vocabulary of movements and also gives you a chance to observe and compare different gestures, steps, poses, glances, all these subtle hues that make bellydance sensual bellydance. Following Blanca's articulations from the first section you can get inspired to build your own combinations and choreographies.

In the next chapter Blanca performs the Venus choreography again, this time in a different costume and with voice-over. She offers a "story" that the dance may tell, of the expressions and meanings of gestures and their ultimate source.

The last section of this DVD is two beautiful performances by Blanca, one of them the Venus choreography again she covered with a story and the DVD points out helpfully it includes floorwork. This part itself is short and light, indeed demonstrating the difference between sensual and sexual (as we know why it is banned in Egypt).

Music and credits are the last two options you can check out.

A few words to sum up the contents:
-- Excellent instruction. Beginners would be very pleased with the slow and detailed explanations of the movements in the first section; intermediate and advanced can review it once or twice and then skip on straight to the practice section without getting bored
-- Original and interesting choreography
-- Inspirational and creative atmosphere
-- 120 min run time

This DVD is good for students of all levels of bellydance, though I definitely would not suggest it to anyone who haven't mastered the fundamendals (such as hip lifts and undulations). Late beginners would find a lot of material to work on and progress; intermediate and strong intermediate are offered fresh ideas and concepts in addition to an entire choreography.

I would definitely recommend this DVD to all dancers. It is exteremely good value for money and a must-have in every serious student's collection.

Looking like Botticelli's "Venus on the Half Shell" on the cover, and dancing like a goddess throughout this fantastic DVD, Blanca is not only a wonderful performer, but also one of the most thorough, perceptive teachers I've seen on a dance instruction DVD. This is an extensive and detailed program of bellydance techniques, with fluid style and lovely choreography. You will be using this DVD a lot, and dancers on many levels of training will be able to benefit from it, from beginners, to intermediate and beyond. There is much to learn here for everyone.

After the "Welcome," you get a technique breakdown of the steps, followed by 40 minutes of Flow Warmups, which can be practiced with the verbal explanation or just followed with music only. This "Flow" section would be a great substitute for those who regularly do yoga or Pilates, and would like a change of pace, as they are excellent for exercise as well as being aesthetically pleasing to do, and promote flexibility and strength without stress. The production is excellent, and total running time of the entire DVD is 120 minutes, and you are sure to enjoy all of it.

Born in Mexico, Blanca has a soft accented voice and is articulate in how she shares her technique and ideas about bellydancing, some of which could be helpful in many other genres of dance. Blanca's style is unique and incredibly graceful, and she also exudes a sweet spirit, taking her dancing to another level we will sense in our own souls. The final 2 tracks are of Blanca performing, and are exceedingly beautiful, and make a marvelous end to a superb dance instruction DVD.

What a treasure!!! I have many, many belly dance instructional dvds but this has to be one of the best and well worth what I paid for it. Bravo to World Dance New York for producing another fantastic, nearly two hour long dvd for such a reasonable price.
I am so glad that Blanca chose this aspect of bellydance to teach as the slower, more sensual moves of Middle Eastern dance are often overlooked on instructional dvds. She has a very gentle voice and is soothing to listen to. I also like her demeanor. You never get the sense that she is condescending to the viewer and, thank Heaven, she doesn't resort to making those annoying repetitive extortions to "Keep up the good work" or - worst of all -"Come you! You can do it, I know you can!"
The performances by Blanca are mesmerizing. Her movements are very fluid and she seems to be connected to the music at a physical level. She is the embodiment of sensuality.
I've only scratched the surface of what this dvd has to offer but I know it is going to be my number one practice companion for a long time to come.
Well done, Blanca and World Dance New York!!!!!

Does "Sensual Belly Dance" sound like a cringe-worthy work? I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw the package. But Blanca does a great job of explaining her take on "sensuality" without leaving her viewer feeling uncomfortable or coming across as too silly herself. Blanca explains that sensuality is about communicating what you're feeling to others and, of course, this works great for a dancer. She shares her ideas of translating one's inner feelings into a body language viewable by the audience. She describes the use of sensuality as a way to "add a flair of sensual grace and ease to your dance" and speaks about the flow and pacing of one's performance. Her ideas of really utilizing emotion and storytelling during dancer are not often covered in instructional works and are wonderful to see presented here to a wider viewing audience.

After this intriguing introduction the DVD package offers viewers a little bit of everything from technical tips to improvisational ideas to polishing ones performances. First come two different "Flow" sections, one on technique and one based on simply dancing. Then Blanca presents a short choreography. There's a demo, a breakdown, and you can even choose to focus on just one part of the practice such as lower or upper body. Next Blanca provides a selection of clips demonstrating a variety of poses, providing watchers with numerous ideas they could add into their own repertoire. And there's also an additional invaluable resource where Blanca explains the idea of telling a story with dance. This is wonderful for performers seeking a way to give their performance extra "oomph" and also nice for those dancers just beginning to seek the stage lights.

As for the "meat" of the DVD, here's a bit of info on the Flow sections:

"Fluidity Warmup:" From the very beginning of her "Fluidity Warmup," Blanca begins to introduce her concept of "sensuality in dance." The gentle warmup and stretches include some very nice arm work as Blanca explains how to do each stretch in a "sensual" manner, that is with impact and purpose. While Blanca moves through the movements quickly she clearly explains the focus of each (lifting the head, bending at the waist, etc). Although each tiny little flourish may not be broken down, an intermediate level dance could easily follow her clear display of movement. In addition to the stretches, Blanca uses the warmup to review a variety of basic movements including hip slides, reverse mayas, hip circles, and single hip work.

"Technique Articulation:" During this section of the DVD, Blanca explains the nuances of the movements she uses in the combinations. This section is also designed to help you work on your articulation for each movement, improving your range of motion, strength, and balance while dancing. These movements are sort of "mini drills" that would work quite nicely for cabaret dancers.

"Technique Shimmy:" Similar to the articulation section, Blanca gives viewers a separate section for shimmy work. Included are very detailed tips for creating a shimmy that is controlled and matching the music as well as breakdowns for the various shimmies and layers she uses later in the program.

"Technique Progressions:" Here Blanca reviews a number of layered traveling steps. Beginning with the footwork, she later adds on arms and additional hip movements.

"Technique Sensual Poses:" This final section is the cool down for the DVD. Blanca dances through the cool down as the viewer follows along, demonstrating several of her unique poses. Each movement (like snake arms, hip circle, etc) is not broken down, but Blanca does explain each pose clearly.

The next part of the DVD is the "Flow" section. This part is divided into the same headings as the "Technique" and provides viewers with the chance to simply dance along with Blanca. For the most part, the material is the same as that which was covered in the technical sections, although there is some additional arm work, but this time it is fluid and presented as dance movement. The DVD has an option to follow the "Flow" without Blanca's voice-over and with just the music. There is roughly 40 minutes worth of material, here, providing the viewer with what amounts to her or his own personal class in "sensual bellydance."

The choreography is surprisingly long for a DVD that already has so much information. As mentioned above, the combinations are demonstrated and explained after Blanca performs the full piece. The combos are rather quickly shown but all of the information has already been broken down in the Flow sections. Blanca's work is a cabaret piece with a lot of emotion and a great practice work for those seeking to learn to put more expression in their dance.

What worked for me:
* I really loved the way Blanca breaks down movements. She uses a lot of visual imagery and creates a clear picture of each move. Blanca even uses some really creative visual aids to impart her ideas.
* Separate technique sections. This was really nice as a dancer could go to each section and just review that particular part (so working on the transition/progressions as opposed to having to go all the way through a choreography like in some other DVDs).
* The pose idea section - it was great to see the different ideas for poses and, also, to see some of them executed in different ways.
* The inclusion of so much information about performing. THANK YOU! So many DVDs now focus on technique, but there are very few that mention performance and even fewer that do both!

What may not work for you:
* If you are not used to opening your stance a bit as you dance you may find some of these movements and combos to be challenging. Blanca's movements are lush and full, often requiring a fairly open stance in order to really get the look of the move.
* I stress again that this is a DVD for more experienced dancers. A baby belly may become quickly overwhelmed by the speed at which the material is covered. However, there are definitely concepts here that will benefit new dancers, and this is certainly a production that they could "grow into."
* The red backdrop/lighting. The hues reflecting on Blanca are pretty, but after 40 minutes can make your eyes a bit fuzzy.

I'm not sure I can add anything to what other reviewers have said. But I need to. You see, I've been looking for just this video from the time I first began belly dancing. Belly dance video groups will remember my discovering a spellbinding clip of Blanca dancing (I recommend a search for her clips on youtube) and asking whom I had to kill to learn to dance that way. What I'd found so mesmerizing was that she danced with all of herself. Body and mind. The result was indescribable and beautiful sensuality and emotion. Watch her - it's difficult to spell out.

What makes this video so different is not the choreography or the exercises - though those are lovely too. It's the wholehearted attempt to get you, the learner, in touch with your own sensuality. Aside from following the movements, listen to what she's telling you. Let go and allow her to engage you enough to open up to how you feel and communicate. You should feel a difference in all of your dancing.

And because it isn't just about the 9 combinations that make up the dance, you will spend a lot of time working on how to get fluidity and effortlessness into your movements. That's where the warm ups and flows come in. You will learn, for example, how to put resistance into your moves to communicate passion. Or slowing down to express savouring femininity. Particularly lovely is the unique section on this video on how to weave a story into your dance to bring it alive with meaning. Try it with any other dance to see how it could work.

For those familiar with the World Dance format, there are some interesting variations here. The choreography is done many times, differently: you will focus on the upper body moves separately, then the lower body and foot work. And then all together, with and without music.

In this video, dancing is not about gimmickry and heaping one clever move upon another. And may I say what a relief that is. For a change, the idea is not to make your jaw drop. It's to draw you into an experience of intense and passionate enjoyment.

Rather special attention has been paid to the music chosen for this video. I contacted Blanca to talk to her about her video and make this review more informative, and here's some of what she had to say. "I can't explain how important the music is. These days the aspect of the dance I'm most interested in is musicality. If a dancer is musical, I can watch her for hours. I love when the dancer's body becomes one more instrument, creating her own melody over the already existing song. I was lucky to find the wonderful and sensual music we used on this DVD. We required a variety of tempo, mood and styles, but I wanted every piece to be absolutely beautiful and sensual. Movses Panossian's "Serpent's Rapture" was a great Flow opener because its grandiosity gives you no choice but to wake up and start moving. Ruben Van Rompaey's "Miyuki" is perfect for the articulation section because the rhythm is very clear nuanced. Djinn's "Brooklyn Baladi" is the quintessential Arabic hip walk teaching song. And Stellamara's "Persephone" had me choreographing the cooldown section in one take, with my eyes closed, listening to the music and what my body wanted to do. For the performance, Pete List composed the music entirely based on my choreography. He invited the incredibly talented Chern Hwei Fung to play violin. In addition we have the choreography taught to the beautiful song "Ifrit" by Tim Rayborn."

Another wonderful thing Blanca told me - and this can be put into motion by dancers even if they haven't seen this video yet - is how a dancer's movements are like waves. "Look at something that makes you think of sensuality: long hair, a serpent, a cat's tail, desert dunes... the wave is always there and it looks like it's moving even if it's still. It's not defined when one wave ends and the next starts, waves are always dancing on top of each other. When a dancer is moving sensually, there is that quality of continuous movement, of one thing melting into the next one." Perhaps this gives an idea of what this dancer's approach is.

I hope others find the same enjoyment I am from learning with this video.

When I first heard of this dvd I was a little put-off by the name "Sensual Bellydance", but the reeviews on Amazon persuaded me to order it. I was not disapointed! I've only had my copy for a few days and have not managed to use the entire dvd yet. So this review contains my initial impressions.

Blanca moves very fluidly and dances beautifully. Her performances are excellent and demonstrate what she teaches on tis dvd. I found her technique breakdowns to be very clear and detailed--including visualizations and details such as the orientation of the head. The flow section is very effective at helping the user practice the feeling and techniques of this sensual style.

Best of all, this dvd really does provide a "missing link" as another reviewer mentioned. I love that Blanka's style is fluid and uses the entire body rather than an assortment of "isolations". Most beginner/intermediate level instruction that I"ve seen really focuses a little too much on isolations, which are great to practice to build body control but can lead to segmented and stiff dancing when overdone. I am impressed that she manages to teach basic/intermediate technique in a more holistic way and that expresses the sensuality of this dance form. Dancers who use this dvd would develop performance skills along with technique and an enjoyable dance experience.

My only problem with this dvd so far is that I find it too inspiring so I never finish the entire dvd session. At some point, I feel an urge to put on some music I love and just dance!

Who may not be interested in this dvd:
*Those who want an intense workout may find it a little too relaxing, though portions could be incorporated on light days or as a warm-up/cool down. This dvd is dance focussed rather than exercise focussed and much of the dancing is slow in tempo.
*Dancers focussed on a specific ethnic style of Oriental Dance (bellydance)... Dancers focussed on Turkish, Egyptian or other styles may find some of Blanka's technique conflicts with their own. However, I think some dancers of this style may still enjoy it for developing fluidity and the ability to "feel" the dance and express sensuality through dance.
*Absolute beginners may prefer a different dvd to start. It is hard for me to say as I didn't use dvds as beginner, but I think it could be great for beginners who have established good basic technique.

Who would enjoy this dvd:
*Advanced beginners-Intermediate dancers who would like to move from practicing technique to fluid and sensual dancing! For that matter, this would also be good for advanced dancers who are more technique driven and want to soften their focus a bit.
*Those who admire Blanka's dance style and want to incorporate it into their own.
*Dancers who are intrigued by "Goddess" imagery may love this! I am not one of those dancers, but Blanka does it in a way that doesn't bother me. She is a great example for those who like to incorporate fantasy elements into their dance in a way that is both powerful and natural.

The one thing that saved "Sensual Bellydance" is how highly excited I am to be learning belly dance again. And while all of the moves were sexy and fun, I found the instruction to be a bit vague and rushed. As a matter of fact, it convinced me to go out and sign up for an in-person belly dance class instead of relying on generalized and impersonal DVD sets. This bothers me only because I bought this DVD hoping it would accommodate beginners. I took a few belly dancing classes a couple of years back but have not practiced since and thus consider myself a re-beginner.

I felt that Blanca did not focus on explanations of moves. She kind of expected the watcher to just know what she is talking about most of the time when it came to how the hips should feel and posture.

It was also confusing when, in the middle of new moves, the DVD would change to another scene which would show Blanca waving a scarf through the air to demonstrate how my hands should flow, or something similar. One problem with that: my hand isn't a scarf. I needed her to show me step by step with an actual hand and not rely on feckless visual metaphors.

To further confuse: during one section of the DVD, Blanca's dancing doesn't line up with the voice over instruction or the music. This made following her and the music (which she stressed) very hard to do.

Also as soon as one move was demonstrated, the DVD just went on to the next move without much review of what was just learned. There are also no pause times between learning moves and it is for this main reason that I would not recommend this DVD for beginners.

During the warm-up and cool down stretches, Blanca once again moved to quickly, and didn't explain the exercise in time with her movements. She would explain a move while she did it or suddenly change directions of stretches out of nowhere. This made it tricky to focus on learning anything and I felt more like I was just awkwardly trying to keep up. The warm up and cool downs were also ineffective and I was unsure of the proper way to breath or if it would help ( I know that sounds whiny but it's true).

Another bugger was the arm positions instruction: Blanca would out of nowhere call out an arm position (goddess arms or princess arms) without any prior discussion of them or even explaining how to why to use them with what type of belly dance.

I hate to sound like I am bashing the DVD because I am not. I really liked it as a matter of fact and would just like to see some improvement. Overall, the Blanca's instruction was enjoyable and a good work out for me as a lover of dance. But for me, as a beginner, it was exhausting and confusing.

I thought this was a great instructional DVD. My experience level is beginner. I have a few DVD's already Shamira, Jenna (both her beginning and drums), I had dolphina (gave it away), and Amira. So, how does this compare to my others. Well, for those interested here's my one to five scale. One is blah and five fantastic.

Audio -5
Picture-5
Detailed explanations-5 (loved this Blanca uses imagery so I get the concept quicker

Fluidity -5 This is where Blanca really outshines my other DVD's. Except for Jenna's drum one, but that one is for the more advanced. Blanca even makes the warm ups looks sexy.

Program length-5 two hours

Cost: 5 totally worth it. Her DVD is unlike my other DVD's so I'm going to have to say their not comparable. She adds the fluidity and sexiness that the others kind of lack. This is the only beginners DVD that I've seen with such an excellent cohesion at the beginner to intermediate level with the moves, fluidity, and sensuality. A must buy in your bellydance collection.

I am blown away by this DVD. I never write reviews, but I was so impressed with this DVD that I had to. Blanca is amazing and this DVD is PACKED with material. I had Dolphina's "Goddess Workout" DVDs, but she can't quite keep a beat, so it was impossible for me to follow along. Blanca really takes it step by step so I think ANYONE could do this. Plus, she is an excellent teacher and coaches you to feel into it, feel the beat, etc., which is so important in this type of dance. I feel so confident and sensual after working with this DVD. Her performances at the end are very moving. She's caused me to have a whole new respect for the art of bellydancing.