Customer Reviews

Temple of Jehan: Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have only been using dancing DVDs for 2 years with no prior attempt to dancing before that. I still lack the ability to grasp new dance techniques easily. I have most of Neena & Veena, the bellydance twins's DVDs, two of the Goddess Workout ones, and only one Rania since she is way too stiff. With that help, I had no trouble with this DVD at all. This DVD is meant for keeping your heart-rate up & keeping the music always present. The music is very beautiful with a nice beat, but light & spiritual as well with subtle female singing.

Every move is done in 1/2 time several times before moving on to normal speed w/naration over the music. Since most instructional DVDs are slow, most times w/o music & barely repeat more then a few times, this is a refreshing change for when you just want to practice & get your heart rate up w/o stopping. There were a few moves I had not previously been able to master, but have through this DVD such as pelvic lifts & pelvic rolls. There are some more advanced ones I have trouble on, but I just do the best I can & keeps me inspired to keep trying.

There are separate chapters by mood such as: joy, sensual that work on different body parts. The Ultimate on left side was distracting at first, but easy to get used to. They are always dressed in jeans or gothic wear, but you can still easily see how to move the body. Many of the dancers on this DVD went on to make their own or are well known & have performance DVDs.

The warm-up & cooldown are 16 min of very slow bellydancing moves & stretching. The warm-up & cooldown in only a FEW spots of the whole DVD lack naration for the forward bends, but that's it. The regular workout is 28 min but feels like longer since it never slows down to a crawl/break.

I wouldn't recommend this as a first bellydance DVD at all, but maybe a 3rd or 4th, try using the bellydance twins Neena & Veena (there are trailer's for their dvds at collagevideo.com

BTW, I don't mention the set or how people look, because I only care about the talent of the instructor, how well they teach & the content. Most directors & producers screw things up by putting up cheesy sets & almost all have camera zooms & angles that take away your ability to see/learn. This DVD at least has one of the least camera problems then most of my 20 yoga, 15 latin dancing, 5 hula & 14 bellydancing DVDs. I am especially agast at A. Kite's "boardgirl148" reviewer who has the audacity to complain about the dancers' facial beauty. That shouldn't matter, I'd rather learn from an ugly instructor w/talent then a gorgeous one who has none. If anyone really cares, I do think the makeup was put on way too heavily & it distracts from each dancer's unique beautiful facial features.

I recently found a link to their main site which has a trailer & screenshots for this & a couple other of their DVDs: worlddancenewyork com/catalog/wbfw html

This is the finest bellydance cardio workout available to the mass market, and may be the finest available anywhere. The setup is the best I've ever seen, with the workout divided into seven distinct and progressively harder segments. This feature makes it easy to repeat a segment and to "mix-and-match" segments creating your own personal unique workout. The warmup is the best I've ever seen on ANY fitness video, and has become one I use every day even with other fitness videos. The moves are interesting, getting most of the cardio from layering rather than traveling steps like Rania's series uses, which is a boon for those of us with two left feet. The combinations are beautiful and elegant, and unlike the combinations on other cardio videos will quickly find their way into your personal dance routines. The music is an upbeat techno-Arabic world dance sound that has me wanting to buy Jehan's cds. There's a little dance routine included in the extras, and a useful talk from a fitness instructor on assessing your personal cardio needs.

The moves are called out but not really explained, so I wouldn't recommend this video to absolute beginners, although an absolute beginner could get a good workout buy just repeating the early segments and doing the cooldown. Two of the songs used in the segments have Goddess-positive lyrics, which is great for us Goddess-positive people. ;)

So go on and buy the DVD already! And Jehan, use the money to put your highly recommended instruction and performance videos on DVD for the benefit of those of us with toddlers and without VCRs!

I'm not a dancer, but I buy dance workouts because I get bored with the regular ones. They don't keep me motivated to exercise. This DVD is the interest holding champion! It's a workout and a dance class combined, it's fast-paced, really the closest thing to real dance but still a workout.I particularly appreciate this DVD for teaching me to shimmy! It makes you try the shimmy at so many angles, that my body just found the position that works for me.It has a driving force that keeps me focused and intrigued with what I'm doing. Some weightloss videos are so monotonous that I lose alertness.I REALLY don't agree with the reviewers who criticize the instructors' makeup or the backdrop: If you are really working with this DVD (and it makes you work very hard!) you WON'T be thinking about that. It's all I can do to keep up the workout and TRY to do the moves as beautifully as the instructors do. The white floor and walls are just totally New York professional dance studio. You can see dance studios through their windows downtown in NYC that look exactly like this DVD. So doing the workout is like being in a pro class in New York - that's what it is for me every time. Those artificial "sultan's palace" videos are very colorful, but they're distracting. They show the background so much that sometimes you can hardly see the moves.

I still rate it 4 stars because I really enjoyed this DVD. I have been to Jehan's school and her instructors are excellent. The DVD showcases a lot of the dancers who were in her NYC show Goddessdance. For those of you who are familiar with Jehan, she composes and performs her own music and that is what you are hearing on the DVD.

My only real complaint with the DVD is that the cuing could have been better especially during the warmup when your head is down and you are facing the floor, but after doing it a few times, you are familiar with the moves and it's not a problem. I am able to complete the DVD without any problems and I definitely break a sweat especially after all those shimmies towards the end.

I would recommend this DVD to dancers who are not absolute beginners as it does not break down the moves. But this is a much better bellydancing instructional DVD than Rania, Neena and Veena and the Goddess workout.

First, the bad things about this DVD:
1. The graphic on the side is annoying and makes it look like a commercial the whole way through.
2. The chanting can get a little annoying for some people.
3. It looks a little low-budget, but this has very little to do with the content.
4. The lack of cuing when unable to look at the screen and sudden changes in movement.

Now, the good:
1. The music fits perfectly and changes with each section.
2. The moves demonstrated look great and are shown in detail.
3. It's fun and never gets boring!
4. They have one girl for each section teaching the move, and then others are added to show variations.

The workout/dance on this DVD is very complicated, and there is little to no instruction. They don't start at slow tempo so you can work your way up. They just do it and expect you to follow. It makes it difficult the first time, but after a few viewings you will begin to get the hang of it. Their entire bodies are shown, so you can see the detail of each move. If they were to include an instructional section for each one it would just be showing the exact same thing in a slower motion. Instead you have to either watch in slow motion or press rewind. The cuing problems can be annoying, but they weren't that bothersome for me. I love all the moves performed on this DVD, and it was really fun to do as well as a pretty decent workout. The only big complaint I have is that lack of instruction because it could definitely be very discouraging for some, but if you keep with it, it's really rather easy to pick up.

I LOVE THIS DVD. It keeps you moving without doing the same thing over & over. I have the Twins "SLIM DOWN" & that got old after about 4-6 months. Each chapter last about 5-8 min so you are never bored & there are tons of moves to learn from.

My ONLY suggestion is that if you know nothing about bellydance, get a beginner DVD before becuase this does not explain how to do the moves it just tells you when & how many to do. The instruction is good, comstumes are awesome. The music is nice & it matches to each chapter very well. I have several workout DVD's (Veena & Neena Slim Down) & this one is by far a better workout & it taught me a ton of moves that I have never seen before.

My advice...
BUY THIS DVD, you won't be sorry.

I bought the Bellydance Fitness for Beginners a while ago. Although the sisters danced beautifully at the opening and closing of the video, the workout was boring and stupid. Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout is very different. It will probably take me more times to get all the movements but they are fun and sexy and learnable. Totally not boring and I will keep comming back to it.

The Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout DVD is titled hyperbolically. Although I agree it is not a bad workout, there are better dance workout videos on the market. Better videos have even been produced by the same company.

The video has several problems. First of all, it's described as being appropriate for all levels of fitness/dance. This is not true. Few of the movements are explained, and some of the movements (like the head spins) are downright dangerous if done incorrectly. Since no explanation is given, I wouldn't be surprised if people haven't already wrenched their necks badly. I would never recommend this video for a beginner, but only for someone who already has a strong foundation in Middle Eastern dance.

Secondly, dance jargon is used in the video without benefit of definitions. Ballet terminology is used without explanation, and is meaningless to those without classical dance backgrounds.

The voice-overs are often off-putting. There are times when Jehan counts time with the music, and her rhythm is off. Or she'll describe a move at a different rate to what is being done on screen (eg. she'll be saying hip hip step while the dancer is doing some other combination). This is very confusing. It might be easier to do the video without the sound.

Next, the focus is very New Agey. This may appeal to fans of Dolphina, but for more secular dancers and fitness aficionados, it is a turn off.

Most annoying of all are instances when a movement is described, but not shown. A prime example would be a bouncy folkloric step in which the foot and legwork are not shown. The feet and legs are integral to the movement, but are shown only fleetingly, and partway through the video segment. This is bad camerawork and direction.

The video extras are not of the best quality. One of the biggest problems is the onscreen text. It is very blurry, and sometimes impossible to read. I was going by guesswork on a few things.

The DVD also includes a dance prayer which is more silly than inspiring.

Generally, the costuming choices are good. However, at the very beginning, Jehan is wearing a lovely, flowing skirt which obscures what her legs are doing. Also, several dancers are wearing denim, which I don't think is the most comfortable choice, but at least it doesn't obstruct the view. That's just a matter of taste, I guess. The dancers are all very easy to see against the white background. It's nice to see an uncluttered and distracting set. However, the name of the video is branded down the left side throughout the workout, and that's pretty annoying.

On the plus side, anyone who does this video all the way through will be getting a good cardio workout. The warmup and cooldown are solid (aside from the head flinging), and if you keep practicing with the video, your hipwork should improve. The dancers are competent and have good camera presence. Also, the music is interesting and works well with the workout sections. The video has its flaws, but being boring is not one of them.

I would not recommend this for a beginner because there are no breakdowns of the movements and trying to keep up could cause a beginner to learn movements inaccurately.
BUT for someone familiar with basic bellydance moves- this is the perfect workout. It is constant movement and at a challenging pace. What I love about this dvd is how each stretch and movement all have physical purpose but flow from one to the next in a continual dance- which is what a lot of bellydance workout dvds lack (we want to workout but we also want to dance- it is bellyDANCE afterall, right?) When there are constant breakdowns and pauses between steps, the intermediate dancer can get bored and fail to work up to cardiovascular benefit. This dvd will get you sweating but it is so much fun, you won't even notice till you are done.
The warm up and cool down on this dvd are especially good, in my opinion.
The only drawback would be the filming is a little low budget and the music is not for everyone. It is not your classic middle eastern tunes, it is music by Jehan. The beats are really great but the talking in the music is something I could, personally, do without- the statements are affirming but some of the things she says were... well, like: "I (pause pause) am fire (pause pause) burning (pause pause) burning (pause pause) in your heart" If she could have sang these lyrics instead of just say them, it might not sound so odd. But that has nothing to do with the workout- I still think it is a really great dvd.

This is a really fun workout! I've been doing it for about 6 mos and I'm still not bored with it (I need lots of variety...). I'm probably a beginner/intermediate dancer. I've taken some classes and worked with Veena and Neena's DVD series. This workout isn't for the complete beginner. What I like is that it gives me moves to work towards doing. It also has plenty of moves that I can do or have finally been able to do. This workout has given me a really strong core and it gives a pretty good cardio workout. I am always dripping by the time it is over. It's not a long workout--40 min. It is perfect for me because I have a toddler and that's about all I can squeeze in. This is one of the workouts that has truly helped me drop the last of the baby weight. So, if you are looking for a workout that will strenghten your "core", help you drop a few pounds, and want to have fun with belly dancing moves--this is for you. Also, you should probably have a little background in belly dance. I only gave this 4 stars because, well, the music is just soooo cheesy. Also, "Ultimate Belly Dance Workout" is plastered on the side of the screen for the whole thing. At first it's annoying but now I can just ignore it. By the way, Suhaila's series (Belly Dance Fitness Fusion) is really good too!