Customer Reviews

Wimps Series: Bellydance for Wimps [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Out of all the reviews for this DVD I've read, most are rather unflattering. Mine isn't. I'm rather fond of this DVD. I received this for a b-day present, and as I have fibro-myalgia and arthritis to boot, these movements are helping me regain some of my lost mobility. I first started out doing the movements in my chair and then gradually tried them on my feet. These excersizes are geared towards WIMPS...this would be me. I'm not fond of pain,having lived with it for many years, but this is much lower and slower impact than many bellydance tapes I've tried. It's a good start for those of us who want to learn slowly and not hurt our backs or shoulders. I think her slow steady attitude is fine, rather upbeat and easy to follow. If you're looking for a hurry-up method, this isn't it. if you are a Wimp like I am, give this a try.

Congratulations to all of you who are fit and/or familiar with bellydance and are too advanced for this workout. You are not the intended audience.

Having been out of the exercise habit fore a long time, I needed something basic and - knowing myself intimately - something I could and would stick with. This is just the thing! It's fun. It's effective. And I can do it early in the morning without getting dressed or putting on shoes. :)

Whether or not the instructor is a great dancer is immaterial. She is a good instructor. She takes it slow and easy, stepping up gently as you learn each move. From the very first day, my muscles were working in a way that "feels right" (I know the feeling from the years when I was actually fit) and I could feel the stiffness beginning to work out of my joints.

By doing this workout in the morning and Kripalu Yoga at night, I am beginning to feel human again. Undoubtedly, as I work my way out of wimpdom, I will outgrow this DVD. When I do, I'll look into one of the others suggested.

Bottom line: If your purpose is to learn Belly Dancing for the purpose of Belly Dancing, you will probably want something else. If you are out of shape and want a fun and effective routine to get you moving again, Bellydance for Wimps is a wonderful starting point.

Natasha may not be the best of belly dancers herself but she does teach bellydance in a way that is really good for beginners. She's patient and you learn the moves slowly but correctly. There's actually instruction involved here. I found other bellydancing series near impossible because I felt like I was expected to be able to replicate dance moves with the greatest of ease and not being a dancer, I was like, you want me to do what?!

So you don't learn a million moves, but you do learn the most common moves thoroughly and you'll learn enough for a basic dance. I also appreciated the fact that she had a real woman doing bellydancing in the background. We're not all a size 6 you know! Most authentic bellydancers don't have a six pack from what I've seen so her workout was also non-intimidating. This is what you need before you move onto other bellydancing dvds, it's a great help for the rhythmically challenged!

I would consider this video damaging to anyone who is truly interested in learning belly dance. Not only are movements done incorrectly, but they are wrong. The "camel," or undulation is done with an accompanying arm movement that resembles something out of a football stadium not Egypt - it's the wave, not belly dance. I'm not sure where this dancer learned this technique.

Her "hip drops" are actually "hip ups," and she routinely counts incorrectly for the movements she is demonstrating (things that take four counts are counted out in three counts).

Aside from bad belly dancing, this dancer is dressed in a distracting manner - almost as distracting as her affected tone and the wrinkling of her nose each time she wants to emphasize something. It's not sassy, it's silly, and it may encourage others to learn belly dance improperly, or even worse perform in a manner that looks foolish.

I went to the library to check this out (just like another reviewer did) and was glad I didn't pay anything for this! It just didn't do anything for me.
I checked out the bonus performance and have seen better dancing at amateur shows, to be frank. She was OK but nothing exceptional by far. Maybe if you saw her dancing at a local show, but to have her own video really got me wondering - why?
She breaks down the moves in little segments, and I got bored halfway through. Plus I didn't like the 'sassy' angle she plays up. Bellydance is sensual, fun, and even can be humorous, but somehow she just didn't portray any of those qualities.
I've got stuff by Jillina, the Bellytwins, Bellyqueen, Suhaila, Mara, Goldea, Dolphina, Bellydance Superstars, Atea and a couple others. And they are all better than this. Some vids make you feel challenged, sensual, are fun, and can even wipe out a bad mood or raise my energy if I'm feeling down or tired out, but this did nothing for me. If you have it and like it, more power to you, but this did absolutely nothing for me.

This is the Worst Bellydance Video I have ever seen. Natasha's posture is terrible. She can't isolate. Any dancer worth her salt on that slice of pizza on the cover would never do a choreo, even a beginner one, standing in one place the entire time! She has a beautiful space to dance in but even in her bonus dance, she makes no attempt to fill that space. Maybe that is a blessing considering that weird arm thing that happens when she body rolls in a circle. She may talk about posture but doesn't actually model good dance posture. She communicates none of the information on stetching, warm up, or cool down that is necessary for a movement teacher of any kind, much less dance movement. Students model what they see and if you follow this DVD you risk injury at worst and learning terrible bellydance and something that is not bellydance at best. Natural Journeys should be ashamed for irresposibly publishing something this bad.

Okay, belly dance police, let's calm down for just a second. This video WAS worth a scan of my library card, but I don't need to buy it. More on that later. As promised, the title makes clear that it is an introduction to belly dance for folks who might not otherwise try it. There were some things I appreciated like the simple movements made into a dance and her bringing her friends along to be in the video. It was nice to know they were of different sizes and how long they had been dancing. She also made constant reminders about posture---good. It is worth working up to for some one who is starting from scratch. I hope it will inspire the novice toward more, as the title is honest and accurate. What I didn't like was the part of the choreography where she flaps her arms fast while undulating in a circle---you can't see the undulation. The movement is much prettier with the arms at half-time. Try it! It's far less hectic. There was one part where Natasha tells you to watch her friend do a movement, but the camera immediately cuts to the slimmer young lady for most of the time---annoying! The costume she wore for the performance was unflattering and the beading kept slapping her microphone.
The one she wore for the cover shot was nicer. I would have appreciated a clip of her dancing at her own level. I won't nit pick further, but Natural Journeys already covered beginning and basic dance with Veena and Neena. Why do it again? I did this video during a sick day, as I find my body tolerates the easy movements well and it keeps me exercising. I will return it to the library, and have no regrets for having seen it. In any case, The video is true to it's purpose and level of dancer. We cannot expect Romper Room or Sesame Street to teach algebra, can we? If the video were called "Bellydance for Intermediates" (or beyond), I could understand the level of criticism this one has been getting. Let's not discourage the "wimps" out there.

Luckily, I, too, checked this out from the library. I didn't notice the pizza slice until after I'd watched it, but wow. What is that about? Are they trying to say you can eat whatever you like but still get fit and slim by doing bellydance?

I checked it out because I'm pretty clumsy, definitely not a dancer: poor kinaesthetic sense. So I'm looking for something fun that will help me improve my body sense. I need something that will help me isolate (shoulder shimmies, for instance). I've enjoyed the Veena and Neena tapes but wanted something a bit less challenging than those.

So, I'm no expert. But right away I found this woman's attitude grating. I also wondered what "tradition" she was teaching from, as the dance seemed like a poor caricature of bellydance. I would have liked to have seen more of her "students" or friends, but the camera never lingered on them long enough. I was especially irritated when she said to watch the bigger, less experienced girl, and then the camera focused on the slim dancer instead.

It's true that the instructor does break her moves down into very small bites, and she allows time for lots of repetitions before going "to speed." But the quality of the dance, her personality and apparent lack of talent, plus some technical glitches made me wonder why this one made it out of production.

I'll stick to yoga and my Veena and Neena DVDs, and I'll look into some of the others that get better reviews. If you think you still want to give this one a try after seeing all the negative comments here, my best advice would be to try the library first.

I'm taking this copy back tomorrow.

I just bought this video and watched it for the first time and I was actually happy with it! I'm taking a beginner's belly dance class right now, but I feel like the dance I'm learning there is so much more advanced the
Wimps Series: Bellydance for Wimps beginners, I was getting discouraged that I'd never learn!

So I was happy to watch this DVD and actually feel like, "Yes! Maybe I can learn this a little bit!" Now I'm a little scared by these other reviews saying the beat is off and that this could actually be a detriment to new dancers, but I'm still happy to learn the basic moves. So if you are truly a beginner and just need more confidence that you can actually do belly dance, and move your arms and legs in the way they need to go, I'd give this DVD a try. I think it's worth it just for the confidence boost!

This is a "How to Bellydance" rather than a "Fitness" dvd, although I would have to rate it poorly on both counts. The instructor is a terrible dancer, in fact she doesn't seem to know how to bellydance at all. Her instruction to the viewer (or victim) was inaccuate. If you are going to buy a dvd about learning bellydance you might as well get someone who knows how. The instruction on this is jerky, unprofessional, un-fun and annoying. For an absolute beginner there are so many better, MORE FUN, and worth while dvds that I couldn't list them all, Neena and Veena are always a safe bet for the absolute beginner. If I could have given this negative stars I would have.