Basic
Dance
Naturaljourneys,
2001
ISBN
1-58565-951-7 |
Beyond
Basic Dance
Naturaljourneys,
2001
ISBN
1-58565-952-5 |
Mystic
Dance
Naturaljourneys,
2001
ISBN
1-58565-953-3 |
Gilded Serpent presents...
Video Review:
Veena and Neena's
Discover Bellydance
by Eugenia
Chow
"Hi,
I'm Veena."
"--and I'm Neena."
"Welcome to _____ (fill in the blank: basic, beyond basic, mystic)
dance." (Discover Bellydance)
Gotta love those belly dance twins. Veena's the one who smiles
more broadly, with more genuineness (if possible), her face just
a teeny bit more rounded at the cheek and her movements more confident
and fully executed. In other words, if you buy the twins' videos,
watch the V/Neena (they're identical!) on your right hand side
when you stand facing the screen.
Months
after watching a captivating belly dance performance at a New
York Chinatown Cantonese wedding, the bellydance craze hit me.
You
know you've got Bellydance fever when you start looking for
books on Middle Eastern dancing in the tiny public library,
Google-ing "bellydance, how to" and searching both "belly dance"
and "bellydance" on Ebay.
At least if you're a poor graduate student like me. Either that
or you go out and buy an authentic Egyptian costume in your exact
size, coin belt, beaded bra and all, and sign up for private lessons
with an eminent dancer in your area. But like I said, I'm a poor
fiction-writing MFA living on a meager teaching assistantship,
and after finding out how much one semester of local Middle Eastern
dance classes cost, I clicked the "Buy it Now!" button and dumped
all three of Veena and Neena's Discover Bellydance DVDs
into my Internet virtual cart.
Three weeks later, I'm happily dancing to the final DVD, Mystic
Dance (I have a background in dancing, from Taiwanese slow
tango, square dance, ballet to hip hop) and obsessively replaying
bonus performances by Marina Darowish.
Each
DVD includes warm-up, new movements, choreography, and the performance
of choreography in time to music. Beginner-friendly Basic
Dance introduces hip drops and shimmies, undulations, half-turns,
wrist circles, and other fundamental movements. Beyond Basic
Dance covers rib circles, hip drop-kicks and shimmies, traveling
steps and full turns. Mystic Dance combines previously
learned arm and shoulder moves with upward and downward figure
eights, spins, traditional veil movements and head slides.
In
teaching new movements, the twins wear leotards that reveal their
limbs, helpful for the viewer. The camera shows them from different
angles, zooming in or out as appropriate. Excellent lighting
and atmosphere also make viewing these DVDs a pleasurable experience.
Bonus
features include excellent performances by contemporary dancers
Lochia, Marina, and Sohaila, trailers from nine Bellydance DVDs,
and a puzzling cut-out style photo gallery of Veena and Neena
in assorted aerobics and bellydance wear.
Marina's
three performances are worth the price of the entire set of
DVDs.
Her variable facial expression and powerful movements will mesmerize
as well as humble those of us who have just finished dancing with
the friendly smiling twins. While gawping at Marina on the screen,
you think, "I want to do that some day." Or at the very least,
"I want her costume."
Bellydance
Boogie, Cardio Shimmy, Hip Hop Hip Drop, Pure Sweat--I nearly
fell over watching these trailers. Five non-V/Neena dancers in
aerobics outfits and hip scarves accompanying incomplete rib circles
with floppy, sloppy snake arms, dancing to...pop music. Well,
I'm sure these videos are effective for their advertised purpose:
"Weight Loss for Beginners."
   In
conclusion, Veena and Neena's Discover Bellydance: three
and a half zils rating (I'd give them four but they didn't use
percussive instruments!)
available for purchase- http://www.bellytwins.com/shopping.htm
Have
a comment? Send us a
letter!
Check the "Letters to the Editor"
for other possible viewpoints!
Ready
for more?
12-24-03 Dancing Inside
Out
The
state of Oriental Dance in America, as it is most often seen today
in festivals and restaurants, is at a crossroads of change from
which there will be no way to return.
12-2-03
Advice from a Temporal
Dance Oracle
These dance
related disputes become overpowering
10-28-03
Raks Assaya Instruction
at Najia’s Studio
Demonstrated by Rawan El-Mouzayen (Arab-American, age
3)
12-16-03
Egypt 2003 by
Zahraa
The
winner was also the worst dressed dancer. Her name is Ronda and
she has the reputation of being too cheap to invest in a quality
costume.
12-12-03
Belly dancing in cyberspace
– The LiveJournal Belly dancing Community by Lilly
It is analogous to keeping a public diary, and asking people to
comment on it. |