New York City Ballet Workout
Hello Krispy 82,
If you are new to belly dance I recommend a class if possible. If not, I recommend a 3-tape set called "The Sensual Art of Belly Dance" by Neena and Veena Bidasha. That set of tapes will teach you basic belly dance as well as I could if I were standing right there with you. I also like them because they are well-lit. I have seen instructional videos on many topics, not just dance, where the sets appear to be lit by a 40-watt bulb. It is difficult to learn when you can't see what the instructor's doing! Avoid "The Goddess Workout" by Dolphina. I'm an experienced belly dancer and I had trouble figuring out what she was doing in some sequences because she gave the lessons in costume! Well, let's see now: are her knees deeply bent or just relaxed? Who knows? And are her heels stationary or going up and down? Beats me. Can't see 'em! Also, the camera would zero in on her chest when she was talking about hip movements and vice versa. Neena and Veena perform in sport tops and bike shorts; you can see every bit of their bodies and exactly what they are doing. Then at the end of the tape they give the student a basic routine and show what it looks done in a 2-piece cabaret costume. (I have not seen them in beledi dresses, but then I may not have seen all their tapes, either.) If you join a book club called One Spirit at the right time you can get all these tapes super-cheap (that's how I ended up with them). Have fun!
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