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Bellydance Fitness for Beginners: Slim Down

Bellydance Fitness for Beginners: Slim Down

List Price: $17.98
Your Price: $16.18
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great tape to sweat to
Review: this tape is great Veena and Neena are wonderful instructors. The tape really work the lower body very well. I have weak shoulders and my shoulder strength has improved from help from this video.

the moves can also be taken to the dance floor and they are very sensual.

I have had friends come over to try the tape and they foudn it fun, challenging and loved trying a different kind of aerobic routine.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Basic
Review: This video is good for a person that has never belly danced before. The moves are basic and fun. It is not to difficult for any age group to do, which makes it good for the whole family (parents, childern, etc).
If you are in good shape or already work out at least 3-5 days a week, this may not be the work-out for you. It does not raise your heart rate at all or too challenging

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Preschool Workout with a Tiny Bit of Flair
Review: This video was not at all what I expected, primarily because I expect something that has "bellydance" on the cover to, well, relate to bellydancing. Aside from a cheap-looking "Arabic" set, this had nothing to do with bellydance and everything to do with bouncing up and down over and over. In bare feet. Yes, a high-impact workout without shoes and yes, it is as uncomfortable as it sounds.

The cueing is possitively awful. Often times the person cueing will tell you to "get ready" for something that the dancers are already partway into doing. And even when she doesn't do that, her counts are very off-beat and distracting. The majority of the moves are never explained, so you have to try to keep up with what the instructors are doing while trying to figure out HOW they're doing it.

The "dance" is basically a bunch of jumping, with some sexy arm and hip moves thrown in at times. It reminds me of the dance class I was in when I was 5 -- lots of jumping with very little actual dancing.

Finally, my superficial reason for disliking this video. I expect a fitness instructor to look fit. Yes, we all have our flaws, but most of us know how to cover them, especially if we're in the spotlight. Apparently these girls disagree, as one of their stomachs hangs over the waistband of her pants. And I'm supposed to expect a "slim down" to come of this? Granted I have a bit of a stomach, too, but I'm also not telling people that if they do my video they'll be "slim."

I was very excited about this video since all of the previous reviews were positive, but I've found it doesn't live up to its hype.

If you're looking for something beautiful and fun that will teach you how to bellydance, you'll be disappointed, as well. If you're going to be happy just jumping all over the place (it IS a calorie-burn, at least), then you may not mind it so much -- but a jumprope is a lot cheaper and just as effective.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Shake Your Hips to Slim Down Your Waist
Review: Workout Description: about 20 minutes of cardio / light toning w/ 5 minute warm-up, 3 minute cool-down, and 3 minute stretch for a total of 30 minutes
Workout Level: mid-beginner to low-intermediate. You can modify the moves for low or mid-level impact by adding or taking away jumps and bounces. The choreography is fairly basic.
Instructor: Veena and Neena Badisha (known as the "Bellydance Twins") via voice over to announce the exercises and offer encouragement
Class: Veena & Neena only
Music / Set: The non-vocal music is Middle Eastern-inspired. The set is brightly lit, with carpet, rich-colored curtains, and pillows scattered around the back. You'll recognize the set from other Natural Journeys videos.
Equipment Needed: none
Caveats: There are few pointers for form. I don't have the introductory volume of this series, so I don't know if that's where technique is discussed. I feel, however, that this should include form tips regardless.
Additional Comments: You don't need a lot of space for this workout. You should be able to take one step forward and back and two steps to each size.
This isn't a true belly dance routine. You will learn a few belly dance moves, but most are derived or just inspired by various Egyptian or Middle Eastern dances.
Some cardio parts of his workout are almost a little too rigorous for true beginners, but more intermediate exercisers will probably find the repetitive movements too dull. This workout is best for those who want more variety among their beginner dance videos (bellydance, hula, Latin, or whatever).
While a lot of people will enjoy this non-intimidating approach to fitness, this workout just isn't for me. I like dancing, but I much prefer ballet or even jazz to more hip-shaking forms of dance. This workout's a little too slow for me and doesn't have enough focus on form. I've found that it leaves me sore and aching-and not in a good way.
The DVD allows you to select your chapter and to choose to workout without the narration. There are photos of Neena and Veena from their other bellydance videos, trailers for Natural Journey's other bellydance videos, a performance clip by a bellydancer named Marina, and a segment called "Flexibility Training" by Rania (I believe), who doesn't have very good form.


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