Mala
10-02-2005, 12:50 AM
Instant Belly Dancer--Curves—Neon
Instant Belly Dancer—Hipwork Plus—Neon
You’ll find richly descriptive rave reviews of these DVDs on Amazon. Very deserving ones too. Personally I think any instructional video on any subject could take a cue from the way these are made. Entirely intuitive in their approach these have used fantastic techniques to teach. I thought it looked a bit frighteningly difficult when I saw some of the “diagrams” online (see http://instantbellydancer.com) but was amazed to find that the graphic overlay the dancer uses to show you the precise trajectory of her moves completely fixes it in your mind. Anyhow, since there are long and numerous reviews on these at Amazon, I will look at them from the salsa point of view.
What’s in it for salsa is the isolations. Dozens and dozens of them in places you never knew isolations could be! Although they way they’re used in belly dancing is different from the way it would be used in salsa, the control it will give you is amazing. By the time Neon is done with you, you’ll be able to figure-8 with every part of your body! In reverse, horizontally, vertically. Head, ummmm…. chest, ribcage, hips, knees…everything. So, from the salsa point of view, body rolls and the Cuban type movement of letting the ribcage shift over the stepping foot with the hip rolling to meet it and back making a figure 8 across one cycle of a basic, becomes quite easy. At the end of it your movements look quite sinuous and sexy. Although in belly dancing a lot of the movements and sharp and jerky, once you know these isolations, you can smoothen them out without much effort at all. In any case belly dancing also does include the slower, floaty and sensual type of movements. In particular, the full body undulations she teaches (several of those) would look quite nice in some freestyle salsa—or as bits of styling here and there with a partner.
Neon teaches a lot of moves (2 or 3 after each isolation), some of which could easily fit into salsa. Try some hip shimmies, for example, both up and down and backward-forward. Amazing. I can’t get over the fact that I can actually do this! I mean, it’s beginning to happen. Also lots of hip lifts and drops, arcs, slides that I didn’t imagine I could do. Well, slowly but surely, it’s developing and if I happen to show anyone a move, they gasp in absolute surprise. Of course, they then go on to warm me that I’ll sprain something if I don’t’ watch it, but I haven’t even experienced a twinge of pain over the past month or more that I’ve been learning the isolations.
The reviews and descriptions say this is also a workout and here I disagree. It’s designed to teach not to have an exercise session and anyway isolations never make no workout on their own. You have to increase your heart rate and all the rest of it. This is pure skill.
Of the two DVDs I mentioned here, Curves is the one to go for. Hipwork Plus gets a little more bellydance territory. But I find both wonderful and have actually now ordered the Belly Dance Party DVD which has combinations (even though these two have dance steps as well) and am eagerly waiting for it. The whole tone of these DVDs is club and party, not traditional belly dancing. The moves are all obviously meant to work in an everyday party and fit well into other dances—and to my mind, they do!
Overall, I’d rate these 5 on 5 and would recommend the Curves DVD for any salsera who wants to sex up her moves.
===================================
The dance DVDs I own at the time of this review:
1. Salsa for Gringos-basics-Stephanie Gumon and ave Paris
2. Salsa for Gringos-Turns and spins I-Stephani Gumon and Dave Paris
3. Red Hot Salsa – Basics – Ron and Bethena Rosario
4. Ladies Styling-Technique-Juliet McMains
5. Ladies Styling-Syncopations and Variations-Juliet McMains
6. Ladies Latin Styling-Core Isolations-Jaana Kunitz
7. Ladies Latin Styling-Salsa-Jaana Kunitz
8. Ladies Latin Styling-Chachacha-Jaana Kunitz
9. Quick and Dirty Guide to Salsa (Intermediate)
10. Learn to Dance the Salsa CD 2-A sexy and stylish approach – Tennia
11. Style Like Nobody’s Watching – Olivia Dasso
12. Red Hot Salsa - Mambo Shines. Ron and Bethena Rosario
13. Instant Belly Dancer-Curves-Neon
14. Instant Belly Dancer-Hips Plus-Neon
15. Salsa Cubana—Basics
16. Salsa Cubana-Advanced
17. You can dance the cha cha
18. Kaytee’s Beginners Guide to Salsa
Instant Belly Dancer—Hipwork Plus—Neon
You’ll find richly descriptive rave reviews of these DVDs on Amazon. Very deserving ones too. Personally I think any instructional video on any subject could take a cue from the way these are made. Entirely intuitive in their approach these have used fantastic techniques to teach. I thought it looked a bit frighteningly difficult when I saw some of the “diagrams” online (see http://instantbellydancer.com) but was amazed to find that the graphic overlay the dancer uses to show you the precise trajectory of her moves completely fixes it in your mind. Anyhow, since there are long and numerous reviews on these at Amazon, I will look at them from the salsa point of view.
What’s in it for salsa is the isolations. Dozens and dozens of them in places you never knew isolations could be! Although they way they’re used in belly dancing is different from the way it would be used in salsa, the control it will give you is amazing. By the time Neon is done with you, you’ll be able to figure-8 with every part of your body! In reverse, horizontally, vertically. Head, ummmm…. chest, ribcage, hips, knees…everything. So, from the salsa point of view, body rolls and the Cuban type movement of letting the ribcage shift over the stepping foot with the hip rolling to meet it and back making a figure 8 across one cycle of a basic, becomes quite easy. At the end of it your movements look quite sinuous and sexy. Although in belly dancing a lot of the movements and sharp and jerky, once you know these isolations, you can smoothen them out without much effort at all. In any case belly dancing also does include the slower, floaty and sensual type of movements. In particular, the full body undulations she teaches (several of those) would look quite nice in some freestyle salsa—or as bits of styling here and there with a partner.
Neon teaches a lot of moves (2 or 3 after each isolation), some of which could easily fit into salsa. Try some hip shimmies, for example, both up and down and backward-forward. Amazing. I can’t get over the fact that I can actually do this! I mean, it’s beginning to happen. Also lots of hip lifts and drops, arcs, slides that I didn’t imagine I could do. Well, slowly but surely, it’s developing and if I happen to show anyone a move, they gasp in absolute surprise. Of course, they then go on to warm me that I’ll sprain something if I don’t’ watch it, but I haven’t even experienced a twinge of pain over the past month or more that I’ve been learning the isolations.
The reviews and descriptions say this is also a workout and here I disagree. It’s designed to teach not to have an exercise session and anyway isolations never make no workout on their own. You have to increase your heart rate and all the rest of it. This is pure skill.
Of the two DVDs I mentioned here, Curves is the one to go for. Hipwork Plus gets a little more bellydance territory. But I find both wonderful and have actually now ordered the Belly Dance Party DVD which has combinations (even though these two have dance steps as well) and am eagerly waiting for it. The whole tone of these DVDs is club and party, not traditional belly dancing. The moves are all obviously meant to work in an everyday party and fit well into other dances—and to my mind, they do!
Overall, I’d rate these 5 on 5 and would recommend the Curves DVD for any salsera who wants to sex up her moves.
===================================
The dance DVDs I own at the time of this review:
1. Salsa for Gringos-basics-Stephanie Gumon and ave Paris
2. Salsa for Gringos-Turns and spins I-Stephani Gumon and Dave Paris
3. Red Hot Salsa – Basics – Ron and Bethena Rosario
4. Ladies Styling-Technique-Juliet McMains
5. Ladies Styling-Syncopations and Variations-Juliet McMains
6. Ladies Latin Styling-Core Isolations-Jaana Kunitz
7. Ladies Latin Styling-Salsa-Jaana Kunitz
8. Ladies Latin Styling-Chachacha-Jaana Kunitz
9. Quick and Dirty Guide to Salsa (Intermediate)
10. Learn to Dance the Salsa CD 2-A sexy and stylish approach – Tennia
11. Style Like Nobody’s Watching – Olivia Dasso
12. Red Hot Salsa - Mambo Shines. Ron and Bethena Rosario
13. Instant Belly Dancer-Curves-Neon
14. Instant Belly Dancer-Hips Plus-Neon
15. Salsa Cubana—Basics
16. Salsa Cubana-Advanced
17. You can dance the cha cha
18. Kaytee’s Beginners Guide to Salsa