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| Sensual Bellydance | 
 enlarge | Director: Blanca
Actor: Blanca
Studio: StratoStream - World Dance New York
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $7.92
You Save: $7.06 (47%)
New (26) Used (7) from $7.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 4236
Format: Color, Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 120
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D30148D
UPC: 188883000390
EAN: 0188883000390
ASIN: B000Q66G3S
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sensuous Snooze July 16, 2008
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
I'm sorry but this wasn't a five star DVD. Infact,I fell asleep for a few minutes. Maybe it's Blanca's monotone voice. Indeed it is relaxing, however a little too relaxing. The speech on how to be sensuous I had to skip over. Blanca talks on how to be sensuous and what is sensuality, "nature, oceans, etc," but strikes the common stero-typical pose of languishing passively on a fabricated Sultanish setup on a green lawn. Yawn.
Back to basics. The first instructional part was so slow, broken down and minutely detailed that I was getting bored and impatient. But I kept on. Then the second instructional part provided relief. Blanca goes through the same movements with more energy and voice overs which makes the movements and at home class session flow. With a flow you can pick up movements easier. Breaking down brings you out of your body and into your head.Also,the background was so dark that it encouraged nap time.
The dance of Venus October 30, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm not sure I can add anything to what other reviewers have said. But I need to. You see, I've been looking for just this video from the time I first began belly dancing. Belly dance video groups will remember my discovering a spellbinding clip of Blanca dancing (I recommend a search for her clips on youtube) and asking whom I had to kill to learn to dance that way. What I'd found so mesmerizing was that she danced with all of herself. Body and mind. The result was indescribable and beautiful sensuality and emotion. Watch her - it's difficult to spell out.
What makes this video so different is not the choreography or the exercises - though those are lovely too. It's the wholehearted attempt to get you, the learner, in touch with your own sensuality. Aside from following the movements, listen to what she's telling you. Let go and allow her to engage you enough to open up to how you feel and communicate. You should feel a difference in all of your dancing.
And because it isn't just about the 9 combinations that make up the dance, you will spend a lot of time working on how to get fluidity and effortlessness into your movements. That's where the warm ups and flows come in. You will learn, for example, how to put resistance into your moves to communicate passion. Or slowing down to express savouring femininity. Particularly lovely is the unique section on this video on how to weave a story into your dance to bring it alive with meaning. Try it with any other dance to see how it could work.
For those familiar with the World Dance format, there are some interesting variations here. The choreography is done many times, differently: you will focus on the upper body moves separately, then the lower body and foot work. And then all together, with and without music.
In this video, dancing is not about gimmickry and heaping one clever move upon another. And may I say what a relief that is. For a change, the idea is not to make your jaw drop. It's to draw you into an experience of intense and passionate enjoyment.
Rather special attention has been paid to the music chosen for this video. I contacted Blanca to talk to her about her video and make this review more informative, and here's some of what she had to say. "I can't explain how important the music is. These days the aspect of the dance I'm most interested in is musicality. If a dancer is musical, I can watch her for hours. I love when the dancer's body becomes one more instrument, creating her own melody over the already existing song. I was lucky to find the wonderful and sensual music we used on this DVD. We required a variety of tempo, mood and styles, but I wanted every piece to be absolutely beautiful and sensual. Movses Panossian's "Serpent's Rapture" was a great Flow opener because its grandiosity gives you no choice but to wake up and start moving. Ruben Van Rompaey's "Miyuki" is perfect for the articulation section because the rhythm is very clear nuanced. Djinn's "Brooklyn Baladi" is the quintessential Arabic hip walk teaching song. And Stellamara's "Persephone" had me choreographing the cooldown section in one take, with my eyes closed, listening to the music and what my body wanted to do. For the performance, Pete List composed the music entirely based on my choreography. He invited the incredibly talented Chern Hwei Fung to play violin. In addition we have the choreography taught to the beautiful song "Ifrit" by Tim Rayborn."
Another wonderful thing Blanca told me - and this can be put into motion by dancers even if they haven't seen this video yet - is how a dancer's movements are like waves. "Look at something that makes you think of sensuality: long hair, a serpent, a cat's tail, desert dunes... the wave is always there and it looks like it's moving even if it's still. It's not defined when one wave ends and the next starts, waves are always dancing on top of each other. When a dancer is moving sensually, there is that quality of continuous movement, of one thing melting into the next one." Perhaps this gives an idea of what this dancer's approach is.
I hope others find the same enjoyment I am from learning with this video.
Don't Let the Title Fool You! This is a really inspiring work! December 4, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Does "Sensual Belly Dance" sound like a cringe-worthy work? I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw the package. But Blanca does a great job of explaining her take on "sensuality" without leaving her viewer feeling uncomfortable or coming across as too silly herself. Blanca explains that sensuality is about communicating what you're feeling to others and, of course, this works great for a dancer. She shares her ideas of translating one's inner feelings into a body language viewable by the audience. She describes the use of sensuality as a way to "add a flair of sensual grace and ease to your dance" and speaks about the flow and pacing of one's performance. Her ideas of really utilizing emotion and storytelling during dancer are not often covered in instructional works and are wonderful to see presented here to a wider viewing audience.
After this intriguing introduction the DVD package offers viewers a little bit of everything from technical tips to improvisational ideas to polishing ones performances. First come two different "Flow" sections, one on technique and one based on simply dancing. Then Blanca presents a short choreography. There's a demo, a breakdown, and you can even choose to focus on just one part of the practice such as lower or upper body. Next Blanca provides a selection of clips demonstrating a variety of poses, providing watchers with numerous ideas they could add into their own repertoire. And there's also an additional invaluable resource where Blanca explains the idea of telling a story with dance. This is wonderful for performers seeking a way to give their performance extra "oomph" and also nice for those dancers just beginning to seek the stage lights.
As for the "meat" of the DVD, here's a bit of info on the Flow sections:
"Fluidity Warmup:" From the very beginning of her "Fluidity Warmup," Blanca begins to introduce her concept of "sensuality in dance." The gentle warmup and stretches include some very nice arm work as Blanca explains how to do each stretch in a "sensual" manner, that is with impact and purpose. While Blanca moves through the movements quickly she clearly explains the focus of each (lifting the head, bending at the waist, etc). Although each tiny little flourish may not be broken down, an intermediate level dance could easily follow her clear display of movement. In addition to the stretches, Blanca uses the warmup to review a variety of basic movements including hip slides, reverse mayas, hip circles, and single hip work.
"Technique Articulation:" During this section of the DVD, Blanca explains the nuances of the movements she uses in the combinations. This section is also designed to help you work on your articulation for each movement, improving your range of motion, strength, and balance while dancing. These movements are sort of "mini drills" that would work quite nicely for cabaret dancers.
"Technique Shimmy:" Similar to the articulation section, Blanca gives viewers a separate section for shimmy work. Included are very detailed tips for creating a shimmy that is controlled and matching the music as well as breakdowns for the various shimmies and layers she uses later in the program.
"Technique Progressions:" Here Blanca reviews a number of layered traveling steps. Beginning with the footwork, she later adds on arms and additional hip movements.
"Technique Sensual Poses:" This final section is the cool down for the DVD. Blanca dances through the cool down as the viewer follows along, demonstrating several of her unique poses. Each movement (like snake arms, hip circle, etc) is not broken down, but Blanca does explain each pose clearly.
The next part of the DVD is the "Flow" section. This part is divided into the same headings as the "Technique" and provides viewers with the chance to simply dance along with Blanca. For the most part, the material is the same as that which was covered in the technical sections, although there is some additional arm work, but this time it is fluid and presented as dance movement. The DVD has an option to follow the "Flow" without Blanca's voice-over and with just the music. There is roughly 40 minutes worth of material, here, providing the viewer with what amounts to her or his own personal class in "sensual bellydance."
The choreography is surprisingly long for a DVD that already has so much information. As mentioned above, the combinations are demonstrated and explained after Blanca performs the full piece. The combos are rather quickly shown but all of the information has already been broken down in the Flow sections. Blanca's work is a cabaret piece with a lot of emotion and a great practice work for those seeking to learn to put more expression in their dance.
What worked for me:
* I really loved the way Blanca breaks down movements. She uses a lot of visual imagery and creates a clear picture of each move. Blanca even uses some really creative visual aids to impart her ideas.
* Separate technique sections. This was really nice as a dancer could go to each section and just review that particular part (so working on the transition/progressions as opposed to having to go all the way through a choreography like in some other DVDs).
* The pose idea section - it was great to see the different ideas for poses and, also, to see some of them executed in different ways.
* The inclusion of so much information about performing. THANK YOU! So many DVDs now focus on technique, but there are very few that mention performance and even fewer that do both!
What may not work for you:
* If you are not used to opening your stance a bit as you dance you may find some of these movements and combos to be challenging. Blanca's movements are lush and full, often requiring a fairly open stance in order to really get the look of the move.
* I stress again that this is a DVD for more experienced dancers. A baby belly may become quickly overwhelmed by the speed at which the material is covered. However, there are definitely concepts here that will benefit new dancers, and this is certainly a production that they could "grow into."
* The red backdrop/lighting. The hues reflecting on Blanca are pretty, but after 40 minutes can make your eyes a bit fuzzy.
Lovely, fluid and inspiring November 27, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
When I first heard of this dvd I was a little put-off by the name "Sensual Bellydance", but the reeviews on Amazon persuaded me to order it. I was not disapointed! I've only had my copy for a few days and have not managed to use the entire dvd yet. So this review contains my initial impressions.
Blanca moves very fluidly and dances beautifully. Her performances are excellent and demonstrate what she teaches on tis dvd. I found her technique breakdowns to be very clear and detailed--including visualizations and details such as the orientation of the head. The flow section is very effective at helping the user practice the feeling and techniques of this sensual style.
Best of all, this dvd really does provide a "missing link" as another reviewer mentioned. I love that Blanka's style is fluid and uses the entire body rather than an assortment of "isolations". Most beginner/intermediate level instruction that I"ve seen really focuses a little too much on isolations, which are great to practice to build body control but can lead to segmented and stiff dancing when overdone. I am impressed that she manages to teach basic/intermediate technique in a more holistic way and that expresses the sensuality of this dance form. Dancers who use this dvd would develop performance skills along with technique and an enjoyable dance experience.
My only problem with this dvd so far is that I find it too inspiring so I never finish the entire dvd session. At some point, I feel an urge to put on some music I love and just dance!
Who may not be interested in this dvd:
*Those who want an intense workout may find it a little too relaxing, though portions could be incorporated on light days or as a warm-up/cool down. This dvd is dance focussed rather than exercise focussed and much of the dancing is slow in tempo.
*Dancers focussed on a specific ethnic style of Oriental Dance (bellydance)... Dancers focussed on Turkish, Egyptian or other styles may find some of Blanka's technique conflicts with their own. However, I think some dancers of this style may still enjoy it for developing fluidity and the ability to "feel" the dance and express sensuality through dance.
*Absolute beginners may prefer a different dvd to start. It is hard for me to say as I didn't use dvds as beginner, but I think it could be great for beginners who have established good basic technique.
Who would enjoy this dvd:
*Advanced beginners-Intermediate dancers who would like to move from practicing technique to fluid and sensual dancing! For that matter, this would also be good for advanced dancers who are more technique driven and want to soften their focus a bit.
*Those who admire Blanka's dance style and want to incorporate it into their own.
*Dancers who are intrigued by "Goddess" imagery may love this! I am not one of those dancers, but Blanka does it in a way that doesn't bother me. She is a great example for those who like to incorporate fantasy elements into their dance in a way that is both powerful and natural.
Fabulous, a must have February 22, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I thought this was a great instructional DVD. My experience level is beginner. I have a few DVD's already Shamira, Jenna (both her beginning and drums), I had dolphina (gave it away), and Amira. So, how does this compare to my others. Well, for those interested here's my one to five scale. One is blah and five fantastic.
Audio -5
Picture-5
Detailed explanations-5 (loved this Blanca uses imagery so I get the concept quicker
Fluidity -5 This is where Blanca really outshines my other DVD's. Except for Jenna's drum one, but that one is for the more advanced. Blanca even makes the warm ups looks sexy.
Program length-5 two hours
Cost: 5 totally worth it. Her DVD is unlike my other DVD's so I'm going to have to say their not comparable. She adds the fluidity and sexiness that the others kind of lack. This is the only beginners DVD that I've seen with such an excellent cohesion at the beginner to intermediate level with the moves, fluidity, and sensuality. A must buy in your bellydance collection.
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