I Love Turkish Bellydance! (2007) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am a teacher of Egyptian Belly Dance primarily, but also teach Turkish style belly dance steps in my classes.Several of my students have been asking me about this new DVD.

First, let me say that the DVD has many charms and is best suited to beginner/advanced beginner students, but that for the serious intermediate/advanced and professional teacher or performer there are stronger, academically attentive and more thorougly researched DVDs on the market.Miss Sarah Skinner cites Eva Cernik, Dalia and Elizabeth Artemis Mourat as among her teachers.I have had the pleasure and honor of studying with these accomplished master teacher and performers as well and recommend their DVDs/VHS tapes for turkish (Eva and Elizabeth Artemis Mourat) and dynamic skirt dance/fusion styles (Dalia's video media and a superb music CD).

For the Beginner and Advanced Beginner student this DVD includes at least one turkish traveling step I have seen taught by Eva and Artemis- and is a good start for a student with no previous knowledge base.American fusion type skirt dancing steps are also included also helpful for the beginner. There are simple choregraphies throughout the DVD well executed that will be helpful to beginner students, but frankly lack the fire, passion, and wild, playful abandon that for me is so quintissentialy turkish.

The costuming section is an excellent rundown for students, teachers and performers and the strongest section of the DVD.In fact Ms. Skinner has a great eye for costumes and color combinations and I would love to see a DVD from her in the future focusing solely on this topic.I am not sure if there are any up to date DVDs in recent years on this topic currently on the market at the moment.

The veil number was very beautiful and again a great study for beginners and others who may not be ready to or want to do complex turns and intricate veil combinations.This number gives great ideas for "still" shots and dramatic poses that are audience eye catching.The costume here was elegant and Sarah is a very pretty dancer with flowing dark hair who carries off the mood of this piece spledindly.I did find it odd, though that the music was a classic Andalusian piece, sung in spanish- on a DVD touting "Turkish" dance.

Overall, a useful DVD for beginners with lots of great costume and still shot pose ideas...However, perhaps a different choice in title touting the many rich and various threads of the fusion style belly dance taught and perforemd in this DVD would have more aptly described the total DVD.

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Product Description:
Earthy and playful, sparkling with an energy of celebrationand surprise, Turkish bellydance absorbs the rich traditions of Turkishfolk and court dance as well as the mysteries and festive rites of thelands along the Silk Road. Reflecting the cosmopolitan spirit of Turkey, a melting pot of cultures inthe heart of the old world, Turkish bellydance is ever-evolving, unburdenedwith do's and don't's, ever-welcoming of beauty in movement.
Join Sarah Skinner, a top NYC performer and enthusiast of Turkish-stylebellydance in exploring two gorgeous dances featuring the 9/8 rhythm, thebeautiful exotic beat that adds so much to the inimitable flavor andengaging spirit of Turkish bellydance.
The dances are set to two of the most popular Turkish party songs - "RompiRompi" and "Mastika" -- long-time favorites for bellydance shows and socialdancing. The versatile dance vocabulary you'll learn in this program willadd sparkle to your dance - whether you dance professionally or enjoybellydancing at social occasions.
DANCE LEARNING OPTIONS
Sarah guides you through every dance combination step-by-step. DVD menuoptions let you choose how you want to learn! You can focus on instructiononly, or you can select instruction for each combination followed bypractice with the music, where you first repeat the given combinationtwice, and then see how that fits in the whole dance by doing thechoreography from the top.
Practice and performance music is available (CD: "Belly Dancing for Fortuneand Fame").
BONUS FEATURES
* Hey, let's admit it: Dancing is as much about the fun of dressing up andadorning your body as it is about moving it! To inspire you, Sarah presentsa mini-workshop on bellydance fashion, costuming styles and options, aswell as tips for creating costumes and enjoying every facet of yourlife...in dance!
* Enjoy performances by Sarah Skinner -a ciftetelli, a veil dance and a drum solo with Djinn NYC!

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