Paulina and Jindra
This is the "beyond basics" dvd of the
International Academy of Middle Eastern
Dance's beginners 3 pack. Paulina
teaches all 3. Paulina teaches a move
slowly, without music (if it is playing, it
is very soft) then builds the speed and
adds movement (traveling forward or to
the side) and music once she's covered
the main points of instruction. After
you've practiced the step for a while,
some form reminders are posted on the
screen. The set is attractive, and the
production very high- camera angles
make sense and are steady, music
volumes appropriate. If you have some
bellydance instructionals that aren't
from Natural Journeys or Dolphina,
you're probably used to some weird
camera work, odd lighting, bad volumes
and so on- but not with this series.
these all look like fairly well budgeted
productions. The DVD is well chaptered
by exercise, so you can always cue up a
specific exercise to work on that on its
own. After you've learned some moves,
there is an uncued follow along routine
that is short and straightforward, using
the moves you just learned. Since this
is a basic dvd geared towards
beginners, some cueing or on screen
text that gives the name of the move
would have been helpful, but it is short
and it does use just the moves that were
taught in the instructional segment, so
it isn't that hard to follow along.
A workout follows, lead by Jindra. The
packaging says it has a cardio focus,
and when done at tempo, it is a
moderate cardio workout, but it does
slow down when you learn new elements
so it isn't sustained cardio. It is fun,
and Jindra teaches some new moves in
it, while also using plenty of the ones
just taught in the instructional segment.
She has two backup exercisers, that
seem to be decent dancers and seem to
be having fun (well, one of them
frequently looks like she's at the
proctologist, but the other seems to be
enjoying it). Overall, this series is one
of the better beginning dance
instructionals. It seems more focused
on teaching moves than in teaching a
choreography, and the workout session
is more focused on working on dance
moves than sustaining a cardio workout.
Its still a nice, lighter day cardio session.
The production quality is also very high.
The instruction is either a good intro to
bellydance, or a nice do-along practice
session for a beginner to intermediate
who takes lessons. The workout is a
nice dancer's workout for a beginner to
intermediate. I think an advanced
dancer would get a better workout
putting on their favorite music and
doing an improv dance session than
they would following this, unless they
wanted a dance workout that was back
to basics for a lighter day. These are
more expensive than either the NJ
productions or Dolphina's, but if you
want to learn some bellydance, or
supplement your lessons, these are
worth the price since the instruction is
much better. If you just want to try
bellydance, or add something
different to your workouts, then less
expensive dvds are a fine option. This
dvd also has 2 performances- one from
Paulina and a cane dance from Amara. i
was hoping to see one from Jindra, but I
like the two they included. Overall, I
recommend these to someone who is
very interested in learning bellydance,
or is in beginner lessons and wants a
do-along practice session. they a re
pricey, but the high quality of
instruction and production makes them
a good addition to a basics library.
Instructor comments:
Paulina has a slight accent, and a clear,
straightforward manner. Her instruction
is easy to understand- she occasionally
shows what you shouldn't do, as well as
offering pointers to help with form,
posture and safety. She's alone in a
pleasant studio- and I felt like she was
conversing and teaching, not
performing or talking at me. jindra
leads the workout that follows the
instructional, and she is very pleasant.
She also offers lots of form pointers and
reminders and explains the workout
moves very well.
linda