I haven't really felt qualified to review this video as I have no dance experience whatsoever (except as being voted wildest dancer in the bar once during a ski trip - but that's another matter), until it occurred to me that it might be of use to anyone else similarly uneducated, but still interested in trying out a belly-dance oriented tape.

I bought this tape because I really enjoyed Karen Andes book, A Woman's Book of Strength, as well as her more recent book, A Woman's Book of Balance. This video was in the very first issue of the Collage catalog that I ever received, and I excitedly ordered it without too much thought. Only after ordering it did I find videofitness.com and the reviews on it, and I may not have ordered this tape at all had I read the reviews first, as it became apparent that I would be sadly lacking the belly dance experience.

However, on the whole I enjoy this tape and am going to hang onto it and continue to use it. Others have broken it down well, so I'll just give my non-dancer impressions.

I really enjoyed the segments led by Karen Andes. Her personality is warm and encouraging, and even a little lyrical in her presentation of the movements and cueing. As Renee mentioned, the "Love-lay" can get a little annoying, but it doesn't happen too often. The warm up is a lot of fun, and pays more attention to hip and oblique flexibility than most warm ups, which feels really great. Both the leg strengthening and veil work segments are easy to follow. The leg strengthening is mostly plies and leg lifts with kind of dancer pose things with your arms. It has a nice rhythm and flow and Karen makes it easy to follow.

Karen cues very well and gives great visuals, for instance "Shake the veil like you're shaking sand out of a blanket". As someone who has never tried to throw a veil around in the air before, I found this section really a blast - "hey look at me! I'm keeping this veil in the air!" You definitely know when you've done something wrong because you will suddenly have this crumpled up knot of fabric between your hands. Not to worry…the pace here is pretty relaxed so it's easy to catch up and start again. The matador move and funnel move are especially fun. It adds a bit of drama to the movement without being overwhelmingly complicated.

Then you get a 25 minute cardio dance section led by Carolena. This is where a non-dancer will start to run into a little trouble. As others have mentioned, there is no breakdown of the moves, so that you pretty much watch and learn. Two things I found particularly irksome is the lack of symmetry - ie. All the moves and turns go one way and are never countered by spins in the other direction, and finally towards the end of the segment she cues by telling you the name of the move. "Arabic" she'll say, which she earlier described as a "full body wave" or didn't describe at all. So I agree with the others that prior experience in this dance style would definitely help.

However, I do think you could learn it pretty well by watching and doing the video a couple of times. The one thing I simply can NOT get is the hip shimmy at the fastest speed. I'm okay at the single speed, fine when she says double it, but when she says "double it again" there is no way I can get my hips to shimmy without the girls up top going along for the ride. Yikes!

Furthermore I have yet to figure out what to do with my hands and arms. I just try to put them somewhere they won't get in the way and try to get them to float along gracefully. However I usually feel (and probably look) like a drunk middle aged businessman among hula girls at the luau. It is a real toss up as to which I would least want my DH to watch me doing - this segment of this tape, or the Hips and Ribs thing from Firm's Vol. 1.

The cool down to this segment is really neat! Slow ribcage circles, again doing stuff with your hands that I just can't comprehend - but the way this works your torso feels really cool.

Back to Karen and a relatively straightforward upper body conditioning segment. I don't have the same pole and band system they have but the one I have worked great. There is only one set of each exercise and only one exercise per body part, but done slowly enough with some tempo changes that you will feel them. I wouldn't consider this a really heavy or thorough strength workout, but nice catch up secondary strength work to throw in your week. The bicep "tray" exercise is a nice variation and also hits the front of your shoulders. I enjoyed this one. The tricep exercise is an overhead french press using the band, done slowly enough that you get a good burn. During this part Karen says through gritted teeth "It's not easy for us either!" which cracks me up.

The tape concludes with a "Temple" stretch inspired by dance like postures found on temple friezes. It's poetical and lovely and each pose has names like "smelling the flower" and is referenced to gods and goddesses from Hindu mythology. If I never do the rest of this video again, I would keep it just for this stretch segment.

On the whole, this makes a really nice change of pace, when you've pounded your knees out or just can't stand the thought of hauling out your barbell and step, for whatever reason. There is virtually no impact, and the intensity level is moderate. Karen in particular is very positive and encouraging, and gives the workout a very accepting feel. Though I don't do this tape often, I enjoy it whenever I do and find it very refreshing.

Sophie