I've got to admit that I just love this video. Any complaints I have about it seem silly and petty compared to what I love about it. This will be a long review, because there is alot of content to describe.

This is an excellent video - it's well-produced, well thought out, packed with info, and quite inexpensive for a bellydance video. Jenna and Raquy are both talented performers and instructors (and both adorable!).

The two main parts of the DVD are a choreography workshop and a rhythm workshop. There is a 7 minute warmup based on bellydance and dance isolation moves, where Jenna also provides a review on dance posture. I appreciate that Jenna warms the feet and ankles, which I find lacking on most bellydance videos.

In the choreography workshop Jenna teaches three separate Drum Solo choreographies, all in Maqsoum rhythm. The beginner choreo is about one minute long, the intermediate is two, and the advanced is three. As they progress in length, they also progress is complexity and difficulty, with the third including a fair amount of layering.

For each choreography there is a costumed performance (in a much too small room, where Jenna looks cramped and knocks lots of leaves off a poor little tree). There is a choreo breakdown, combo by combo, using closeups and slow motion as needed. I really appreciated the use of slow motion and closeups for footwork, for example. Jenna assumes you are familiar with basic bellydance moves, but breaks down others. Accordingly, I wouldn't recommend this for a true beginner - only someone with some previous experience. For each choreo there is also a "demonstration" option, where the entire choreo is performed at tempo with a combo and beat counter showing on the bottom of the screen. The breakdown and demonstration sections are interspliced for a "learn and practice" option. This plays the breakdown, then practices the combo twice, and the choreo from the top using the demo footage. This choice of editing looks a little jumpy and can be confusing at first. All of the dance instruction is filmed from behind with Jenna facing a mirror. The camerawork is good, but on a couple of combos the sun is super bright, making it somewhat difficult to see.

Raquy teaches the rhythm workshop. She describes how to identify rhythms, and then describes the Baladi, Saidi, Maksoum, Masmoudi, Ciftetelli, Malfouf, Ayub (Zar), and Semai rhythms. She breaks each rhythm by explaining where to find the dum or bass notes, then claps it out, plays it a couple of times unadorned, and then with ornamentation. Following this, she plays the rhythm while Jenna dances, demonstrating moves which go with each in order to help give ideas for improvisation. Also included in this section is a 6 or 7 minute improv drum solo performance by Jenna, with Raquy and Carmine playing several different rhythms.

Finally, Jenna has also included some great shimmy drills. The Shimmy Layering drill is 8 minutes long, with the names of each move and number of repetitions on the bottom of the screen, and some cues for posture and form appearing on screen as well (for example an arrow pointing to where the chest should be raised). There is also a 5 minute 3/4 Shimmy drill which goes gradually faster and faster while travelling in a number of different directions. I think the inclusion of these drills is on the of the things that makes the video so valuable. It shows that Jenna has put a lot of thought into making something that will challenge many different levels of dancers and give them lots of material to work with and grow with.

Instructor Comments:

Eibhinn