Belly Dancing Instructional DVD's?

Question:Hello all,

I am a beginner belly dancer. I have many different instructional DVD's that have proven helpful....since where I live there is not one bellydance instructer at all.

So a friend a mine thought she would help out...and she got me some of the Neon video's "Instant Belly Dancer" I am familiar with quite a few dancers but have never really looked at Neon's stuff.

So I was wondering what is your general feelings as to how these dvd's are good? bad? or what your opinion of Neon's dancing is.

Thankyou in advance!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hello all,

I am a beginner belly dancer. I have many different instructional DVD's that have proven helpful....since where I live there is not one bellydance instructer at all.

So a friend a mine thought she would help out...and she got me some of the Neon video's "Instant Belly Dancer" I am familiar with quite a few dancers but have never really looked at Neon's stuff.

So I was wondering what is your general feelings as to how these dvd's are good? bad? or what your opinion of Neon's dancing is.

Thankyou in advance!

My opinion on Neon is that she seems somewhat stilted and stiff in her movements. I have one of her dvd's - the flower tray on the head one - can't remember the name, and I use it for balancing but the movements on it I do my own way.

It sounds like you already have some bellydance dvd's, so you may know some of the movements already. If this is the case you can still learn from Neon, just try to relax a little more than she does while you dance. And if you are doing a hip movement (like hip drops or shimmies) your head and shoulders should not move or jiggle!

By the way, my fav DVD instructor is Amira Mor. Her videos go all the way from beginner to challenging even for me (I've been bellydancing more than 5 years.) Hers are the best to learn from if you really want to learn it the right way the first time...

Good luck, and happy dancing!

I'm not familiar with Neon's dancing, but I have heard of Princess Farhana and she has Basic, Beginner's and you may also want to check out some belly dancing video's of some really great dancers, such as the video 40 Days and 1001 Nights with Tamalyn. And remember DVDs are all pretty much the same. We have family members who have taught the art. Just remember the art of belly dancing is passed on from mother to daughter, or a female member in the family, and it starts at a very young age because this make the movements easier to learn and the body moves more fluid. You can learn belly dancing like Shakira, but her moves are her moves, because she has been doing it "ALL" her life as a part of her culture. Also remember there are different styles and versions of belly dancing, such as Middle Eastern, Indian, East Indian, African, Turkish, Lebanese, etc. Some are easier to learn than others. Have Fun.

Truthfully bellydance instructional videos work better when they are used as companion instructions. Finding a belly dancing school is better and it is not neccessarily expensive. But anyway I use Ariellah bellydance and yoga also
bellydance basics and combinations with Sera.Some of the moves were very hard to get but after going to class, it was just more practice. Good luck I love bellydancing. Feel free to email me about postures and etc.