Belly Dance For Beginners

I’m a total beginner for reference. I found this to be doable but challenging because it works muscles in ways I'm not used to using them! I enjoy the instructor as well, though i get where other reviewers said she is not used to talking to a camera. Don’t hate on her for this, it gets better and I found it to be endearing. She is human! One move I struggled with was moving from shoulder shimmy to chest shimmy. I have a lot to work with there but this has always been a hard move for me, even in western dance. Not sure why. I look forward to gaining strength and muscle memory overtime to get these moves down. I do recommend a mirror or another person, so you can tell if you are doing it right or not because if like me you are new to it you will not be able to tell but feel with every move.

I have zero dance experience and have tried several other belly dance DVDs that are helpful, but quickly go on to the next dance movement. Unfortunately, I can’t keep up.This instructor really takes her time on each movement. She’s very easy to follow. This is something I will stick with.

Leila is sensible in how she introduces movements. I'm impressed by how much teaching comes on one DVD, particularly for the price. The basic movement sections are each 15-30 minutes of learning. For instance one is basic arm moves at 30 mins, another basic hip circles, another hip shimmies, etc. Although she does sometimes say a movement is sensual or flirty, it is not a really sexualized DVD as it appears some of them are. That combined with the fact that she's neither a stick figure nor hyper-busty and takes some time to mention how different figures can be a plus in the moves all mean that this might actually be a nice esteem-boosting get-to-know-your-body activity for teenage girls. I like that some of the movements emphasize releasing your belly in pelvic tilts, as I grew up always sucking mine in to the detriment of my health. The mindset behind belly dancing is a healthy one.I have some serious illnesses and am very limited in how much I can exercise and what kind of exercise I can do. I'm finding bellydance to be a relatively gentle body-toning exercise that still challenges me on multiple levels, is interesting, and is good for me. Of course, once you really know the moves (and if you have a lot of coordination and energy) you could pick up the pace and make it aerobic. I find it interesting that a lot of the arm movements are similar to things I used to naturally do when I danced in Christian worship (an old hobby of mine).I haven't progressed beyond the basic movements, as I still don't have the hang of a few of those. The thing I miss the most so far is having a a little warm up and warm down to loosen up after practice. The most she does is have you lift your arms and breathe in at the end of a segment. But you will definitely want to do something more extensive. Additionally, the shimmy she teaches (the Egyptian shimmy) is the very hardest shimmy, and she immediately moves into layering it. Granted, she is largely teaching Egyptian dance, but the hip shimmy can be viewed as the basis for the straighter-knee Egyptian shimmy and as a much more intuitive starting place. I don't know about other people, but I still can't pull the Egyptian shimmy off much less layer it b/c I lock my knees shortly after breaking into this high speed straight knee shimmy. I can only do it for tiny spurts. It makes sense that she isn't teaching the choo choo shimmy or pharoanic arms and so forth (she is focusing on the most common moves), but with shimmies I think you really need to start elsewhere or at least give a lot more instruction as to how exactly we are supposed to keep our knees loose (usually she gives plenty of instruction, it seems, but I'm just not getting this one).Prior to purchasing this video, I viewed a lot of teachers on youtube. I also rented some of Veena and Neena's CDs which I generally do not recommend for learning dance as opposed to getting a little toning (they do not really teach technique so that it would be very easy to hurt yourself and develop bad habits; they also have floor or aerobic sessions included that would be terrible for most peoples' backs or knees and have nothing to do with the dance). Finally, I bought an old production that someone else swore by that was mostly useless and had really garish costumes. I do wish there were more conformity between the names of movements in belly dancing. For instance, I did peek ahead at her integrated moves and note that what she calls the egyptian walk is nothing like what two other videos I was using call the egyptian walk.

I admit it. I am a klutz, born with two left feet. I'm nearly 50 and I'm not in the best shape. I have taken belly dance classes in the past, and I despaired of ever being able to attempt it. Enter Leila of Cairo.Leila is funny, unassuming, and wholly natural behind the camera. She doesn't put on a saccharine, obviously fake smile. One gets the notion that she is simply being herself. Yet, she explains each move slowly, telling the viewer which muscles should feel the work.The primary strength of this DVD to me is the sheer amount of time Leila spends on each set of movements. For example, the hip circles section is about 37 minutes. She starts with the simplest movements and drills them (but gently, and in a fun, companionable way so that one doesn't feel one has been ordered about by a drill sergeant.) Without my noticing it, I was able to increase my range of motion and execution of the move. She then moves to the more complicated movements, one step at a time, until before one knows it, one is doing horizontal and vertical figure 8s. This is a move I have never before been able to execute - but keep in my age and my reforming couch-potato lifestyle.The entire DVD is about 4 hours in length, so one gets a great bang for one's buck, and it's all instruction that coordination-challenged folks like me can assimilate. Her warm and thorough presentation of the basic movements is superb.The only flaws in this dvd are:as another reviewer has noted, the poor menuing system is irksome;there is no warm-up so I suggest that you purchase another DVD for that purpose; andagain, as another reviewer has noted, the dance-to-follow has no instructions - however, Leila notes that this is the traditional way for a senior dancer to teach a novice - but, again, she suggests that you master the first two sections before you attempt the dance-to-follow.All in all, this is a wonderful DVD. I never thought I'd be able to belly dance, but I'm beginning to see results! No wonder this is the top seller on Amazon.

The instructions portion of this video is EXCELLENT! I have a couple other bellydancing dvds that I've enjoyed but this one is so much better for walking you through every step. The only downside I've found so far is that the actual dances have no instruction and I wish they did. This video is packed with so much information on how to do the moves and it's so much fun to go through. I would absolutely buy this again and I hope to find more videos by her!

Auf der DVD zeigt Leila of Egypt in drei TeilenBasisbewegungen (darunter Grundhaltung, Hüftzirkel, Armbewegungen, Schulterbewegungen und Shimmies)Integration von Basisbewegungen und Schrittfolgen (Kamel und Pferd, ägyptischer Gang, Kombination von Schrittfolgen und Zirkeln, sowie Schrittfolgen und Shimmies)eigene Improvisationen zur Musik zum Nachtanzen und kurze professionelle Bauchtanz-PerformancesSie gibt Informationen, wie man Gelenk- und Rückenfreundlich tanzt, ermutigt und entspannt an den richtigen Stellen. Einzelne Abfolgen sind sorgsam eingeführt, andere waren mir zu schnell, wo sie dann z.T. anschließend nochmals langsamer erklärt. Die Improvisationen sind aus den vorher gezeigten Übungen zusammengesetzt. Die Performances beinhalten auch Dinge, die sie nicht erklärt hat. Die Musikauswahl halte ich für gelungen. Sie trägt drei verschiedene Outfits mit viel weniger Glitzer als auf dem Cover, was angenehm zum Abgucken ist und ein wenig Nähe zum Fitnesstraining herstellt, aber nicht zu viel. Man hat eine kompetente, selbstbewusste, sehr gepflegte Anleiterin vor sich, kein Häschen.Ein aus meiner Anfängersicht gelungener Einstieg in den Bauchtanz. Die ersten zwei Kapitel des ersten Teils (Arme und Zirkel) sind in Youtube veröffentlicht. Sie läßt in den anderen Kapiteln in der Qualität nicht nach.

I did not like the DVD since it is not readable, because the Regional Code is different between USA and Australia.Could not read the DVD at the usual DVD machine due to the Regional Code is not readable.

You are taught a full arsenal of beginner-friendly moves that you can use at your disposal. Everything is taught in an easy-to-follow, clear manner. Truly the best part is that Leila seems to know exactly when a beginner will start to tense up and reminds you to relax at just the right moments.

Un excellent cours pour les vrais débutants - même ceux qui, comme moi, ont deux pieds gauches. Leila du Caire est un très bon professeur : chaque mouvement est montré avec précision, sous plusieurs angles (elle se tourne de chaque côté) puis répété plusieurs fois. Leila est également très souriante, motivante, concrète et drôle ("bougez vos mains comme si vous vouliez récupérer le glaçage du gâteau dans un bol"). Je me suis beaucoup amusée - et en même temps j'ai beaucoup appris (elle semble techniquement très rigoureuse) ... et beaucoup fait travailler mes muscles !Le cours est en trois parties : mouvements de base (un chapitre par partie du corps - 30mn chaque), mouvements intégrés avec déplacements, danse (seule partie sans explication - il faut juste suivre Leila).Le tout est en anglais - mais elle parle lentement, explique plusieurs fois et décompose chaque mouvement.Bref : lancez-vous, vous ne le regretterez pas !