Product Description Starring Ayshe, Blanca. About the Actor As a teacher, Ayshe combines her love of exotic movement and her academic knowledge of the human body. Her college degree in Human Movement involved studies in anatomy, kinesiology, corrective exercise, analysis of movement, motor learning, and dance therapy. Early on, as a dancer, she observed there were some subtle, yet surprisingly difficult and highly unusual torso and pelvic movement isolations in Middle Eastern dance. She experienced that the journey toward the accomplishment of these coordinations, through careful and patient strengthening and stretching of deep internal pelvic and back muscles, would give the practitioner an unusual and powerful body awareness. Along with this would come a physical centeredness and a sense of personal inner strength that would bring forth physical health and relief from mental stress. In her classes Ayshe has developed a series of simple exercises that will put the student on the road to a better understanding of her/his body in space and set the foundations for the individual to seek self expression through movement.
E**L
Informative. Educational. Enlightening.
I pre-ordered this DVD, so naturally I did not have a review to fall back on. I expected to see an energizing, fast-paced routine, a DVD I could put in my drive and get some sweat - after all that's what a workout is! The description made me believe that the excercises will be targeted at specific areas in the body. Eg, if you want to work on your abs, do crunches, etc.I was more than surprised when upon receiving the DVD on the back cover I saw that the total run was 170 min (almost TWO HOURS AND A HALF!). This already looked unusual for a workout. Once I ran the DVD I understood why.The DVD comprises of two main parts, Tutorial and Workout. The Tutorial is more than 1.5 straight hours long!When you play the Tutorial, you see Ayshe alone at first (she is later joined by two of her students). She's probably past her middle ages but an amazing dancer with an impressive technique. Ayshe speaks directly to the camera and explains everything in great detail, which gives you the feeling you're right there with her in the studio. The studio itself is nothing too fancy but the lights are great and everything can be seen very clearly.Ayshe starts by reviewing the body posture. This is by far the longest and most comprehensive review of the body posture I have ever seen. Ayshe takes her time explaining which body posture is correct and why; how it should feel and how it shouldn't. It's good to remember that Ayshe has a degree in this field, so she is INDEED an expert. There are also pictures shown of the spinal column and the pertinent muscles used. This is truly amazing! Suddenly all becomes clear AND logical. [A lot of teachers can show you how stuff is done but they can't explain why it works]. To put a disclaimer here though, let me say I am licensed as a massage therapist and a part of the training is taking 100 hours of more hours of anatomy and physiology, thus I was aware of the body structures she addressed. In relation to this I do not think she mentioned a very important part of the body posture - keep your shoulders down! Horizontally it's clear where they go but trying your best to do it right, one can bring her shoulders closer to the ears which would compromise the levator scapula and the infraspinatus and lead to stress in the shoulders. So, your chest up and shoulders down. :-)Ayshe continues with a few excercises to help strenghten the muscles. The issue of safety is addressed at ALL times. Ayshe, aided by her students, shows slowly and meticulously, giving plenty of repetition but don't expect sweating. The tutorial includes more excercises which teach how to fully isolate particular muscles and work on these only. The Psoas is paid a lot of attention in particular. I have to remark here that by the way Ayshe explains it, it looks like the psoas is an anterior (of the front) muscle just like Rectus Abdominis or the obliques but it isn't. At least I got this impression. The excercise she shows is very effective - if done right.Her whole program actually is like that - you have to listen carefully to her explanations and take your time soaking in the information and exploring. I found using a mirror a very good way to take advantage of her "don't do that" tips. Also, seeing three different body types works great. At the end Ayshe demonstrates pelvic locks/thrusts which are very funny to look at but I can't think of a better way to strenghten the muscles of your lower abs.The Workout: Ayshe demonstrates a warmup, dance combinations and a full dance followed by a cooldown. As a basis she uses the steps and excercises demonstrated in the Tutorial. This is great because this gives you an opportunity to focus only on isolations first, then to incorporate them all together in a string - in a whole dance.Do not expect endless shimmies. You will be disappointed. If you need a "buckets of sweat" DVD, try the other one with Ayshe and Blanca - Ultimate workout. THAT one is really vigorous and truly a "workout". This DVD trains precision and safety of movement, thus is quite dissected and you could say, slow.YOU MAY NOT LIKE THIS DVD IF:1. You don't care for anatomy or kinesiology.You don't need to understand how an engine works inside to be able to drive a car. To say figuratively, there are a lot of explanations about the "engine" of the body to utilize its "performance".2. You want to go down to business without listening to too much explanation.Ayshe does a lot of speaking. The tuturial, the bigger part of the DVD, feels more like a lecture at times.3. If you don't have a lasting interest in bellydance or movement anyways.This DVD is recommended to eveyone else, especially those who:1. Have a lasting interest in isolations and dance in general.2. Rely on videos to learn bellydance3. Experience back pain, while dancing or otherwise.4. Would like to learn more about the body mechanismsThis DVD is really difference and truly one of a kind. It taught me more about body posture and the mechanism of body isolations than all of my other over 15 DVDs together.Practical tips: If you're working for a real "drill", you may want to check the Ultimate workout (directed by Jehan)Sadie has a wonderful Drum Solo DVD and the first part of it is a section with excercises for muscle strenght. Her pelvic locks are absolutely fabulous - the right workout to go with after Ayshe's explanations.To sum it up - a must-have in every 'serious' bellydancer's collection!
T**E
Lots of info to assimilate
I'm 50, wanted to learn Belly Dancing SAFELY as well as for fun. I read the reviews and went in with my eyes open.The Good Points:Excellent advise on safe technique and the anatomy behind it.Excellent advise on what you should be FEELING, not just how it should LOOK.Very generous on how some dancers can use varying techniques for standard moves that are NOT wrong, but can lead to injury if you are not physically built the same way, so she shows you alternatives.Excellent camera work.Excellent dress code. You can clearly see their legs/feet position without clothing getting in the way.Good warm up. Nice dance routine combining the elements of the tutorial. Nice cool down.Excellent background music.Excellent value if you haven't got a tutor, her dvd is very thorough.The Down Side:Not a great speaker. She is somewhat stilted, hesitant, faltering in her speech. In a long tutorial, this can be a problem. I had to watch the DVD several times before I did anything, because I found myself 'tuning out' and missing key factors. It was work to keep focused.Time. You will probably need a lot of it, especially initially, to get a measure of the tutorial. I think you will have to be very honest about your limitations as far as how dedicated you will be to finding the time to study this dvd if you have a busy life-style.To summerize:I think it is worth taking the time and effort to apply this material. I know from experience that if you want to learn anything, from driving a car, to typing, etc, it's easy to 'grind in mistakes' and in exercise, you certainly don't want injuries through bad technique. I have decided to break the tutorial down into segments of one exercise at a time. Once I have grasped the move correctly, I will go onto the next one by following it on the dvd, whilst keeping up with the first move whenever I have a moment as I go about my day, just to keep the muscle memory ingrained. Example: Ten hip drops each side before I leave the bathroom, waiting for my coffee to brew, etc. When I've got most of the moves solid, I can follow along with the warm up and dance routines knowing I am doing them safely.
S**A
4 1/2 Stars
This is one of the best tutorials I have seen. I would take a half star off for Ayshe being too long-winded in explaining how to correctly perform the moves without injuring yourself. She is very detailed and obviously very knowledgable. You will learn how to execute the moves correctly and you won't find that in the majority of bellydance DVDs. If you do not have access to a live teacher, this is a must have for the lone learner. There are some good DVDs out there, but if you can only afford a few, this one is essential.
M**E
Not Good
This is not for beginners--not everyone can teach people how to dance and this is one of those instances. The instructor goes so fast... she does not give you time to really get the moves down before she goes into the next routine.I did break a sweat but it was because I was trying so hard to keep up and I still was confused and lost. There are other DVD's out there and I would strongly suggest getting one that is for beginners and where the instructor does enough reps to make sure that you are following it. Rania has some good ones that have helped me.If you have the belly dancing basics and want to give yourself a challenge then this may work for you. I am just learning and it was hard to keep up since I am still ackward on my feet and with swinging my hips.
M**A
OK.
This 30-minute workout is not the best bellydance workout but it is OK. It consists of 5 parts: warm-up, isolations, bellydance steps, a small dance routine and cool down. Some movements (e.g. isolations) may be difficult for beginners but overall the workout is quite simple. In tutorial section Ayshe thoroughly explains every movement.I would recommend this DVD for beginners.
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