Bellydance Fitness for Beginners: Slim Down

I started looking at belly dancing as a viable exercise alternative after watching the amazing Hafsia Herzi dance for what seemed forever in the final minutes of the film " The Secret of the Grain (La Graine et le Mulet) (Subtitled in English) (Region 1 DVD, USA/Canada Edition) ." The energy and passion that she exerted during this session sold me; with each sustained shimmy I felt myself drawn to this mysterious expression of sultry womanhood. The fact that Hafsia (I do not know whether or not this Cesar Award winning actress actually performed the dance herself or had a body double) perspired profusely convinced me that belly dancing was not for the meek in spirit; all those exotic gyrations and erotically expressive undulations required fit muscles that worked within a tight frame and were controlled by a disciplined brain. I could not wait to begin.I purchased  Bellydance Fitness for Beginners - Basic Moves & Fat Burning  by the Belly Dancing Twins, Veena & Neena. It wasn't tough, but it wasn't easy either. The twins know their stuff--the routine required multiple viewings and practice sessions to become familiar enough with what was coming next to feel comfortable enough to just let go and enjoy the process. After working out at least five times with this DVD, I decided that Veena and Neena were worthwhile instructors and thereby purchased their Slim Down workout.Now I am not a dancer by any means. My workout routine consists of running on the levee for about 60 to 90 minutes. I break this up with some strength training using the method of lifting heavier weights with less repetition, Tae Bo when the weather prevents me from going outdoors and Pilates to concentrate on moving from my core. The exuberant flexible movements of belly dance do not exactly emulate my usual workout routine; so the idea of incorporating smaller quicker moves within a larger framework alone for me was a challenge.The Slim Down DVD does not waste time on Basic Moves. If you are an Uber beginner you must acquaint yourself with the terminology and the correlated moves by either purchasing a fundamental DVD ( Amira's Belly Dance 101 Dvd, a 5-Star Instructional Video of Belly Dancing Basics for Beginners ) or taking a beginner's class. Of course, if you are a dancer, you need not worry. This DVD probably will not be challenging enough to give you the workout you require.In fact, it did not give me the workout I desire. The twins start off with about a five minute warm-up (neck rolls, arm and leg stretches) and introduce what they call the genie bounce (side to side motion with alternating arms) which they activate to a jump once the music accelerates and the 20 minute cardio portion of the session is in full swing. The genie bounce is used as a transition move throughout the session as the voice over (neither Veena nor Neena speak during the workout; however they do perpetually smile) announces what is to come about 5 seconds before the twins actually execute on the screen. More belly dancing moves--shoulder and hip shimmies, hip drops and lifts--are used in Slim Down than in the Fat Burning DVD. Fat Burning's cardio relies mainly on rocking back and forth, skipping and hopping but not for any great length of time. In fact one of the most difficult moves for me to complete in the Slim Down is the shoulder shimmy while I move up and down. It was tough to incorporate the small fast movement while making a larger overall movement. No wonder belly dancing is an art.In the same respect, some of the hopping and twisting motions the twins employ may be too intense for someone who either has hip or knee problems or has just re-entered the exercising world from a coach-potato coma. However if you are accustomed to high-impact running or kickboxing, don't expect the same type of rush that larger moves will give you in terms of fitness when performing Slim Down. Despite the rocking horse motions, skipping and hopping, the low intensity nature of the belly dancing itself means that a mere 20 minutes isn't going to give you the cardio benefit that you crave. Therefore, I would recommend this presentation as an alternative to be used on days where an intense workout is not required.The twins finish up with a five-minute cool down for an overall workout of thirty minutes. Included on the DVD is a Flexibility Training Workout which is very basic--I used this to complete my cool-down. However, I would not recommend this session at all.Bottom Line: Although Veena and Neena rely on a voice over to instruct participants of their Slim Down Belly Dancing Workout, they both are attractively supple and slim with lovely attainable bodies. Personally, I liked their Fat Burning workout better than this one, but only because I felt it gave me more intense cardio due to the high impact jumping. Slim Down does incorporated more Belly dancing moves--however, these are not really explained--the DVD contains no fundamental moves section. Belly dancing is an art that encourages expression through the rounded feminine form and makes a good alternative workout option that will round out your exercise possibilities. The music and costumes contribute to the overall exotic feeling that belly dance promotes. Do wear a coin scarf around your hips to add weight--the sound of the coins swaying will put you in a sensual mood. Otherwise don't expect the full cardio benefit of running or kickboxing but look at this as a fun introduction to something truly beautiful and exhilarting.Diana Faillace Von Behren"reneofc"

I've had this DVD for six years now, and although I have way too many workout DVDs, I keep coming back to this one. It's one of the more difficult workouts in my collection, so I do it when I'd like a bit of a challenge. It includes a couple of challenging moves also, like layering hip moves onto a bouncing shimmy. That was my first introduction to layering, and it takes practice, but I love to do it. Also, the cool-down includes a challenging step that I sometimes have to stop and watch a couple of times to remember how to do. The challenges keep it interesting. I like to do the workout barefoot, as the twins demonstrate in the video, but the routine does involve some jumping and hopping moves, so some people might want to wear shock-absorbing shoes. I don't really have a problem with it, and I find I feel sexier and better able to perform the moves without shoes.Part of what makes this a workout, as opposed to a dance tutorial, is that Veena and Neena are not trying to teach us a dance routine in this one. It just mainly takes fun bellydance moves and drills them, so you get a good workout. There is no segment at the end where you're supposed to "perform" the moves you just learned. It's just a workout, and I always get a good sweat going, and I also sometimes have sore calf muscles from the bouncing shimmy.The voiceover kind of annoyed me. This is something that's commonly done in bellydance DVDs, and I'm not sure why, since many of the dancers stress the importance of being able to move your abs without affecting your breathing, and breathing without moving your abs. So why can't bellydance instructors dance and talk at the same time? Most fitness instructors in other genres of workout DVDs do their own voice instruction while they demonstrate the workout. I often feel that the energy in this workout would be better if the twins would just talk instead of wearing their beautiful, Barbie-like smiles and dancing. On the other hand, I can get some good exercise with this DVD as is. This is just a peeve of mine.Overall, a solid effort.

双子ベリーダンスで有名なNeena & Veenaによるベリーダンスの動きを使った30分の燃焼ワークアウトです。飛び跳ねるような動きが入っているので階下への騒音が気になる方は要注意。柔軟性を高めるためのBonus Workoutが入っています。特典映像にはMarinaのパフォーマンス。英語音声のみ。リージョンオールなので日本の普通のＤＶＤプレーヤーで視聴可能。このシリーズのBasic movesを持っている人には、かぶっている動きが多いので必要ないかも。

わたくし、このシリーズがとても気に入っているんですけど、基本的な動きがまだ充分にマスターできていないのと、マンションの上階に住んでいるのとでこのビデオはあんまりつかえないなあと、一見してがっかりしました。動きが速いし、ジャンプが結構多いんですね。といっても、大きく高くとぶのではなく、小さな軽い動きなので、見る人の工夫で音を出さずにエクササイズできるかも。

This is part of the Bellydance Fitness for Beginners series, which also includes, Basic Moves, Fat Burning, Arms and Abs, & Hips, Buns and Thighs.This program is a nice alternative to mainstream aerobics, and I really like the fact that these twins are 'real women' and not the stick insects that you see so often on mainstream fitness videos.This workout is all cardiovascular and it does involve bouncing. You can, however, bounce as intensely or as mildly as you like. It is a very effective heart rate booster, and you will feel like you did a low impact aerobics class.Some reviews I have read on the American site, people think it's too much impact for doing the workout barefoot. As I said, you can tailor it to your needs. If you like high impact, put your shoes on and bounce to your heart's content. If you like low impact, you can bounce without your feet leaving the floor.I like the program, and find it to be an effective workout, but then every one of their programs that I have (Basic Moves, Fat Burning, Arms & Abs, and Hips, Buns & Thighs) all get the heart rate up.I even have their Discover Bellydance Series (also sold as Sensual Art of Bellydance). This series (Discover Bellydance) is bascially like a dance class and you learn step by step choreography and then put it together at the end. That also gets the heart rate up.So if you are looking for a fitness DVD with Bellydance moves in it, this is for you. If you want to learn Bellydance as a dance and perform it, then try their Discover Bellydance series.

Exactly as described, arrived on time. Works well.Enjoying dancing along.

Neena and Veena are fun to watch and follow along with.I look forward to my two days a week that I use this DVD in my exercise regime.