Product Description

Learn two beautiful and simple dances a FLUID slow dance and a lively PERCUSSIVE dance (drum solo); Step-by-step sections offer detailed explanation and demonstration of basic bellydance steps and ways to weave them together into attractive combinations; Learn and Practice sections offer a step-by-step breakdown of each combination and a presentation of the dance "from the top" with practice repetitions inserted, so you can follow Neon and learn the steps in real time; Practice sections feature a beat counter, helpful in learning dance rhythm and timing. Throughout the program, every section is clearly labeled onscreen with the dance and combination number and the names of the steps included; All instructional and demonstration sections enable you to see every detail of every step. Bonus bellydance performance by Neon

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17401 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-10-16
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Colour, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 90 minutes

Review
I found this to be a valuable collection for my dance library. The first segment teaches what many instructors fail to teach- orientation and smooth transitions early, this video will guide you easily. Transitions from left to right are created by teaching the pivoting of the foot almost magically, creating smooth and graceful dancing, no more boring dancer, learn to dance for all your audience, not just those facing you! The cross step with use of the arms over the head and framing the head,taxsim which is much overlooked, hip pushes, beautiful traveling hip circles,undulations.The second segment teaches a funtastical drum solo,easy to learn. It is easy to add to this choreography and make it more challenging.There is so much in this video, learn to flow gracefully or bump to the beat of the drum, let beautiful Neon guide you into a spellbinding journey of this mystical dance. Overall, I totally enjoyed the quality of this video and the only improvements I would make would be the backdrop or setting which needed color. Learning from a video is easier in my opinion if the instructor faces a mirror or works at an angle and the student follows along. Overall those are minor compared to all that is offered. --amazon.com (US)

Review
Neon is The Best Belly Dance Instructor! Excellent dvd to teach bellydance moves that add up to 2 separate dances. Reviews before mine are accurate, so I won't repeat them, but note that Seir from Texas probably meant to give this 5 stars instead of one. I have at least 25 of dance-exercise dvd's and videos. Neon is THE best instructor (except for Bonnie Franklin for tap dance). Neon is technical, clear, and includes helpful extras like the name of each step as it is executed. Each dance is divided into 3 parts: step-by-step instruction, learn & practice, and practice (dance is repeated over and over with no talking). Check out her other videos, "Instant Belly Dancer" adds graphic symbols to each move to show 3-dimensional movement - excellent learning aid for us visual learners! PLUS in her Body Shaping series there is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who tells you what to avoid and what to focus on - extremely helpful! I also like that she is the only performer and the camera stays on her. I find it distracting to watch others who do not execute the moves as well or artistic camera moves when I am trying to learn the best techniques. Neon is a fabulous dancer AND instructor. --amazon.com (US)

Customer Reviews

Very good for a beginner
The DVD is very clear, simple and easy to follow for the absolute beginner. There are two dance versions, one slow and one fast. Neon first explains all the movements step by step, then there is a separate continuous dance section which goes on and on so you can dance as long as you like without having to reset your dvd. Ideal for a girls' night.

Good, but not truly all region!
This is a really fun DVD to do, clearly explained, and nicely broken down into steps. I haven't tried the fast dance yet... the slow one is challenging enough to start with! But she explains the core principles, like where you're facing and using your knees to get the moves, and the small sections for practice help you to buid up the full dance. The complete dance on a loop is a great feature too. The demonstration of dancing by Neon is lovely, but I wisdh the camera would stay in one place... belly dancing is meant to be seen from the front, not above!

The main problem though is that it isn't truly an All Region DVD. My DVD player can't play it, although my PC DVD player can, and I like it enough to keep it to use there. But beware if you don't have a multi-region DVD player!

ok!
I bought this as a complete novice to belly dancing, I do like it although i couldn't find any 'warm up' exercises, so I would recommend one does a few warm up stretches before they start as the first time I had a go my back hurt afterwards!!!!! (if I could get to a class I would probably do that instead of this video!). I would if I could, change the background as Neon does the whole dvd in front of a stark, blinding white background. I think I will probably buy another dvd by someone else just to compare. I am glad I bought this dvd however as I'm sure I will with practice get better even though I have found it hard to follow the moves so far!!!