Warrior Goddess Workout with Dolphina

This is a 40-minute bellydance workout, and some of the problems with Dolphina’s Introduction to Bellydance video have been solved here. The camerawork is much better, and the sets are less cramped (actually, the set, although simple, is visually pleasing).

The routine is basic, and includes sections to work the hips, arms & upper body, undulations, combinations, hips/buns/thighs, shimmy, a routine, and a cooldown. The combination section might be fun except that it takes so long to build up one simple combination that it’s over just as soon as you learn it. The routine is sortof dancy–it strings together the moves from this and Dolphina’s prior workout (as another reviewer has pointed out, Dolphina assumes you’ve done the Intro to Bellydance; if you haven’t already learned these moves, you’ll just be left to follow her advice from the beginning of the workout: “remember, you don’t need to do these movements perfectly; when in doubt, just shake something”).

There are few form pointers, and not much cautionary advice. In the hips, buns, and thighs section, Dolphina does a move that is basically a deep knee bend with hip circles, and another that’s a lunge with undulations and then again with hip drops. Both could be really dangerous on the knees (I modified).

This might be alright for a light day workout, but the workout is so basic that I can’t really see myself doing this a lot (I get bored easily). I’d rather have better instruction and a little bit of choreography to keep me interested.

The first time I did this workout I thought it was actually pretty cool. However, the first time I did it was the only time I managed to get through the whole thing. The novelty of bellydance is what kept me entertained, but novelty alone does not tone muscles. If it did, every new reality tv show would have us all looking for something else to review!!

One of the main problems is Dolphina's reliance on her earlier video. She repeatedly glosses over explainations of movements with the excuse of "As you remember from Introduction to Bellydance...." Well, I dont remember it because I have never seen Intro. to Bellydance. Essentially, the choreography worked my mind more than my body.

The promise of a fun routine after "area-specific" segments (with every area specifically working nothing but hips) is nothing to look forward to. I spent a third of the time just watching her do what she never told me how to do. "Now camel...now bicycle...." I'm sure my boyfriend would love to sit and ogle with a big bowl of popcorn but I dont hold out much hope for anyone seeking real physical results.

I bought this dvd a couple of months after I got the Goddess Workout - Introduction to Bellydance. I think this is a great follow-up to the first dvd. The set is rather interesting - to me, it looks like she's on an iceberg in the middle of nowhere. The camera work, as in the first video, is not 100% top notch. Nevertheless, I love this workout - it has more combination moves that get you to do a little more dancing rather than just isolated moves - some of the hip exercises are excellent quad strengtheners and I am challenged by the new moves - looking forward to mastering it. I definitely recommend this series - I'm looking forward to eventually getting the veils and the finger cymbals workouts.

The reviewers on Amazon *loved* this video and I just don't share their feelings. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't very good. The camera work was pretty good--full body shots instead of face shots at inappropriate times. The set was odd but kinds cool (an "island" in the bottom of a 20 foot deep swimming pool--at least that's what it looked like.) Dolphina was less sex kitteny than in her first video.

Cueing and instruction was kind of mediocre. She didn't explain some of the moves terribly well, but perhaps she broke them down better in her beginning video, which I do not have. There was at least one move (a backward pelvic snap) that is potentially unsafe, and she provided no "be careful not to hyperextend your back" pointers.

Although the tape box describes a 50 minute program, the workout itself is only 40 minutes long, from the initial posture instuctions to the final cool down. At no point did I reach into my target heart rate zone, in fact, I don't think I ever broke a sweat.

She doesn't *teach* the final routine as much as she just *does* it, calling out the next move as she's starting to do it and expecting you to follow along. It sort of goes with the music, but not really. (In the "workout" portion she is never on beat, in fact, I don't think she's even trying. It's possible the music was added in later. )

All in all, I think I'd give this tape a C+.