Art of Bellydance: Arabian Sands

This is another video in the 3 dvd series for beginners from the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance. Like the others, it is well produced, well chaptered, and well instructed. There is an instruction portion, a do along choreography, a workout and 2 performances. They are chaptered by exercise, so you can always cue up one move to work on that one, or just do the workout or watch the performances. Paulina explains the moves very well, and after you've practiced a move for a while, form pointers are printed on screen. The do along choreography uses the moves you just learned, but it is uncued. The workout Jindra leads is supposed to emphasize stretching. I find it to be more light cardio, but it does have a lot of hand ripples. The key moves in the workout are hip twists and large hip circles. Jindra is friendly and seems young (could be her voice).

I'd like to see one of her performances, since she doesn't do one on any of these 3 dvds. The 2 performances included are a veil dance by Paulina and a drum solo by Aleya. I think this series is probably one of the best for beginners, who either want to learn bellydance or structure a practice session for their lessons. There are many excellent instructionals available, but they tend to be expensive (like these) and often have problematic production issues. Though these are expensive, the instruction is good and the production quality is very high, and you do get a lot for your money. If you are looking for a workout to add something different to your exercise program, these are probably too expensive and too focused on instruction, rather than exercise, for your needs. One of the Natural Journeys or Dolphina's dvds may suit your needs more closely, and more affordably. If you're looking to get into bellydance, this video and its companions are a great place to start.