Which belly dancing video is the best to learn from?

Question

I want to learn how to belly dance in order to add a little more spice in my boyfriend's life. Which video is the best to learn from?

Answer 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YamDoDK71...

Copy what this girl is doing.

Answer 2

this is a great dance to learn for belly dancing,"walk like an egyptian". im in bellydancing 3 months and i was able to learn it, its great for beginners/improvers

get a hip scarf or costume on ebay real cheap and that will help.it gets real slow but if you dont like that, just forward it up til 1 minute and 30 seconds thats when it gets into the real dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-NW0WQoR...

Answer 3

No video is the best to learn from.  All videos lack proper instruction and feedback which are essential to the learning process and safety.  I would highly recommend looking first for an instructor.  If you don't want to sign up for classes you could at least try some private lessons, one or two private lessons would probably be enough to impress your boyfriend (assuming he's not a bellydance expert).  However, if you really instist on learning on your own here's a list of some resources including videos which you may find helpful:

WEBSITES (for finding teachers/classes)

http://www.shira.net - probably the most extensive directory

http://www.middleeasterndance.net - my site which has a decent sized directory as well.

http://www.bhuz.com - another large directory as well as a great forum which can answer pretty much every question you will ever have about bellydance since it's comprised of bellydancers from all over the world.

If you can't find lessons looking on these three sites there may not be any in your area.

WEBSITES (for learning moves on-line)

http://www.middleeasterndance.net - my own site look under the movements section, there will be enough to keep you busy for a long time. Also please read the before you begin section with the disclaimer, warm-up, cool-down, and basics about posture.

http://www.shira.net - Shira's site is an extensive collection of articles written about and for bellydancers and can provide you with a wealth of information that will be very beneficial. It's one of the oldest and most respected sites on the Internet and is referenced by bellydancers world-wide. She has a specific page which tells you how to do some moves as well as extensive links to other sites that offer on-line lessons as well.

http://www.venusbellydance.com/vocabular... - More movement descriptions.

http://www.aleena.com/miramar/ - go to on-line dance lessons there are several articles about dancing there.

http://www.zilltech.com/onlinelessons.ht... - Another old, well, respected website full of information you should check out. She offers a few instructions for several basic moves.

http://www.kawakib.com/page-30.html - more of a technique lesson but might be helpful after learning some basics.

http://www.raqs.co.nz/moves.html - has some descriptions of select movements.

BOOKS

Belly Dancing Basics by Laura A. Cooper (ISBN: 140271078X) - newer book, not great but not bad either.

The Art of Belly Dancing by Dahlena with Dona Z. Meilach - This book is out of print but shows up on amazon and e-bay from time to time. It's ok but it's written for a different time the history part is especially questionable but the moves are pretty straight forward.

Grandmother's Secrets by Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi (ISBN: 1566563267) - An interesting read has several descriptions of dance moves as well.

A lot of books have been coming on the market recently and most of them (excluding out of print books) are available at Barnes and Nobel or borders books as well as other chains and smaller stores.

ON-LINE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS

http://www.trybellydancing.com/ - Like a mini instructional video available online. It's not bad quality.

http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/... Several mini instructional segments on various moves as well as zills, costuming, and musicality.

http://bellyrolls.com/howtopage.html - more mini on-;ine instructionals.  The video quality is a little poorer and not is clear to see but the instructional quality is decent.

VIDEOS

*Precision Motion Workout Series by Suzanna Del Vecchio - offers good posture basics as well as quality instruction on many moves.

*Bellydance for Weight loss Series by Rania - Not great but cheap

*Bellydance for Fitness Series by Neena and Veena Bidasher - this series is very cheap and available from major retailers like target, walmart, borders, and Barnes and Nobel but the quality of instruction is low. This is more of a workout for beginner dancers who already have had some training. The videos are a good quality as far as picture and sound but these are not good for an absolute beginner.

*IAMED Instructional videos - pretty much any video produced by IAMED (the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance) will have quality instruction by some of the top dancers both in the US and Internationally.  These videos are going to set you back a pretty penny but the quality of instruction is good.

If all you want to do is dance a little s**y for you boyfriend then I guess you might want to go with a cheaper video that offers minimal technique and emphasis on proper placement and alignment.  However, long term usage of the shoddy technique taught in them can lead to injury and joint damage.  Doing a movement improperly too many times can really add up.  If your going to dance for him maybe 10 times or less in your entire relationship it won't matter but if you plan on enticing him with your dance for months or even years I would consider getting something that offer proper technique and focuses on safe posture and positioning.

If you have any questions about bellydancing, please feel free to contact me through my site http://www.middleeasterndance.net

Answer 4

I do not recommend trying to learn for a tape you could hurt your self. Take a few lessons and use the tapes to supplement.