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I just got this the other day, bought it more or less on a whim, but what a great deal. It's actually 2 hours of dance/instruction. Blanca is very pretty, very serene, with a soft accent, which sounds very soothing. She's not perky with a huge grin splitting her face in two and she's not all bouncy and bubbly, none of that instant best friend vibe, just pleasant and serene. It's a sensual dance instruction and she wears her part very well. The settings are very nice, not distracting, and she wears great costumes for teaching (you can see her legs when she does the moves). You can also see her perform the dances in full costume and she's very lovely to watch. My husband really liked the music and the dance style for its sensuality and slow, languid movements. I watched one of the dances first and thought, 'wow, I'd like to move like her.' She moves like liquid, like silk, whatever elegant, graceful, flowing metaphor you want. Instructionwise, she breaks everything down very well, from snake arms, using a lot of descriptive terms (like your arms are moving through honey, is one example), hip circles, figure 8's, and so on. Then she builds on these initial, isolated movements, and you learn more layers, combinations, steps, and build on and on. She even explains alignment, how to align your head, for example, to look more graceful. It's a bit like the Jillina dance instruction dvds, in how she gives you the basics and you build on and on until you are doing a choreographed dance. And of course you can skip and just do the basics or dance along with her, or just watch Blanca, which is what I want to do in addition to learning to dance like her. The music is very nice too and the dances are slow and languid, nothing super fast, but your muscles will feel it nonetheless. It would be fine for beginner dancers or for intermediates. She doesn't spend a huge amount of time on each move, so you do get a lot for 2 hours, but you can always rewind 15 or 30 seconds and review. I've got 20 to 30 bellydance dvds and vhs tapes at home and while I've seen and worked out to a lot: Mara, Jillina, Bellytwins, Kathy Smith (just that one), Bellyqueen, Bellydance Superstars, Suhaila, East Coast Tribal, American Tribal and more, I still am very happy with the dvd. It's shot a good angles (not distracting or only focused on the abs), the production is very good, and it's a nice focus on flowing dance. It's not something you pop in to learn a couple moves for the club, but a lovely sensual routine to stretch and dance to. Venus is the right name because it is very sensual and elegant and beautiful. --amazon.com (US)
About the Actor
Blanca has devoted her life to the pursuit of unveiling her own language as a dancer and artist. Against all odds, she followed the career of a belly dancer from her childhood in Mexico where the profession did not yet exist. Since i was a teen there has been nothing as important to me as becoming a good dancer. The dance has taught me compassion, made me grow in infinite ways and continues to allow me to tap into my deepest artistic expression. I became a belly dancer against my conservative beginnings... against the notion that to be a dancer one has to be a size zero, and start ballet at age 3. After years of painful work, I realized that it was all for nothing--until i connected with my spiritual side and began to dance from there. Blanca has performed onstage with Alabina and the surrealist gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Her television credits include the Bollywood Music Awards, which aired worldwide, as well as multiple appearances on Spanish television networks Univision and Telemundo, Fox and BBC. She has performed at venues as diverse as Trump's Taj Mahal, the Brooklyn Museum of art and Lincoln Center. Other credits include: Rolling Stone, Universal Pictures, MTV, and Disney
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Several years ago I used to go to belly dance classes. I wanted to get back into bellydance, but decided to go down the DVD route instead this time. I now have a few bellydance DVDs (and randomly a bollywood one) and this has to be the best of all of them. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn bellydance from a DVD.
Whilst a lot of the other ones seem to be more focused on the workout aspect - telling you that you're really working out your abs now bla bla bla - she doesn't come out with any of that in this DVD. Obviously you are working out and as the weeks go by, you will notice a difference, but she doesn't bleat on about this, and the programme comes over as much more focused on the actual dancing. It feels like a proper belly dance tuition DVD. I also love the fact that from this DVD, it's clear that in order to prove you are a competant belly dance, you don't have to speed up. From the choreography and the dance performance sections, you can see that she is a really good dancer, and it looks like proper dance rather than a lot of moves thrown together to get a really great workout.
Steps are broken down, and from there you can build up your abilities and then go onto the dance routine. The music is really good on this one as well, and it's quite refreshing to have a non-American voice to listen to as well for a change.
Whilst a lot of the other ones seem to be more focused on the workout aspect - telling you that you're really working out your abs now bla bla bla - she doesn't come out with any of that in this DVD. Obviously you are working out and as the weeks go by, you will notice a difference, but she doesn't bleat on about this, and the programme comes over as much more focused on the actual dancing. It feels like a proper belly dance tuition DVD. I also love the fact that from this DVD, it's clear that in order to prove you are a competant belly dance, you don't have to speed up. From the choreography and the dance performance sections, you can see that she is a really good dancer, and it looks like proper dance rather than a lot of moves thrown together to get a really great workout.
Steps are broken down, and from there you can build up your abilities and then go onto the dance routine. The music is really good on this one as well, and it's quite refreshing to have a non-American voice to listen to as well for a change.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
I think this is a great dvd, it contains a huge amount of material, including a flow of slow moves which makes for a good practice workout, and a lovely choreography.
Blanca is an excellent teacher, I like the way she teaches head positioning and expression, something that is all too often overlooked in bellydance dvds. I would recommend it for beginner with some experience to intermediate level dancers, there are very few bd dvds on the market which cover this area, and this is one of the best.
Blanca is an excellent teacher, I like the way she teaches head positioning and expression, something that is all too often overlooked in bellydance dvds. I would recommend it for beginner with some experience to intermediate level dancers, there are very few bd dvds on the market which cover this area, and this is one of the best.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Sensual Bellydance with Blanca [2007] (NTSC)
Found the dvd very good and enjoyable, easy to follow, would recommend.
Found the dvd very good and enjoyable, easy to follow, would recommend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent for a beginner
I was looking for a DVD that teaches belly dance, this DVD met my requirements.
I use Comtemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning DVD by Ariellah for upper body movements,... Read more
I use Comtemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning DVD by Ariellah for upper body movements,... Read more
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Clear instructions, good for a beginner. Builds into a routine which gives a good workout. As a complete novice I was surprised how physical belly dancing is while being so... Read more
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Sensual Belly Dance with Bianca
It's a great DVD, anyone interested in Belly Dance this one is the one to get.
It teaches slowly and progress to faster moves, easy to keep up with. Read more
It teaches slowly and progress to faster moves, easy to keep up with. Read more
Published on 23 May 2010 by 122artina
good but only slow dances
i do like this dvd - the sound is a bit quiet. I found the dances and movements sensual, yes, but not raunchy or sexy enough!
Published on 4 May 2010 by jayne
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