Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout [DVD]

The Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout DVD routine is performed by 7 professional New York dance artists: Ayshe, Blanca, Elisha, Kim, Layla Isis, Neon, Tanna. They are in demand in New York nightclubs and at cultural events as individual performers and as a troupe of Jehan's off-Broadway "Goddessdance" show. "Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout" has emerged from the growing dance fitness trend. Created by New York belly dance guru Jehan Kamal in consultation with sought-after personal trainer Andy Troy CSCS, the workout consists of 7 segments, each led by a different professional New York bellydancer. Specially designed to fight boredom (the biggest complaint about fitness programs.) In "Ultimate" the faces, mood, style and rhythm change every few minutes. Modern original music: Worldbeat and New Age. Dynamic, entertaining and challenging. The music, the spirit and the look of the fitness "choreographies" are young, modern, classy and sophisticated - not a whiff of stale air: Definitely not the old-fashioned kind of belly dancing. Every move on this video can be put to use on a nightclub dance floor. Dancers of all levels as well as non-dancers will benefit from taking on the challenge and moving up the learning curve to master the ULTIMATE workout. If you don't have any dance training, you will need sharp observation skills and focus to meet the challenge, but the prize is worth it: A shortcut entrance to the world of belly dance, doors flung wide open...for you.

have only been using dancing DVDs for 2 years with no prior attempt to dancing before that. I still lack the ability to grasp new dance techniques easily. I have most of Neena & Veena, the bellydance twins's DVDs, two of the Goddess Workout ones, and only one Rania since she is way too stiff. With that help, I had no trouble with this DVD at all. This DVD is meant for keeping your heart-rate up & keeping the music always present. The music is very beautiful with a nice beat, but light & spiritual as well with subtle female singing. Every move is done in 1/2 time several times before moving on to normal speed w/naration over the music. Since most instructional DVDs are slow, most times w/o music & barely repeat more then a few times, this is a refreshing change for when you just want to practice & get your heart rate up w/o stopping. There were a few moves I had not previously been able to master, but have through this DVD such as pelvic lifts & pelvic rolls. There are some more advanced ones I have trouble on, but I just do the best I can & keeps me inspired to keep trying. There are separate chapters by mood such as: joy, sensual that work on different body parts. The Ultimate on left side was distracting at first, but easy to get used to. They are always dressed in jeans or gothic wear, but you can still easily see how to move the body. Many of the dancers on this DVD went on to make their own or are well known & have performance DVDs. The warm-up & cooldown are 16 min of very slow bellydancing moves & stretching. The warm-up & cooldown in only a FEW spots of the whole DVD lack naration for the forward bends, but that's it. The regular workout is 28 min but feels like longer since it never slows down to a crawl/break. Most directors & producers screw things up by putting up cheesy sets & almost all have camera zooms & angles that take away your ability to see/learn. This DVD has the fewest camera problems of most of my 20 yoga, 15 latin dancing, 5 hula & 14 bellydancing DVDs. --amazon.com (US)

Jehan is a highly creative Bellydance instructor who has performed in the great concert halls of the West and the temples of the Far East. She teaches in New York City and also holds dance workshops around the globe. In this workout, 7 dancers (Elisha, Neon, Blanca, Tanna, Kim, Ayshe and Layla Isis) display a sacred form of bellydance. Dance becomes a prayer and there is a more spiritual element to this exercise video. Jehan has composed, arranged and recorded original music for this workout. Mystical affirmations boost your confidence, encourage sensuality and enhance your emotional and spiritual well-being. This DVD is divided into 7 sections: warmup, strength, sensuality, joy, passion, energy and a cooldown. If you have yet to try Bellydance, I must say this is an advanced workout complete with advanced dance routines and it can provide an intense workout for anyone who has already learned the basic Bellydance moves. I'd recommend starting with something like: Bellydance Fitness for Beginners or Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss. Throughout this entire workout, the rhythms progress to a level where you are not just enjoying the dance, you are actually engaged in an intense workout that burns lots of calories all while taking you to a place where you can express your feminine side in sensual waves, spirals and infinity loops. Highly Recommended for anyone who is intermediate to advanced. You will find yourself highly inspired and this workout took my dancing to new levels. --The Rebecca Review

I have very basic bellydance knowledge and could only enjoy the first 3 segments of this workout when I started. Now that I've gotten the hang of it I adore this workout! If your shimmies aren't strong, you might have to modify a few of the exercises until you can get them up to speed. To the reviewers who whined about the set/costumes/editing/attractiveness of the dancers: Get over yourselves. This is a fabulous and fun workout from strong dancers. The editing "blips" are the only (mildly) annoying bit, but once you know where they are you can look away and complete the movements. Yes, the voice-over will call out poses you might not know, but if you can follow a woman on your tv screen, you can do them all. --amazon.com (US)