Sadie’s Complete Bellydance Guide
January 26, 2010 by admin
Filed under Belly Dancing DVD's
- Over Two Hours
- Digipack Packaging
Description
Over two hours of key bellydance movements to develop your skill as a dancer! An all-inclusive guide to the exotic art of bellydance. Internationally celebrated artist Sadie will help you develop an understanding of the basic me… More >>
Sadie’s Complete Bellydance Guide
I was confused by this movie. The plot was paper thin and it seemed to focus just on belly dancing. There was no story to speak of, and the cinematography was one dimensional. There wasn’t a lot of music variety either. But the central character and her struggle through an oppressive regime was truly inspiring. Sadie (which is the name of one of my cats incidentally – one of two Siberians. The other’s name is Sergei) won me over by her charming personality and her rhythmic hip motions….ahem…. Viva la revolution!
About 10 minutes into the film I realized that it might be beneficial to actually get off the couch and start trying some of the moves Sadie was exhibiting. BIG MISTAKE. I guess I missed the warm up…
I gotta tell ya, this movie is not for beginners (or should I say beginner beginners – shlubs like me who make an art out of couch aerobics). Unfortunately, perhaps resulting from my recent underwear purchase, I *thought* that Belly Dancing was easy. I thought, “I gots me a belly, and I can movie my hips, why should this be hard?” You never see a belly dancer really sweaty right? Not in any movie I’ve ever seen. WRONG.
Apparently you have to “undulate” to a beat and do it semi-rapidly. This fact should not be understated. I can’t carry a tune with a bucket, much less move with anything approaching a rhythm. By the time I got to a slight break (a discussion on posture) I was sweating like a pig on an August day – and I looked like that very pig twisting and writhing in front of my mirror. Nothing like Sadie. Nothing at all…
Also, as a person unaccustomed to any form of exercise, save the rigors of sloth-dom, I could barely move the next day. My coworkers asked me why I was wobbling around like a cripple. It’s not to manly to say, “I did a grueling 25 minute belly dancing workout, you know, after my power squats and bench presses” and yes, I had to take a breather after 25 minutes. It was either that or start crying.
I chose the more dignified option. To lie.
“A tree fell on my garage and as I was hacking it apart with a small hand axe, it broke loose and pinned me to the ground. The strain from lifting the 500 lb tree trunk must have caused me to pull a muscle”.
The only reason I took off a star was because I thought the simple and easy way to make this movie perfect was for Sadie to have done it sans clothing – I mean, that way I could study her exact contours and twists…
Also, despite only going through the dance motions once and a half (don’t ask) I’ve seen this movie about a dozen times. For research purposes.
Rating: 4 / 5
I really enjoy learning how to dance with this DVD! It seems to go quickly, but since each new element is a different section, it’s easy to just go back if you feel like you need more practice. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn the basics of bellydancing.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is a great DVD for those who want to learn proper technique and not just how to look pretty. It was designed to serve as an 8 week course similar to the one that she offers in Denver and the difficulty ranges from beginner to intermediate so there is plenty of opportunity for growth from this DVD. Sadie is my favorite belly dancer and her teaching ability is unmatched. I like the way that she breaks down the moves into two movements and always makes sure to remind you of proper belly dance posture. She even goes as far as to show you how performing the same moves with the wrong posture throws the whole look of the dance off. My only negative comment is that I wish they would have listed the music that is featured because I can’t find the ones that I really like since I don’t know the title or artist. This is really a great purchase and a fine introduction to belly dance. I will definitely be sticking with her DVD offerings from now on.
Rating: 5 / 5
I purchased this DVD as an instructional aid for a woman I am working with who is interested in belly dancing. I am very, very impressed with the quality of instruction it offers.
Before I purchased this DVD I did a fair amount of research online comparing the dancing skills of a variety of belly dancers. Sadie was clearly the best I saw with amazing control of her body and an excellent ability to isolate different areas. She has an extensive range of techniques which she makes use of intelligently.
I have now watched her video–some parts several times. As someone who has taken some dance classes, not belly dancing, and as a stage director working with theatre choreographers, I can’t tell you how impressed I am by her approach to teaching belly dancing.
Her lessons are clearly well thought out and build on the techniques she is teaching. She offers tremendous value and is a pleasure to watch. Her love of teaching and passing on the wonderful skills she has developed clearly comes through.
I could say more but I would just be repeating the raves you will read in the other reviews of this video.
I look forward to ordering more of her videos.
Don McCunn
Stage Director and Costume Instructor
Rating: 5 / 5
This dvd is perfect in everyway. Sadie is one of the best bellydancers in the world. You now have the option to learn bellydance or at least clean up your skills and perfect them, with Sadie. Sadie is generous in this dvd, giving many of the bellydance “secrets” to you. Before you would have to buy many dvds and pick from here and there to fill in your bellydance knowledge, but now with this dvd by Sadie, you dont have to do that because it is all there. Sadie is amazingly beautiful and very friendly. I recommend this highly. I am going to use it to perfect my technique or as a drilling practice dvd. Much love and peace to you, Sadie and the world! Amen. And so it is!
Rating: 5 / 5