Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah
Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah
Created by Ariellah, star performer and instructor of Tribal Fusion Bellydance, Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning combines three vital components of bellydance training: * a physical conditioning regimen to develop flexibility and strength; * two sets of bellydance technique drills - basic and advanced - for improved muscle control and precision in executing bellydance isolations; * a sequence of contemporary bellydance combinations complete with transitions to form an elegant and evocative modern choreography.
Whichever form of bellydance you choose, this training system lays a solid foundation.
The flexibility and muscle conditioning section of the program consists of 3 yoga sessions that can be used as a warmup/cooldown or as a stand-alone daily yoga practice:
* Short yoga warmup (8 min.);
* Full yoga warmup (20 min.);
* Yoga cool down (8 min.)
The Yoga sessions focus on building lower body strength and opening the hips to achieve ease and precision in bellydance hipwork. A number of exercises open the chest and increase back flexibility to enhance torso isolations and make dance movement sinuous and fluid.
Bellydance technique drills (75 min.) include hipwork, upper body work, combined hips/upper body isolations and arms/hips coordination. They also include adding level changes to torso isolations and layering hipwork on traveling steps.
The style of Ariellah’s choreographic work is contemporary Tribal Fusion bellydance. She breaks down 6 combinations, step-by-step, consisting of multiple movements and transitions. The combination sequence forms a choreography, practiced to two different songs, to encourage creative adaptation of steps and transitions set to music.
The performance section offers 3 spectacular Tribal Fusion / Gothic bellydance performance pieces.
The progam is set to ethereal ambient and club music with a flavor of magic and dark mystery, including tracks by Assemblage 23, Die Form, Knossos, Lumin, Soil and Eclipse, Solace, Stellamara, and :wumpscut:
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars This woman needs to put out more Yoga DVDs!
Out of all the tribal belly dance Yoga DVDs I have bought, this has given me the best work out, - believe me, you will feel it - the quickest results for muscle isolation and I just slipped right into the proper moves! She is an excellent teacher. I learn a lot by just watching other dancers but there are times when I can’t figure out certain moves or combos on my own and these are so easily explained.
This is my first time writing a review, and I’m probably not very good at it, but I felt the need to post one for this Yoga DVD I liked it so well. Hope this helps!
5 Stars A Must Have for Any Bellydancer
This Yoga DVD is amazing. The yoga workout alone is very worth it. Her drills break down every move body part by body part to help you to get it right. I am just a beginner and I am already noticing an improvement in my own dance. I have yet to get through the entire thing, but its great cause it gives you something to work up to and grow with. This is a must have Yoga DVD for any dancer regardless of if your just starting or have been dancing for years. She is an amazing teacher and a beautiful dancer.
5 Stars Great workout to do over and over again
After several years of practicing bellydance in classes and workshops, I’ve only recently started trying to build and perfect my technique at home. This Yoga DVD is an excellent choice for that, whether you’re into Tribal Fusion/Gothic or not. Useful for advanced students to perfect moves and continue drilling as well as for beginners to begin practice. Everything is very well-explained, with helpful comments during drills (ie “check in with your chest”, etc.), and endless drills (75 minutes of drills alone!) to make it feel just like a class or workshop taken one-on-one with the teacher. Thank you Ariellah! This is a wonderful Yoga DVD that I will come back to time and time again! Please come to Paris soon!!!
5 Stars worth the money
This Yoga DVD works for me - I think it is a good workout and certainly worth the money. There is a lot of material, not something I can do all at once (please can we have a matrix? or long Yoga DVD’s broken down into different workout lengths like yoga ones?)
I’ve been reading through the other reviews so that I don’t bother saying the same things. (Mala, you always give great reviews, thanks.) I will say that what I like most is the clear instruction on which muscles to isolate, and why.
Some of the negative reviews say the drills are boring - well yes they are, but long drills build muscle memory and cleaner movements, which is why I need a Yoga DVD to keep me going and Ariellah does that…if you just want a dance workout get luscious or something like that.
Another says the yoga isn’t integrated into the bellydancing. The yoga, drills, combinations are all seperate sections. Yoga is of course wonderful for building strength, flexibility, calmness etc etc I’m not sure I understand why you need it ‘integrated’. It’s cross training! I am no yoga teacher though and don’t feel qualified to comment on the quality of the yoga instruction. A few more stretches inbetween drills would be nice, but of course I am capable of pausing and doing that myself. (Or like I said at the start, sections broken down and remixed into a series of 30, 45 60 minute workout would be wonderful, but I don’t deduct a star as none of the dance Yoga DVD’s do that yet…). I think if you want yoga and dancing integrated then you need to look through the vinyasa flow Yoga DVD’s. Dance the chakras has the yoga and dancing seperate aswell (and the dancing is not great!)
And I think the one star review came from someone who couldn’t bring themselves to watch the Yoga DVD because of the gothic feel - absolutely, if for some reason goth freaks you out, don’t buy it! Although on a scale of gothic this really is quite mild in any case.
Personally I like most of the music (except the beautiful piece for the second performance ends with a rather ‘hellish’ last phrase, but if you like the genre you won’t care). Overall, I think Ariellah teaches well, it has a good mix of options (probably not for absolute beginners) and it is worth the price.
5 Stars An invaluable asset to any serious dancer.
This video was amazing. It’s going to take a few more times threw to really get a grasp on techniques but it was well worth the purchase. Its a very detailed, lengthy video as well which I really appreciated. Its a very good step by step instruction. This could have easily been two discs, so I love the fact its all in one spot. Not to mention her performances are just, Wow!
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