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Bellydance Movement Foundation with Yasmina Ramzy

Review by Nita Collins
June, 2004

This is the first video in the Arabesque Academy Instructional Series.

Who is this video intended for?

This video is an excellent introduction for the beginner who seriously wants to learn the dance and a great refining tool for the advanced student. Every teacher should have this video in his/her library. Bellydance Movement Foundation is a catalogue of basic Bellydance movements—or maybe it could be better compared to a foreign-language dictionary. If you want to learn the movement vocabulary of Middle Eastern dance there isn’t a better place to start.

What is taught?

It’s all about isolations. I’ll quote the jacket: “This video includes ten kinds of isolation accents, chest and hip shimmies, undulations, body waves, hands, four kinds of figure eights, two travel steps and three kinds of hip and chest circles.”

The video starts with an excellent comprehensive posture breakdown using verbal explanations and visual demonstrations.

I like the way the movements are presented and taught. Yasmina tells you verbally, shows you, and then the “Dos” and “Don’ts” appear on the screen in writing. She describes each movement, breaking it down in several different ways and showing it from several different angles. She both tells you and shows you which muscles to use in the movement. We are told in the opening credits that all of the movements taught are for the purpose of creating an awareness of your body and how the muscles work in order to help you properly learn the steps. Yasmina maintains this focus throughout the video. She teaches that most movements either come from the stomach or are absorbed into the stomach—and reminds you with each different isolation breakdown that as you are learning to isolate one muscle or muscle group you must also relax the surrounding ones. After teaching a series of movements (hip drops & twists, for example) she does a brief demonstration of these movements in combination.

There is a lot of very detailed information packed into the hour. I can’t get through the entire video at one time…my brain gets tired! Rather, I look at different portions of it at different times depending on my needs. This is not a video you put on to spend a light hour dancing to: this is a working video. It’s like having a textbook in your TV. This is the video for you if you want to really understand and refine isolations.

The video is professionally produced by Reel Media Technologies and Arabesque Academy. The set is simple and compliments the instruction without distraction. The lighting and camera work are excellent. The sound quality is excellent. Yasmina teaches in a costume rather than the usual tights and hip scarf that most instructors choose. She pulls her skirt out of the way when she wants you to see what her legs are doing. The video teaches using the voiceover method with Yasmina herself speaking—you are watching her do the demonstrations and at the same time listening to her teach. I usually don’t care for this method because I find it impersonal. However, this type of instruction works well for the type of movement encyclopedia that Yasmina obviously had in mind with this video.

Do I Recommend This Video As A Teaching Tool For My Students?

Yes. Everyone should have this video in their library as a basic movement foundation reference. I recommend it for all my students, especially levels II and III. While no video is a good substitute for actual classes, I’m aware that not everyone has access to a knowledgeable teacher. If you are unable to attend regular classes, this video will be invaluable to you.

If you can only afford a couple of videos, I recommend this one along with something “lighter” as this is a bit heavy for when you only want to pop some fun dancing into the VCR now and again.

The movements covered in this video span my levels I, II and III classes.

Where Can You Purchase This Video?

I bought mine from the Arabesque Academy studio in Toronto. You can order from their website at www.arabesquedance.ca. They can be also contacted by email at info@arabesquedance.ca. It is available in both VHS and DVD.