on Thu, 01 Jun, 2023
The best instruction is always in person so that a student can get the feedback they need from a teacher to know if they are doing moves correctly. When a student is in a class, they get reminders to stretch, to take water breaks, and there is human interaction between dancers. When we are in a class with others, we can transition into formations, practice following and leading, and benefit from positive social interactions with human beings.
That said, sometimes people want to take a class, but they are unable to travel to the class location, women have childcare issues that interfere with their desire to attend a class, or we get sick and need to quarantine ourselves. I sometimes have students who already take classes but have asked for videos to practice these moves at home. Videos are a tool that can enhance our learning.
Belly Dance Eugene has the following videos available for download for $15 per video. For those who want unlimited access to all videos I post, this will be a $60 yearly subscription. I will make the links available on YouTube and grant access to my Google Drive storage so that you can watch or download these videos. Be aware, some of these are giant files, so computers might not like to download them. That is why I am also going to grant access to the private links via YouTube.
Maya and Toxim--(15 minutes) Try this one for free!
This video breaks down maya and toxim with voice over instructions. This is a great trial video to show what other videos in the subscription are like.
Arms of Mass Seduction (20 minutes)
This arm workout included an explanation of pretty hand posture, practices gracefully sweeping our hands and arms with clockwork arms, kitty paws, snake arms, one sided snake arms, wrist circles, skin the cat and ways to layer this with other movements.
Shimmies with Instructions (18 minutes)
We break down and drill basic shimmies in this workout: gwazi, shimmies, vibration, one-sided vibration, shoulder shimmies, and flutter.
Chest Circle and Chest Square Combo with Instructions(25 minutes)
We will cover the components of chest square combo and chest circle combo, including chest squares and chest circles, hip squares and hip circles, undulations, Arabic, camel and belly rolls. Then we will put all these moves together to create chest square combo and chest circle combo.
Drilling Slow Moves (35 minutes)
This is a review of Level 2, Intermediate, and some Advanced slow moves. Drill these moves for exercise and to increase competency in maya, toxim, Arabic, and variations of these moves such as one-sided traveling and turns. Practice transitions between skin the cat, kitty paws, clockwork arms, toxim palm tree arms to waves, toxim with a level change, double maya, and a variation of double maya. Combos include shoulder roll combo, the Arabic combo RLRR/LRLL, Arabic with a level change, Arabic with a body wave, Arabic twist, Tunisian combo, The X turn and circle turn are included. At the end there are some advanced moves like sidewinder.
Slow Moves that Look Great with Veils (10 minutes)
This is a review of Level 2 and Intermediate slow moves, first without a veil and then with a veil. Drill these moves for exercise and to increase competency. Included are maya, 1-sided maya, traveling and turns with maya, toxim, and Arabic, traveling side to side. There are also three combos specific for veils: a lunge with a sweeping arm and a turn, a variation of Arabic with a clockwork arm and a turn, and a chest lift with L arms.
Level 2, Intermediate, and Advanced Fast Moves (20 minutes)
This is a drill of our medium and fast moves. Follow along and drill these moves to increase skill and exercise. Included are gwazi with a level change and turns, ¾ shimmy with L arms and turns, Egyptian turns, double Egyptian, and hip lifts front and back. Combos include ¾ shimmy combo, chest square combo, hip drop combo, hip lift combo, African chest circle combo, Egyptian combo, hip lift front and back (and turns), Sarina’s combo, and traveling with Turkish and turning with Turkish.
How to Use Veils (21 minutes)
We will start with the basics like fabric selection and how to hold the veil. From there we will cover a combination of new moves from cabaret veil work and ATS style veils that are layered on top of moves you already know. You can bring a veil, piece of lightweight fabric, or fabric coverup.
How to Dance with Swords (32 minutes)
Learn a combination of new moves and moves from ATS style that are layered on top of moves you already know. Although your teacher will give you a chance to feel the weight of swords, discuss styles, and practice moving with them, we are going to be dancing with wood and long handled umbrellas to reduce the risk of accidental stabbings and damaging the studio floor.
Breakdance for Bellydancers (13 minutes)
Learn popping, locking, tutting, and if time, animation. street jazz, and voguing. You will learn at least 3 new combos and learn ways to layer popping onto belly dance moves you already know. FYI--this is not the kind of breakdance where we spin on our heads on the floor! These techniques use isolations to create sharp contractions as often seen in fusion dances performed by Rachel Brice and Zoe Jakes.
Stretches and Core Strengthening for Belly for Belly Dancers (45 minutes)
This video includes all the stretches that help belly dancers prevent injury. Also covered are exercises that help dancers engage the core and practice protecting the back. Learn alternative techniques to help with belly rolls and undulations on the floor and against the wall.
*If you are interested in a free sample, subscribe to the Belly Dance Eugene channel on YouTube to check out older videos. These do not always have the best sound quality or the instructions that the videos for purchase do, but they do provide an example of some of the moves being covered in the videos.