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Learning to Belly Dance from Videos - Page 4

© Shira

New Material

Don't rush your way through learning new material. Take time to learn all the details. For each individual move that the video teaches, take about 5 minutes (or more, if you need it) to practice that move. Rewind your tape 4 or 5 times, and each time pay attention to see whether you can pick up new information that you missed when you listened to it before.

• Each time, listen carefully to the explanation and watch what the instructor is doing.
• Pay attention to where she places her weight.
• Watch her posture.
• Listen to her words.
• Look for details that she does not describe with words, such as where she places her arms.
• Do the move along with the video as it is taught.
• After you have rewound the tape about 4-5 times to review how the move was explained, pause the video, put suitable music on your stereo, and repeat it over and over for the length of one 3-minute song.

Make a written list of all the new moves you learned during your session with the video. Over the next day or two, even if you don't have time to dance, pick up the list, look at it, and try to remember what each move was like. The next time you work with the video, this list will remind you of which moves to practice during your review.

Practice the New Moves

When you've finished using the video to drill yourself on the 4-5 new moves you learned in this session, it's time to practice them. Turn off the television, and put your practice music on your stereo system. Start doing some free-form dancing to the music, using all the moves you know, and make an effort to incorporate the new ones you just learned.

Just focus on the music, and let your body interpret what you hear. Remember that you have the new moves available to enrich your expression.

Cool Down

Every exercise session should end with a cool-down. This helps ease your body back to inactivity. If you were working with vigorous music before, switch to slow, sensuous music. Work through some of the gentle isolations that you have learned: hip circles and slides, rib cage circles and slides, and stretches.

Suggested Videos

Here's a tour of videos that I like from each of the three categories above. Try to find at least one video from each.

Basic Moves

For basic moves, I recommend one of the following. Some people like to work with a couple of different basic moves videos, because different teachers explain things different ways. Each teacher may give you insights into a particular move that help you see nuances not mentioned by the others.

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