I love taking workshops!! Dvd's are NOT enough if you are serious about learning this dance. Getting one on one time with teachers is so important.
I've taken several workshops over my 16 years in this scene. They've ranged from Traditional Egyptian dance with great Egyptian and American teachers, to Turkish Rom dancing. I can't even begin to list them - there are way too many. My favorites have been given by Tamra Henna of Cali, Alexandra King, Amaya, Ansuya etc. Workshops are an indispensible part of a serious dancer's education.

I have not been to too many workshops, but I love Yasmina's!

And, no, DVD's are so not enough. A DVD can not give you tips after seeing what you may be doing not quite right. And a DVD is not very friendly and does not build community.

My dream workshop hmmmm. I guess I would like to take another workshop from Jill Parker or Mona el Said. I think I'm with Kashmir on private instruction as opposed to workshops. The information a dancer is given in a workshop is many things at once. Some concepts you grasp right away some need more time. I think that's why I like intensives that are done over several days as opposed to a couple of hours in one day. Dvd's are fun to watch and I guess for some act as a supplement between classes, but you can't get feed back from the tv (lol).

I love workshops, and think they are definately important if you want to progress and evolve as a dancer.
My teacher Sara actively encourages us to go to as many workshops as we possibly can, and to dance with other teachers, as this is the best way to learn new styles or different techniques, and that sometimes another teacher might be able to show a way of doing something that she may not get across.
At workshops that i've done orgainised by sara, she has brought in dancers from london, and other parts of england, and its been great to see how they dance, and to learn a new style, only saterday i did an Eyptian-Gothic fusion dance with Emma Chapman, something that i did not think would be for me, but it was a wonderfull dance routine that we learnt, and brought out a side of my dance personality i never knew exisited.
Sara also invited Charlotte Degorgher from Croydon last october, and we did Nubian Dance, it wasnt belly dance as such but it was a wonderfull uplifting dance full of lie, and great fun.
I've done a Flemengo/Arabic belly dance fusion routine with Varisha, another workshop orgainised through Sara, and again learnt a style that i havent seen Sarah teach.
With these examples i can safely say that yes, i belive that worshops are fun, and great Trainning grounds for dancers.

DVD's are usefull tools but you do not get the interaction or valuable feedback, that you get with workshops.

I want to do a Jim Boz workshop, and i would love to do another one of Charlotte Degorgher ones.

I belive that i get my moneys worth with the workshops, of course the more famous someone is the more the workshops cost...but they are famous for a reason. and so i think the costs are justified.

I'm hoping to go to a workshop in Tadley in April, Sadie is comming over from America, i've been told she is a wonderfull dancer so look forward to learning from her

I enjoy going to workshops and learning from different instructors. One thing I can say is that I prefer to learn technique rather than choreography in a workshop. I don't really want to dance someone else's stuff (even if it is ingenious) and I feel that I grasp choreography better when I am learning it in an ongoing class.

The workshops that I felt like I got the most money out of were those that did not teach too much choreography.

I think that workshops are necessary, rather than just working with a DVD b/c the energy is different and depending on the class size you might actually get some personalized attention. A good instructor will be watching the students and even if he or she can't point out things about individuals, he might be able to make general corrections to the group, which you won't get from a DVD (obviously, lol).

I haven't been able , money wise, to do many workshops --- BUT, I'm very excited about the 3 , so far, I've enrolled in at Tribal Fest 08 coming to my neighborhood soon ! I'm doing Bhangra with Vicki Vick, a class with 'Turbo Tabla', a classic Indian Temple class. I've been absent from classes at Black Sheep for a few months, but plan to start up again next week! I agree about DVD's being not enough --- I used them alot when I first started about 6 yrs ago, but now require more personal stimulus and more in=depth techniques.