I was one of the lucky gals to receive a freebie by Michelle's recent giveaway of the newest CGP release. It arrived yesterday - to my big delight as, for completely dance-unrelated reasons, there's a lot of rather sad things going on in the family these days.

So you could say I trully needed something to lift me up.

While I wasn't quite ready to get up and dance to the dvd but rather sat watching it with litres of "honeyed" black tea oriental style (the concentrated tea with hot water). Now the caffeine, honey and Bahaia managed to cheer me up altogether

To the substance of the dvd:
It definitely is material I have never seen anywhere else. (Note. Nadira Jamal's toolkit deals with somewhat similar topics - I've been wanting to buy that one for a long time, but have not so far - there might be overlapping topics and advice.)

I do not want to give any cool exercise or surprise away because I think following along to this dvd will be all the more fun the less you know about what's going to happen!
Just some tiny appetizers:
Bahaia will explain to you very basic theory to consider when you are ready to present your dance, whether that will be a real performance in public, or for friends or family (which will rather be my thing).
What different arm gestures signal body language wise, what different lines in your body convey, how to circle your "territory" etc.
She will give you a great tip for getting rid of anxiety a second before going onstage (you hear Michelle or someone else burst into laughter when Bahaia shows you this!! )

Bahaia will talk about a dancer having certain steps she always falls back into with anxiety or tension, and how to turn this into a strength by modifying this step you fall back into into many many variations that would come naturally in such a moment - turning your weakness into a plus basically.
She will go over travelling moves and lead a few exercises that help you get variation into your favorite moves, she will demonstrate what different a feeling moves convey when you vary the speed of arm movements alone from rather fast, resistance-less to slowed down, more intense swaying of the arms, to veeeery slow moves as if you were working hard through water resistance or something similar.

The dvd is "talky" in many sections, and I think that is good. the information Bahaia shares will be just as interesting to any beginner who wants to look their best when giving in to relatives' or partner's begging of showing them "their bellydance", and I am sure many professionals can benefit a great deal from fresh perspectives of another seasoned pro.

I am thinking much of the information on avoiding tension in the face, what line to have in your body, not to get nervous when YOU perceive your dance is boring the audience (which may not go congruent with their perception, anyway) is useful for ANY type of performance in fact.
I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to perform on a stage, if as a dancer in general or maybe as an actor, or as anybody who needs to convey something with their body on stage.