hi neon!!
first of all i m quite of a beginner to "trully" learning the dance, even though i ve longer been exposed to it than probably most American beginners.
well, it s great you give the opportunity to chat with you :)) amazing for a celebrity dancer :D
so, i ve recently ordered your beginners program, the fitness dvd set, and the ultimate workout. the latter i fear is too difficult for me judging from the amazon reviews. i am currently working with jenna s basics and am very content with it!!
well, i see on your website you ll be doing this workout for beginners.
can you tell some more on it? is it going to be easy, but "real" bellydance movements? would it be on the level of your instant bellydancer set?
thanks, bailshoje spaisiba ;)
dina
first of all i m quite of a beginner to "trully" learning the dance, even though i ve longer been exposed to it than probably most American beginners.
well, it s great you give the opportunity to chat with you :)) amazing for a celebrity dancer :D
so, i ve recently ordered your beginners program, the fitness dvd set, and the ultimate workout. the latter i fear is too difficult for me judging from the amazon reviews. i am currently working with jenna s basics and am very content with it!!
well, i see on your website you ll be doing this workout for beginners.
can you tell some more on it? is it going to be easy, but "real" bellydance movements? would it be on the level of your instant bellydancer set?
thanks, bailshoje spaisiba ;)
dina
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Re: Luscious workout for beginners
Thu, March 20, 2008 - 10:04 AMHi Dina, thank you for your question! The "Luscious - Bellydance Workout" is going to be much more accessible in terms of its level than the "Ultimate Bellydance Fitness Workout," but it is similar to "The Ultimate" in that it is 100% bellydance moves, and it's a true dance experience as much as fitness experience.
Another feature that makes it very different from the "Ultimate" is that each section of the workout consistently builds on the dance vocabulary introduced in the previous section through combinations. It's an "instructional workout" because of the method of introducing dance vocabulary and because there is an extensive tutorial section breaking down each move used in the workout.
The level is beginner with a few intermediate elements thrown in to make it a bit more challenging and fun: it's not the complexity of the moves, but just the degree of focus required to follow combinations. The length of the workout itself (without tutorial materials) is 45 min.
Working on this program we sought to make it "very bellydance" - very lavish in terms of movement as such: it is deep, flowing, rich and very feminine. We wanted it to be visually stimulating and a physically refreshing experience, so that it can be enjoyed as a beauty ritual.
I believe that it will be useful for intermediate dancers as well - as a functional "drill" or practice. "Functional" because the moves are not practiced in isolation, but in the contexts of combinations or transitions in which they are actually used in dance, which creates an extra layer of muscle memory, which isolated drills don't provide.
Thank you, again, for the question - the video will be release at the end of May - I hope it will please you! -
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Re: Luscious workout for beginners
Thu, March 20, 2008 - 12:14 PMHello Neon!!!
Thanks SOO much for the prompt and detailed reply!
First of all I want to tell you - I think it s so cool you let fans have access to you and your work in progress :)
I d think this unusual for a star dancer and producer!
As for the luscious workout - It looks AMAZING! thanks for the photos, visually stimulating is exactly the word that comes to mind! And "luscious" sure is appropriate, the costumes are stunning!
Thanks so much for producing such amazing videos! I m a huge fan!
I wish you lots of success with this one and the - hopefully!! - many more to come!
Best wishes
Dina
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Re: Luscious workout for beginners
Tue, March 25, 2008 - 7:49 PMI'm very excited about this.... I've realised that the only way I'm really going to do cardio is if it involves dance somehow. There are a ton of dance cardio/exercise videos out there, but the truth is, almost all of them feature music I would never listen to on my own, and movements which are weird, modified aerobics versions of actual dance moves. Some of them are decent workouts, and they might still help with moving around and building coordination, but dance, they're not.
So, the flip question: will this video get my heart rate up? -
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Re: Luscious workout for beginners
Thu, March 27, 2008 - 8:56 AMI can sooo see what you mean :))
in the meantime of waiting for this video (which looks soo great..)
maybe you d want some suggestions of videos I like:
the ultimate bellydance workout, judging from reviews on amazon by credible bellydance experienced reviewers (u get a feelin for them when browsin through as many dvd reviews as I have :))) it DOES get the heartrate up.
I bought it coz i wanted to have a look at it soo badly, and some encouragement for progressing - i know it is too difficult for me now, and unsafe because I have knee problems and have to progress slowly, slowly.
but in case you re intermediate already, it sure is a great dvd.
then, michelle joyce s fitness/bellydance programs are great. I love her "Perfect Hips" it s really bellydance, plus some cardio elements. should get the heartrate up to! she has a new on e"body by bellydance" which i have not seen.
u can check out the trailers on youtube!!
best rgds
dina -
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Re: Luscious workout for beginners
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 6:12 PMHi Atesheh and Dina,
the "Luscious" program is not cardio: it will, like any exercise, get your heart rate up, but not enough for a cardio level.
The focus of "Luscious" is on muscle conditioning and elongation, working each group of muscles deeply and using carefully built combinations to switch between muscle groups and add intensity to the workout. Think of it as a strength and flexibility workout, plus a weight loss tool.
A lot of people get into dance because they perceive it as a weight loss fitness activity, and it is, indeed, superb for this purpose, not because it gets your heart rate sky high, but because you can do it at a good tempo for long periods of time without getting bored. And this is what works best for weight loss -- not strenuous exercise, not cardio, but moderate tempo for as long as you can go without dropping or yawning.
So, "Luscious" is for beginners with interest in dance, plus toning/conditioning/general weight loss aspect. It is 100% bellydance, with gorgeous music and a beautiful flow undiluted by conventional exercises. Its main goal is to create an entertaining and aesthetically fulfilling dance experience to keep you inspired in doing your best to execute each move. It's about balance between doing very feminine, luscious, beautiful stuff and going methodically through each group of muscles to result in a total body workout.
I personally find that, with bellydance, it is a big challenge to achieve a good cardio output while retaining integrity of dance, its elegance and aesthetics. A much better cardio dance tool is samba. World Dance New York will release "Cardio Samba" program with Quenia Ribeiro in the fall. -
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Re: Luscious workout for beginners
Sun, March 30, 2008 - 2:55 PMhello neon!!
thanks for the in depth explanation, i am SOO looking forward to the luscious program. :)
do you actually intend to do something with jehan again? i enjoyed her performance on the gothic performance dvd so much, and would love to see her teaching more, if possbile not on unreachable skill level, but like a continuation of her 2 dvd set :)
all the best to you neon for your phenomenal projects, so much creativity :)
dina
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