Instruction Bellydance DVD #1 with Jillina Review (Layla)

yeah yeah, blah blah, I have NOT been keeping up my review of bellydance DVDs. There is just not enough time in the day for me. I think we all can all agree that there are not enough minutes in the day!

But I did get one DVD done. But I did this DVD a long time ago. This DVD came out in 2003. Wow I feel old. I learned it years ago and I have taught it to many, many people over the years. And now I decided to add some life to the dance with some staging and teach it to my student troupe. So I revisited this DVD: Instructional Bellydance with Jillina Level 1

There are 5 sections to the list: stretching, technique, combos, choreo, and performance.

  

The stretching portion is short, few stretching. I prefer a little bit more of a warmup. 

Now if you are a strict counter-this DVD might not be for you. There are few combos with counts. 

One of the things that I also did not like about the DVD is the individual combos are not chaptered. So when you do a combo you can't repeat or skip to the next one. I really like that option in choreography dvds. 

She does break down combos good and the choreography is clear. Tho there are just a few things that I caught that were just slightly off during the runs: how many undulations for the slow part and in one part is it up, down, up, down or 2 hip drops. But that was just a small detail. 

The production quality is really well you see the front and the back of her so it is easy to learn and pick up the moves. And she talks while she dances. For some reason I really like that, I do not like voice overs. 

The end performance is different than what she taught but I really like seeing variations of the choreography. Tho some of her changes are just not conducive to a big group, b/c it would be impossible to get in sync. But it is nice to watch. 

I of course made it my own and for a group of 6 people. I played with angles and directions.  This is technically a beginner choreo but I would consider this an advanced beginner. There are a lot of undulations and a few things that may be difficult for beginners. 

Overall this is a great DVD, I think things are taught well and it is a cute choreo. Good DVD. 

And you just have to LOVE Jillina! I have actually had a class with her and she is great. Plus I have seen her perform live-also amazing! :)

Hmm Maybe by the end of the year I might finish them all.... LOL yeah let's see about that.. 70 left...

xoxo,
Lauren