Bellydance for Beginners: Basic Moves [VHS]
"Belly dancing provides us with a way to stay healthy and fit, and a way to stay relaxed and open," say professional belly dancers Veena and Neena Bidasha. They start by teaching the isolations that they'll incorporate into dance movements later: moving the head from side to side on an imaginary line as if separated from the neck, "snake arms" that seem to float in the air, "shoulder punches" (as if your shoulders have fists) that turn into shimmies when speeded up, "rib slides" (using your torso muscles to push your ribs from side to side), and a variety of hip moves. Then you put it all together and voilà--you're belly dancing! After too short a dance, you get down on the floor for stretching.Of the four tapes in this series, this one will make you feel the most like a belly dancer. It's not really an exercise routine as much as a 30-minute class of basic belly-dancing moves, though your abs and hips will certainly get a workout from all that rib-pushing and hip-rolling action.--Joan Price