Luscious – BellyDance Workout for Beginners DVD Review

by Natalie Belford

Luscious - The Bellydance Workout for Beginners

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $14.98

I loved the Luscious Belly Dance Workout for Beginners DVD. It was my first time doing a belly dancing workout and I tried not to pressure myself to get everything right at the first try. Just followed the tutorial and learned slowly.

The routines presented in this dvd were great! The instructional section really breaks down each move to ensure the viewer understands the dynamics behind each belly dance step.

I am completely a beginner and have tried other belly dance workout dvd’s in the past. I was disappointed because they turned out to be cheesy and did not teach well.

This dvd makes you want to learn more. In addition to the great choreography, this dvd works up a sweat! For the price, you get what amounts to a two-in-one: an instructional video–sort of a short form of Neon’s “instant bellydancer” series that lasts 50 minutes, and a 45 minute connected workout. By the way, Neon is the main instructor in the DVD.

The instructional section has Neon’s typical focus on proper posture and alignment as well as her wonderful way of conceptualizing the moves. If you’ve never ever ever bellydanced before, this might require a few watchings to get the moves right, because she’s a real stickler on form.

It’s that focus on form, though, that a) keeps you safe physically (no hyperextending or dangerous twisting) and b) works the deep muscles that show real control and grace. It’s worth it to learn how to dance with proper form!

This video showcases a series of moves and puts them together in short combinations of anything from two to five moves. An advanced dancer could profit from this video studying how they put the combinations together–the interplay of soft and hard movements, upper and lower body movements, and transitions.

This is great for people who have taken some bellydance classes and want to be able to put moves together in a flowing fashion without the choppiness of trying to learn a choreography. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for and I like that there are transitions and combinations I haven’t seen before.

This is perfect for someone who just wants to dance, not drill moves, not learn a specific choreography and is looking for some new ways of putting moves together.

The tutorial section is very thorough and the moves are explained very thoroughly at a pace which a beginner will have no trouble with. For anyone not familiar with Neon, she’s particularly experienced with clear, precise and ever-so-gentle explanations and demonstrations of dance movements.

screencap of the Luscious Belly Dance Workout... they're doing hip circles!

What I enjoyed most about this dvd was watching how each dancer interpreted the moves. It’s good to see the slight variations, how each dancer tailored each move to suit her body and style. Also, having the moves taught in such a non-stop, flowing manner helps with figuring out how to connect moves and create routines.

Here, you get a lot of information for the price, plus gorgeous costumes, and skilled, enthusiastic dancers. Also quite nice, they give the names of the songs and the musicians in the credits.

For more experienced dancers, this is a wonderful video to deepen, intensify and beautify the basic moves without the usual almost-military drills we do. Use it to focus fully on engaging the abs and back while doing a full 45 minutes to strengthen the moves you’ll use most often.

There are combinations and arm moves sprinkled through the sessions – so it feels like a long, long leisurely dance. It’s a very pleasurable way to go through all your moves, for all body zones.

The only drawback is that the workout is 45 minutes and I would prefer 20 minute “mini workouts” but that can be remedied nicely by simply stopping the DVD after 20 minutes because you learn a series of movements a la workshop.

Final Verdict: Best Bellydancing Video On the Market

This DVD is quite enjoyable…it is a great way for the belly dancer to refine his/her techniques and get a full dance workout. The content of the video seems to have more of an artistic approach, as opposed to just doing one drill after another.

The combos flow nicely together and the choice of music fits well in each section. The fact that it is put together to feel more like a dance performance than a workout makes the time go by faster! Overall a well thought out video…something I will be adding to my home practice for sure

Click here to order ‘Luscious – The Bellydance Workout for Beginners’ from Amazon.com