Search - The Goddess Workout: Introduction to Bellydance on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 2/16/2023...

A great introduction to Bellydancing if you want to learn!

Dance Dance!

Neither a workout nor an effective instructional DVD

C. Daly | 06/03/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The Goddess Workout claims it will do two things--teach you how to bellydance and give you a workout. It is effective at neither. The only positive aspect of this workout is the eye candy. The costumes and sets are gorgeous. But this wasn't meant to be a performance video...it was meant to teach.

The main problem is the camera work. Frequently, the camera focuses on Dolphina's face or chest when you're supposed to be doing things with the lower body. At one point she said "now let's add a leg movement." So I stood there waiting for the camera to show her leg (it was focused on her upper body). And I kept waiting, and waiting. Then we moved on to something else. I never did figure out what she was doing with her leg. Similar things happened throughout the workout. The camera may focus on the proper area for a short time, but quickly moves somewhere else before you can get the movement down.

She explained a few things adequately, but others left me completely lost. She would go on and on about "goddess energy" and chakras which did not help me with dance form at all. She kept trying to act sexy which was really embarassing when one of my family members came in the room. The way she behaves you'd think this was entertainment for men, not dance instruction for women.

Finally, the "workout" did not make me break a sweat, and I am in relatively poor shape. There was a cool down, which was pretty silly because there was nothing to cool down from."

How can you learn to dance if you can't see the teacher?

C. Daly | 04/09/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Most of the time the camera is focussed on Dolpina's face. This
makes it impossible to see what her hips and feet are doing. How
can you learn hip movements by looking at the teacher's eyes? You can't. Dolphina is also a poor dancer. She is usually off the rhythm of the music playing in the background and her technique is stiff. The cluttered backgrounds that she uses are distracting. I am an advanced dancer and I frequently couldn't understand what she was trying to demonstrate. One of my beginning students was completely lost. Save your money for a better video."

All-over tone

C. Daly | 05/28/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The good news-
It really does give you amazing all-over tone. I have done the gym thing, and I hate sit-ups and crunches. I always do them wrong and end up hurting something. I have never seen my stomach get this flat and hard so quickly, WITHOUT SIT-UPS, as I have with this video. After one week of regular use, I could see a definite improvement. Now, I do it about 5-7 times a week, because you can actually see an almost daily improvement. It's great.
I sit all day at my desk. So my back hurts at the end of the day. This video really stretches out my back and straightens my posture. My arms and backside look great. I have gone down a dress size in one month of consistent use. The bad news- The camerawork is shoddy. It focuses on her face too much rather than her actual body-movements. It is difficult to tell exactly what she is doing all the time. It took me about a week to actually figure out what she is doing. I have taken several dance classes and I found it hard to follow. She often loses count. She talks a lot about chakras and serphents that apparently live at the base of your spine, etc.

In sum: Now, that I have figured it out. I love it. It makes me feel good, toned, and relaxed. I don't mind doing it almost everyday. I intend to buy another one."