Search - Sensual Passion: Bellydance Secrets by Tamalyn Dallal on DVD

Excellent!!!!!

CherryJellyBean | San Diego | 01/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best belly dance dvd to come out in a very long time! Tamalyn is one of the most respected belly dance teachers around right now, with over 30 years of belly dance and teaching experience. Her students include Bozenka, Amar Gamal, and Nathalie from Miami.

This dvd is packed with information that would be useful to advanced- beginners to professional level dancers. The section on Belly Rolls, and the Zar are the best I've ever seen on a DVD.

I've been very frustrated with all of the new belly dance dvd's that have been released in the last year by dancers with very little teaching experience. I'm glad to see Peko is releasing DVD's with teachers like Tamalyn and Sadie."

Good and interesting

badnat | las vegas, nevada United States | 01/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is a very nice DVD by Tamalyn Dallal.
i would say it is for advanced beginners- there are just a couple of moves that a beginner might not know, Like belly rolls and pelvic undulations, but it's not all that hard once you go over it a couple of times.
It has good production values and content is slowly explained and repeated frequently. The DVD has nice menus that get you to the basic sections, but not individual moves. She is in a nice studio in front of a mirror and most of the time she is filmed far enough away that we can see all her moves. there were a couple of times i wish they did not get close- i wanted to see all of her! But overall, not too distracting or choppy. The music is a background presence- she talks throughout, no voice over.
It starts with an "Intro/warm up", then "Slow moves", then "Hands and Arms". Then the Choreography. The choreography is in 4 parts- Slow combos, Drum Solo, Ayoub, and Finale. Then a complete performance in costume of the choreo. and another short performance. The running time is 2:05, which seems forever when you think about it, but actually went by quickly.
Tamalyn has a calm presence and teaches slowly, which my bug some A type people out there, but i think worked well for the beginner student. I also find the Ayoub section interesting- you don't hear much about Zar anyway, much less on beginner tapes. i liked that it was not your standard cheesy performance- i think the Zar moves added some ethnic feeling to the dance. so much out there is generic American bellydance that adding different flavors was a nice touch.
All that said, I was not actually that impressed with Tamalyn final performances or her costume (i don't think she is fat, but that costume did nothing for her hips!). I guess liking her laid back teaching style did not translate into liking her laid back performance style. She was fine, but i found it tame. Maybe i am just too American in my bellydance tastes! I also wish her second performance was longer. We've already spent 2 hours with her- i want a performance thats longer than about 4 minutes!
Overall, i would give this 5 stars for beginner content and choreog., and 4 stars for intermediate practice use.





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Had my hops up

K. Smith | Everywhere, UR | 08/20/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I love this dancer and I was so excited to get my hands on my first Tamalyn DVD. It wasn't at all what I expected. There aren't very many moves for technique options or Choreographies. I also just found a vintage
VHS tape by her called "Serious Belly dance" which almost identical in moves, but gives more variety and is worth having if you can find one.

This DVD really seems rushed and not very well put together. Almost looks like it was done last minute. This doesn't change the fact that she is a beautiful dancer and her students also. Maybe a re-release of this DVD would be nice"