Shira's Video Center:
Catalogs, Buying/Using Advice, Reviews

Videos for belly dancers have grown to be a large market. The bulk of them are instructional videos either introducing the dance or focusing on particular specialties. Some offer fitness workouts based on belly dancing moves, and others showcase performances. There's also a small number of documentaries featuring related topics.

With so many videos to choose from, how do you locate ones that match your interests, and how do you make an informed decision on which one to buy? If you've purchased an instructional video, how do you structure a study-at-home session to gain the most value from it?

On this page, Shira brings all her articles, reviews, and advice about videos to a single place.

• Shira's review of Middle Eastern Dance Video Sourcebook 2001/2002, a reference book that lists hundreds of instructional and performance videos.
• Lygia's Belly Dance Video Directory. Searchable web-based directory that lists hundreds of videos and where to buy them.
• Shira's Video Store. Buy belly dancing videos through Amazon.com.
  • Instructional & Fitness
  • Performance, Documentary, Hollywood Harems, Operas

• How to Structure a Belly Dance Study/Practice Session at Home. Whether you're studying with a video, a book, or your notes from class, here are tips on how to get the most from your home study time.
• Learning to Belly Dance from Videos. If you can't find a teacher in your community, the second-best choice is learning from video.

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Shira has started the Belly Dance Videos group on Yahoo to provide you with a place where you can:

• Ask other people's opinions on videos you're thinking of buying
• Give people your input on videos you've watched
• Advertise used videos that you're trying to sell
• Discuss anything else video-related that you want to talk about

Do you want to use a video to either learn belly dancing at home or provide a framework for your practice outside of class? Here you'll find Shira's reviews of some of them. Read Shira's Video Reviews: Format & Biases before reading any of these video reviews so you can better understand the format she has chosen for her reviews and acquaint yourself with her biases that may affect the content of her reviews.

Videos marked with a twirling star below are Shira's top picks.

Reviews of Performance Videos,
Hollywood Harems, & Operas/Ballets

Click here to see my reviews of more than 20 videos, and to vote in more than 15 opinion polls for ones I haven't reviewed yet.

Reviews of Instructional Videos

Explore full-length reviews of over 40 instructional videos and opinion polls for more than 20.

• Browse by category of instruction (elementary moves, choreography/combinations, props, etc.)
• Browse by alphabetical list

Reviews of Fitness Videos

Explore full-length reviews and opinion polls for fitness videos leading exercise workouts based at least partly on belly dance moves.

• Browse by category of workout (cardio, sculpting/toning, etc.)
• Browse by alphabetical list

Reviews of Documentaries

Belly Dance Television, Volume 1. By Offworld Entertainment. Video magazine about belly dancing. Belly Dance Television, Volume 2. By Offworld Entertainment. Video magazine about belly dancing. Folk Dances of Egypt, Nubia, and the Sudan, Morocco's #6 Video. By Morocco. Available in NTSC. Performances filmed in 1979 through 1983, with voiceover commentary. Amaya's Gypsy Fire! By Amaya. Available in NTSC and PAL. A look at how Gypsy dance, Arabic dance, and flamenco all come together. Rare Glimpses. By Ibrahim "Bobby" Farrah. Available in NTSC. Archival footage of an 1897 dancer, a Moroccan Guedra, Nadia Gamal, and more. Palestinian Costumes and Embroidery - A Precious Legacy. By the Palestinian Heritage Foundation. Available in NTSC and PAL. Documentary focused on the traditional elaborately-embroidered dresses from Palestine. Bellydance Live, Part 3 - Folkloric Dance. Taught by Keti Sharif. Available in NTSC, PAL, and VCD. Instruction in the baladi dance style and documentary on some Egyptian folkloric dances, including cane, tanoura, and others. The Enchanted Dance. Documentary by Estelle on the dances of ancient Egypt. Available in NTSC and PAL. Tribal Style - Becoming a Belly Dancer. By Cortney Armitage. Available in NTSC. Celebrates the belly dance community and the friendships that form within it. Placed online November 21, 2007.

Opinion Polls

So many videos, so little time! Here are additional documentaries available in the market that I haven't had an opportunity to review. If you've seen one of these, please vote your opinion in the poll!

• American Bellydancer. By Miles Copeland.
• Bellydancers of Cairo. By Natasha Senkovich.
• Cairo Unveiled. By National Geographic.
• Covered - The Hejab in Cairo, Egypt. By Tania Kamal-Eldin.
• Crazed: The Bellydance. By Elle Empire.
• Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. By Fatih Akin.
• Dances of Ecstasy. By Michelle Mahrer and Nicole Ma. Sold in package with Gabrielle Roth's The Power Wave workout as a 2-DVD set.
• Dances of Egypt. By Aisha Ali.
• Dances of North Africa. By Aisha Ali.
• Expo: Magic of the White City. Narrated by Gene Wilder.
• Hollywood Harems. Produced by Tania Kamal-Eldin.
• Inanna. By Diane Wolkstein.
• It's Burlesque. By A&E.
• JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance, Middle East and Africa I, Volume 16, Turkey / Iran / Iraq / Lebanon / Qatar. Produced by Smithsonian Folkways.
• JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance, Middle East and Africa II, Volume 17, Egypt/Tunisia/Morocco/Mali/Cameroon/Zaire/Tanzania. Produced by Smithsonian Folkways.
• JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance, Middle East and Africa III, Volume 18, Chad/Cameroon. Produced by Smithsonian Folkways.
• JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance, Middle East and Africa IV, Volume 19, Ivory Coast/Botswana/Republic of South Africa. Produced by Smithsonian Folkways.
• Latcho Drom. Musical travelogue of the Rroma (Gypsies).
• Mata Hari - The Seductive Spy. A biography.
• Music of the Middle East. By the department of ethnomusicology at State University of New York in Binghampton.
• Reel Bad Arabs. Based on the book of the same title by Jack Shaheen.
• Romany Trail, Part One - Gypsy Music Into Africa.
• Romany Trail, Part Two - Gypsy Music Into Europe.
• Saving Egyptian Film Classics. By Sayed Badreya. Discusses the effort to rescue vintage Egyptian movies before they disintegrate completely.
• Secret Egypt. Narrated by Gabrielle Roth.
• Thoth. Profile of a performance art creator inspired by ancient Egypt.
• Umm Kulthum - A Voice Like Egypt. Narrated by Omar Sharif.

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Belly: Overcoming Bulimia. Produced by Filmakers Library. Available in NTSC. The story of how a young woman overcame bulimia, and the role belly dancing played in her recovery. Healing Dance. (2005 DVD edition.) Taught by Tahya. Available in NTSC, all regions. An introduction to belly dancing for women who are recovering from breast surgery or other devastating medical conditions and need healing for both body and soul. Healing Dance. (2002 VHS tape edition.) Taught by Tahya. Available in NTSC. This version has been discontinued, and replaced by the DVD edition. The review remains online for archival reasons. Dance to the Great Mother. Performed by Delilah. Available in NTSC. In her third trimester of pregnancy, Delilah celebrates through dance her connection to her unborn child. Opinion Polls Only The Power Wave. Inspirational workout by Gabrielle Roth. Dances of Ecstasy. By Michelle Mahrer and Nicole Ma. Sold in package with Gabrielle Roth's The Power Wave workout as a 2-DVD set. Goddess Grace: A Moving Meditation. By Mariel.

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These are movies made in the Arab world that include dance scenes. All are opinion polls only.

From Egypt

• Ahebbak Inte (I Love You). Stars Samia Gamal.
• Afrita Hanem (The Genie Lady). Stars Samia Gamal.
• Akher Kedba (The Last Lie). Stars Samia Gamal.
• Bayaet el Garayed (The Newspaper Seller). Stars Naima Akef.
• Dananeer. Stars Oum Kalthoum.
• Ebn Hamido (Son of Hamido). Stars Hind Rostom.
• Fatma. Stars Oum Kalthoum.
• Gharam fi al-Karnak (Love in Karnak). Stars Mahmoud Reda, Farida Fahmy, and Reda Troupe.
• Habib el Omr (Love of My Life). Stars Samia Gamal.
• Hassan wa Naima (Hassan and Naima). Stars Souad Hosni.
• Imm al Aroussa (Mother of the Bride). Stars Tahia Carioca.
• Khally Balak Men ZouZou (Pay Heed to Zouzou). Stars Souad Hosni with small role by Tahia Carioca.
• Lahalibo (The Circus). Stars Naima Akef.
• Ma Takulshi La Hada (Don't Tell Anyone). Stars Samia Gamal.
• Mawal. Stars Nadia Gamal.
• Mufattish al-Amm, al- (Inspector General). Stars Tahia Carioca.
• Safirah Aziza, El (Princess Aziza). Stars Souad Hosni.
• Seraa fil Nil (Struggle on the Nile). Stars Hind Rostom.
• Shatie el Gharam (Shore of Love). With dancing by Tahia Carioca.
• Sigarah wa Kass (Glass and a Cigarette). Stars Samia Gamal.
• Tamra Henna (Henna Flower). Stars Naima Akef.
• Zouqaq al-Midaqq (Al Maddak Alley). Stars Shadia.

From Tunisia

• Satin Rouge (Red Satin). A widow with a college-aged daughter rediscovers her sexuality through dance.

• Valley of the Kings. This 1954 movie starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker includes a brief dance performance by Samia Gamal.
• The Thief of Bagdad. 1940 version. In a magical tale from the Arabian Nights genre, a street-smart boy thief helps his handsome but dim friend Ahmad right the wrongs done to him by his evil grand vizier Jaffar.
• Wee Wee Monsieur. The Three Stooges dress up as harem girls and dance.
• Sinbad the Sailor. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. stars with Maureen O'Hara in this mediocre 1947 swashbuckler.
• Land of the Pharaohs. This 1955 movie with a cast of thousands stars Joan Collins as the scheming second wife of the Pharaoh Khufu.

Opinion Polls Only

• Abbott & Costello In The Foreign Legion
• Abbott & Costello Lost in a Harem
• Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Stars Samia Gamal.
• Bagdad. Stars Maureen O'Hara and Vincent Price. Released in 1949.
• Beau Hunks. Stars Laurel & Hardy.
• Brass Bottle. 1964 version. Stars Tony Randall and Barbara Eden.
• Carry On Follow That Camel. Stars Phil Silvers and Anita Harris. Released in 1967. Has also been released under the titles Carry On In The Legion and Carry On Up The Legion. Released in 1967.
• Casbah. Stars Yvonne DeCarlo and Peter Lorre. Released in 1948. P
• Flame of Araby. Stars Maureen O'Hara and Lon Chaney. Released in 1951.
• Harem. Directed by Ferzan Ozpetek. Stars Marie Gillain and Alex Descas.
• Harum Scarum. Stars Elvis Presley.
• Kismet. Also known as Oriental Dream. 1944 version. Stars Marlene Dietrich.
• Kismet. 1955 version. Stars Howard Keel.
• Princess of the Nile. Released in 1954. Stars Debra Paget.
• Roustabout. Stars Elvis Presley. Released in 1964.
• Salomé. Rita Hayworth stars in Hollywood's adaptation of the story of John the Baptist.
• Salomé, Where She Danced. Stars Yvonne DeCarlo. Released in 1945.
• Samson & Delilah. 1949 version. Stars Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature.
• Sheherazade. Catherine Zeta-Jones appears in her first movie, produced in 1990.
• Sinbad Collection (Ray Harryhausen series)
  • Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Stars Kerwin Matthews. Released in 1958.
  • Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Stars John Phillip Law. Released in 1974.
  • Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Stars Patrick Wayne. Released in 1977.
• Solomon & Sheba. Stars Yul Brynner and Gina Lollabrigida.
• The Sheik. The 1921 Rudolph Valentino silent movie is a classic.
• Son of Sinbad. Includes dance scenes by Nejla Ates, Kalantan, and Sally Forrest. Released in 1955.
• The Son of the Sheik. The 1926 sequel to The Sheik.
• The Thief of Bagdad. 1924 version, a black-and-white silent movie. Stars Douglas Fairbanks, Senior.

This section contains only opinion polls, no full-length reviews.

• Aladdin's Lamp. With Mighty Mouse.
• Ali Baba Bunny. With Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Opinion Polls

• Abduction from the Harem. (Die Entführung aus Dem Serail). Opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performance by Bayerische Staatoper.
• Aida. Opera by Giuseppe Verdi.
• Magic Flute. (Die Zäuberflöte.) Opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Salomé. Opera by Richard Strauss, performance by Covent Garden Orchestra.
• The Italian Girl from Algiers (L'Italiana in Algeri). Opera by Gioacchino Rossini, performance by the Zurich Opera.

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