Book Review of “Belly
Dancing for Fitness”
Written by Tamalyn Dallal
As Reviewed by Nizana
I own a few different belly
dance books (there sure a lot of them out there now!) and recently picked this
one up from Powell’s in Portland. It comes with a music CD. Tamalyn
Dallal, along with Richard Harris, presents this book subtitled “The Ultimate
Dance Workout to Unleash Your Creative Spirit.” It is full of pictures
illustrating the movements described throughout along with some nice photos in
the “non-technique“ sections of the book.
Tamalyn is a multi-talented
international instructor and performer, and shares her career background as
well as the basics of this art form in this belly dance guide. In
addition to DVD’s and at least one other book, she also has a newer book out (“40
Days and 1001 Nights”) that I have not had a chance to read yet, but I’m sure
is a fascinating read as Tamalyn‘s dance career is an inspiring one.
After an introduction,
Tamalyn tells how to get started dancing and how to use the book. She describes
how health and fitness can be improved with belly dance, such as stress relief,
improved self-image, and muscular and cardiovascular benefits. Tamalyn
addresses basics such as footwear, work out wear, and workout areas for the
best results. She has helpful introductory sections on veils and finger
cymbals, and then a good section on music where she breaks down the rhythms and
instruments. All of these topics are excellent for all dancers to be familiar
with.
Tamalyn touches on costuming
and the history to the dance as well as some of the styles of belly dance. Then
she heads in to fundamentals such as the importance of posture and being
grounded. I found the placement of the section on combinations and
choreographies odd, (before the actual movements) but it is a helpful piece
providing options for different music types. The actual movements start
out with a warm-up section before covering slow movements, arm movements, and
many other types of foundational technique. Tamalyn ventures into veil
entrances and movements, traveling moves, and floor work as well
At the back of the book,
Tamalyn provides a list of dance names and their meanings, an index to look up
specific information quickly and a list for different belly dance resources.
This book is well-written, easy to follow, and has good all around info for
dancers. I found “Belly Dancing for Fitness” to be a great addition to my
collection and recommend it to all dancers to help remember the roots and
basics of the dance. And the CD was a nice bonus with some really good
tracks! Easily found on Amazon.com.
