Karen Barbee
Presents, Belly Dance Technical Drillz and Advanced Variations
A DVD review by Angel Thacker
The back cover of this DVD promises to give the student the ability to
build their skills in layering the more complex movements and undulations through
working with a series of focused drills and exercises in this DVD workshop. Those movements being; shimmies, hip
circles, figure 8’s, undulations… and all the wonderful bits in between. I was very intrigued when I read this
and looked forward to immediately viewing and working with the video!
There is no lengthy introduction to the dance or the artist in this
production, we are pulled straight into the workout without any fluff, song or dance. For about an hour, Karen Barbee takes
you through a no nonsense journey of drills, layering and isolation techniques
designed to help the more advanced dancer master their technique and control on
their journey to master the dance.
The setting is simple and does not distract, Karen works with you as if
you were one on one in a private lesson, in a studio, facing the mirror and
standing behind her participating.
This gives you the opportunity to see her from both front and back as
she runs through the movements. You
are pulled from one drill to the other, no cuts, no breaks no real
discussion. Just work!
Beginning with a brief warm-up and stretch, Karen jumps straight into her
drill series.
Starting off with basic moves for the chest and upper body, she then
moves to lower body movements. Her
drill series go through the circles, figure 8’s, and undulations all with a
focus on connecting to student to the muscle groups in play, making the drills
great work for building and toning muscles while building your technique.
After working through isolations and layered drills, Karen moves into a
segment of shimmy drills designed to build your ability to move, layer and
isolate while having strong solid shimmies. I enjoyed this drill segment; it actually helped me to
resolve a movement issue I’ve wrestled with for some time...in a very short
time. If you do nothing else in
this video, spend some time working with Karen on these shimmy drills.
This is not an easy workout and should you not jump into it lightly and
without some thought. As a fitness
professional, I am often concerned by how some videos present movement without
applying safe body alignment and movement. Karen appears very conscious of proper body alignment and
having a strong body mind connection as she presents her drills. Her movements become quick and
complicated very fast and this can take the less experienced dancer by surprise. Being focused on the advanced
audience, I think Karen took for granted that the student would know and
understand proper body form, which is understandable. So it is important that you remain conscious of your form
and technique when working with this DVD.
What I like most about the drills Karen presents is that you can pull
them into your regular regiment.
Her process is quite advanced and I would recommend the beginning or
intermediate dancer take the time to view the full video before taking it on,
so they can absorb the concepts Karen is building on through her drills. It may also be best to take on some of
the segments in pieces, again – to give you an opportunity to master some of
the layering exercises she’s presenting before moving onto the next section.
I feel the cover notes understate the impact this video can have on
your overall training. I recommend
this DVD to the intermediate advanced dancer, a beginner would also gain a
great deal from this workshop; you would need to take your time, have patience
and watch your technique. In the
end, I give this DVD a high rating and an effective tool for the dancer looking
to add more to her tool box. Run Time: approximately 55 minutes,
