Lady MorrighanVintage Belly Dance: Technique & Styling from the Golden Era - bellydance instruction

The instructions are clear, the moves are not hard this dvd gives insight to vintage bellydance moves. Not necessarily a workout but we are taught moves and choreography. I like it alot.

Finally somebody did it! The fantastic music of Eddie Kochak, and the flowing style of the golden age of bellydance before the self centered mega-isolations took over.3 short choreographed dances with a practice session, about 4 combinations per dance, then puts them all together in one flowing performance where you can dance along.Does a great job of capturin the happy, flowing style of that era. The combinations shown in this video can easily be used with improvisation to other music, which is NOT something I can say for the majority of choreographies taught in bellydance videos today, the others are too specific to that particular piece of music in the video. This one is enormously adaptable. Would love to see more along these lines from Lady Morrighan.

This video is a unique product that deserves a review. First, let me clarify that the word "vintage" here applies equally to the music (Eddie Kochak) but even moreso to the movements, which you will recognize from the Egyptian greats of the golden era. Although the music here is commonly associated with "vintage orientale" dancing (previously known as American Cabaret), Lady Morrigan's dance style draws heavily from the Egyptian stars of the 40s, 50s, and 60s such as Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, Tahia Carioca and Sohair Zaki (who she resembles at times). As an aside, Morrigan most closely resembles actress Jessica Pare, who plays Meghan Draper on Mad Men, further adding to the retro feel.The movements go well with the music, something I really value on dance instruction. There is also "soul" in the movements - depending on how you execute them of course, but unlike some dance instruction which ends up feeling mechanical, there is a lot of room for interpretation and feeling in these gorgeous vintage moves. I was excited to be learning movements I had seen on the Golden age dancers but hadn't known myself. I took notes on a few that I plan to work into a choreography so that they can become part of my repertoire. I especially liked "Two Lovers" and, as hard as it was, the "nifty chifte". Her cute names for each combination added to the charm of the DVD.In terms of level, I would say that it is more advanced. The material moves quickly and you are expected to be able to execute moves quickly, while layering other movements and travelling.Unfortunately I do have some quibbles with this DVD's instruction. First, she spends more time explaining the most basic moves of bellydance (a shimmy, a "tush push") than she does the more complicated turns and travelling steps. For a DVD of this level, that was surprising - also, because I was expecting that if she was bothering to call out these moves, she was going to be teaching something non-standard, it surprised me that most of the time, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary (for a dancer with Egyptian-style training). Sometimes however there were explanations of movements that are _particular_ to the golden era dancers and I appreciated that, as I did when she said who the move was inspired of. (I wish she had done more of that, actually). I also liked that she taught variations to add more feeling or intention to a movement.Secondly, travelling steps are best taught with feet first, then adding additional movements. It is hard to tell what she is doing while she is already layering on hips and arms. If the feet were taught first, then the hips, then the arms, I believe it would be easier to learn. I was intrigued by the mysterious look and feel of these travelling steps. Unfortunately, they remain as mysterious to me as they do to the audience. I will have to watch and re-watch several times, and having attended many workshops and classes, i can say that the technique to teach feet and weight changes first is recognized as being very effective - but it wasn't used here. That makes the material present more of a challenge than it would otherwise.In a DVD, I enjoy more chances to practice what I am learning, and I was glad that each combination was set to music, and then each music was done repeatedly to music when following along to a full song, which also offered an opportunity to see how these movements would fit into a larger dance.The performances have an "old film" effect applied, in an effort to appear more vintage. Unfortunately this can obscure careful observation of the dance (just as it does on old films today), and I wish it hadn't been done.But only a few quibbles. Lady Morrigan really has grasped the essence of the golden era dancers, and her style is lovely to watch. I had never heard of her before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can say now that I would enjoy a performance of hers.

I must say, I was kind of disappointed. It says technique and styling, but it's just choreography. I like it when the instructors talk about what they're doing. Discuss styling and such. I expected a little more history I guess. I expected more something. It's just 3 choreographies. I remember reading something about each dance having a different mood, but she doesn't introduce the dances at all or talk about what mood they are. It's just combos and then a demo. After buying stuff with Sarah Skinner, Ranya Renee, and Blanca, I expected more substance. I wanted more about the style itself, something I could used to build my own routines, rather than just 3 choreographed dances.It's definitely not for beginners. There is no technique section. You need to be familiar with belly dance and have an idea of what you're doing before trying this program, because it is choreography and not really an instruction DVD.

Superb breakdown and demonstration of Egyptian belly dance from the 1940s-50s. Excellent analysis of steps, floor patterns, & arm stylization. I've spent many hours watching videos of the famous dancers from this era. Also, I've taken several workshops on this topic by some well known current dancers. All were good, but this video is the best depiction I've seen by a modern dancer. Highly recommended!

Her dancing is beautiful! I can't quite master the techniques just yet, as I'm very much a beginner, but I'm picking them up little by little, and just watching her choreography is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I'd definitely recommend this to friends who want to learn a new belly dance choreography.

Belly dancers - get this one you will like it!

I really like the older music, dance styling & costuming. This is a good DVD; however, as is common with instructional DVDs, the choreographies are short. I put them all together, once each through in the "practice" sessions, followed by once all together, and that only amounted to 15 minutes of dancing. Luckily I had another DVD ready to pop in to finish my workout. I wish more dance teachers would give a full 30 minutes of dancing on their DVDs. The ones I have that are like that - I used them a lot more often!

Très déçue et c'est la première fois que j'écris un commentaire négatif. Le DVD ne fonctionne pas du tout, le disque est illisible. Plus d'un mois d'attente pour ça.Je vais essayer de le retourner et me faire remboursée. J'attendais ce DVD avec impatience car c'est le seul de ce genre que j'avais trouvé, malheureusement il ne fonctionne pas du tout. Très déçue :(

I like the approach to Bellydance of Lady Morrighan, exploring the roots of the dance as we know it today. She also makes it accessible to all, making the viewer feel that they too can experience and be part if the "Golden Era" glamorous style. There are three choreographed dances fully broken down and explained to the learner. I liked the third dance best. It is the most interesting, also the most feminine and really shows what makes bellydance so rivetting to watch, with that mysterious quality. The movements are all relatively simple, not too many ultra-showy technical sections here, although the details of technique such as weight, level and directional changes are explained. The emphasis I think is in bringing out your own femininity and style. The classroom shots show the instructor in a series of slinky practice outfits, where you can see which muscles control which moves. Then the performance parts are done in full costume, hairpieces and jewellery. I get the feeling Lady Morrighan has a tribal/Goddess perspective on the whole Golden Era side of bellydance - which is fine! - thereby contrasting vintage and new. However I would have liked a juxtaposition of the film industry with the bellydance world, as they developed at the same time, especially in Egypt, producing stars such as Samia Gamal, Naima Akef and later on, Sohair Zaki and Nagwa Fouad. I feel it would have been useful to have included some actual film clips of their dancing in films, both to show their universal appeal and very individual styles, and why their contribution to the dance is so important today. Black-and-white video clips of Lady Morrighan dancing, provide a witty touch in this DVD, but some uninitiated viewers may not have access to vintage Arabic film clips themselves, and so may not fully understand the cultural importance of these dancers. Hence there shoukd be some film clips included in this DVD, say if a sequel comes out. I would add that it is in any case more or less essential for anyone interested in bellydance, to view these dancers appearing in the films of their day. So first watch some YouTube clips of retro Egyptian films, complete with large orchestras and big sets. You will be glad you did. This DVD makes a lot more sense in that context. An enjoyable and accessible introduction to this style!