Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45421 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-15

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ABOUT THE SERIES

"...information that every performer and instructor should have."

What makes a captivating dancer? A captivating dancer knows how to draw in the audience and takes them on an emotional journey with every movement and expression. A captivating dancer shows us a different way of listening to the music without overpowering it and teaches us that there is beauty in even the simplest movements. A captivating dancer knows how to build drama and set up those "wow" moments.

Unfortunately, most dancers simply focus on the mechanics of their movements and don't train themselves in the art of performing. Many dancers mistakenly think that performance skills cannot be learned and feel frustrated that it does not come naturally.

Having sharp isolations and cute combinations are a result of training your muscles, but incorporating stage presence, emotion and musical awareness into your dance require training of a totally different kind. The exercises in this DVD are uniquely designed to help you become a better performer and to push your dance presentation to the next level.

The format is different than any other belly dance instructional DVD. Each concept is demonstrated by video clips of professional dance performances, while the dancers themselves narrate. This unique concept gives you a glimpse into what is going on in the dancers' mind in real time as she performs. Several drills and exercises that combine dance, drama, and emotional exploration are included at the end of DVD.

ABOUT THE TEACHER

Michelle Joyce is a professional belly dancer who has performed for audiences around the globe. She has won several awards including 2004 People's Choice Belly Dancer and 2006 East Coast Classic Belly Dance Competition Champion.

Michelle also has a Master's in Counseling, and draws on that knowledge to incorporate techniques such as progressive relaxation, visualization, meditation, and stress response reduction.

ABOUT THIS DVD

topics covered: - relaxation and calmness - you and your music (includes an improvisation exercise) - focus and energy projection

dancers interviewed: -Adriana -Michelle -Nanna Candelaria -Sandra -Shoshanna -Zari -Zaheea

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Customer Reviews

The PERFECT gift for your favorite bellydancer
So you're an intermediate or advanced level dancer who doesn't have a lot of performance experience. You've got "the moves" -- but you're thinking, "now what?"

Michelle Joyce's new dvd series "Secrets of the Stage" is made for you, the dancer who is having trouble putting all you've learned together into one nice performance package. There's something here for everyone: if you're a choreographed dancer, there's a section of improvisation drills. If you're a technically proficient dancer but aren't sure about your choreographic skills, there is ample discussion on making your dance interesting. If your on-stage energy isn't what it should be, you'll find expert advice from dancers who once suffered from the same problems. Practically paralyzed by stage fright? That's covered here too, along with many other common performance problems.

I think I can say with confidence that this dvd is the first to actually offer analysis of entire dances - by the dancers themselves! Watching this dvd is like being backstage or in the green room of a major dance event. You'll hear advice, suggestions, tips, tricks, and horror stories from professional dancers, all the while seeing performance concepts illustrated right there on the screen.

This dvd, volume 1 in the set, is arranged in three major sections for analysis: Calmness and Simplicity, You and Your Music, and Focus and Energy Projection. In between and after these sections are Practice Exercises to help get you started incorporating these concepts into your own dancing.

"Calmness" begins with an unusual approach - by showing you dance performances that didn't go quite as planned. The dancers highlighted in this section discuss salvaging their performances from wardrobe and prop malfunctions, and give advice on how to keep calm and still enjoy yourself when things don't go the way they did in practice.

After this section is a chapter on "Fight or Flight" which includes exercises and ideas to help you relax backstage and to help manage nervousness. The breathing techniques and short exercises demonstrated here are what the pros use to prevent backstage "freakout" before competitions and shows.

"Simplicity" is the next chapter and the discussion and performance analysis here centers around avoiding "overdancing" and that common phenomenon of throwing everything you know into the first 30 seconds of the song. There is so much good advice in this chapter I had to watch it several times to absorb it all.

"You and Your Music" is a chapter discussing choreography and improvisation. Many of us suffer from not fully embracing our music, and not really making it OURS. The helpful hints and advice here will allow you to look at your music in a new way, and pull more from your music than just the melody and the beat.

"Focus and Energy Projection" tackles subjects such as how to avoid the plastered-on smile, making a connection with your audience, and taking your audience on a musical journey with you. This section is followed by a series of calming exercises that involve breathing, visualization, and progressive relaxation. These exercises would be very nice to do before a performance, to center and ground yourself, or even after a stressful day at the office.

After you've relaxed, you can move to the next section of exercises. First is a chair dance exercise to help you learn and practice emotional expression in the upper body. We tend to get locked in to thinking this dance is all about the hips, and the upper body is often neglected, so this exercise brings your attention back up the upper body and torso.

Next is a long section of 7 different improvisation exercises. These exercises are harder than they look! You're given a short clip of music, which is repeated 4 times, and you're told to find 4 different ways to dance to it. After the exercise you can see what the professional dancers did to that same music. This exercise really makes you think!

The last exercise is the really brilliant "Focus" exercise, which helps you to evaluate and practice where your attention is focused when you dance. This exercise helps to make the dance more of internal process, and aids in helping you truly connect with your audience on an emotional level.

Camerawork, lighting, and sound are excellent and are comparable to Michelle's other dvds. Distractions are eliminated by having the screen go black for the improv and relaxation exercises. When Michelle is narrating, her voice is calming yet still full of energy, and soft piano music accompanies the relaxation exercises.

This dvd runs about 80 minutes, but you can't just expect to watch it once and completely absorb the material in 80 minutes. There is a lot of information and inspiration packed in those minutes and it will take more than a few viewings to unlock all of what's here.

My impression of the dvd is that it seems like a conversation between professionals, discussing various facets of belly dance, but the discussion is very intellectual and thoughtful. I love the fact that the dancers comment on their own performances. I love the fact that so many dancers are involved (I forgot to count - I think it's at least 6 or 7). The analysis and commentary are presented very professionally and eloquently, and completely without giggly inside jokes or a lot of "uhs" and hemming and hawing.

I think one of the unrealized benefits of having this dvd in your collection will be how motivating it is, and how inspiring it is. Have you had a bad practice? Play the dvd and learn to grow from it. Not feeling in the mood to practice? Pop in the dvd. I guarantee you'll be dancing along with it before too long. Feeling like you're ready just to give up and quit altogether, burning your bedlah and crying into your ouzo? Why not instead give the dvd a watch. It's the best dance pick-me-up I've seen in ages - for a seasoned pro OR the dancer preparing for her first hafla.

Priced extremely reasonably for the content it contains, this dvd is a winner all around. (I already can't wait for volume 2!)

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Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R124T4Q9TVBOI4 trailer

Excellent!
I agree with the other reviewers who have described this dvd so well! As described, this dvd uses belly dance performance clips and interviews with the dancers to demonstrate different stage presentation techniques. It also includes a number of exercises for the viewer to use to explore the ideas and techniques. Like other reviewers have mentioned, it takes a little time to fully absorb the content and I am still working on it.

This dvd is not for everyone. It may not interest dancers who:
*Are new to bellydance / Oriental Dance and want to learn the techniques.
*Want a dance workout--this dvd does not include a workout or any dance technique
*Who want to learn choreographies or combinations as it does not teach any.

This will interest dancers who:
*Are interested in performing (even just for friends and family)! Any bellydancer interested in performing may find something of interest starting at an advanced-beginners level.
*Performers who suffer get nervous when they perform! This dvd has great tips for staying calm and giving a great performance even when things don't go as planned. It also contains short exercises that can be done back stage to use a little nervous energy and a guided relaxation exercise.
*Dancers looking to improve their performance improvisation ability. The dvd contains tips on improv. and also a great exercise that uses 7 different musical clips taken from performances on this dvd.
*Performers who are always looking for ideas to improve their performances!

The performance clips are well-filmed. The lighting and sets are clear and attractive so you can see the dancer. The dancers are all beautifully costumed and the narration feels very conversational. I believe all the clips come from volumes one and two of the "By Dancers For Dancers" performance dvd. I have not seen these dvds, but will certainly look forward to purchasing them in the future to see the complete performances!

Overall, I am most impressed with the way this dvd combines "airy", abstract ideas like energy projection with visual examples and exploratory exercises to make the concepts more concrete. I have found this dvd to be inspiring and beautifully done!