{"id":4108,"date":"2012-05-17T17:45:40","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T00:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/?p=4108"},"modified":"2012-05-17T17:46:21","modified_gmt":"2012-05-18T00:46:21","slug":"samira-3-veil-dvd-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/2012\/05\/17\/samira-3-veil-dvd-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun with Fabric! Three DVDs for Those with Fabric Fetish Affliction"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kaishi Chai\u2019s Expressive Belly Dance Veil
\nJrisi and Devi\u2019s Fan Veil Combinations
\nVeil with Aziza<\/h2>\n

DVDs reviewed by Samira Shuruk<\/a>
\nposted May 17, 2012<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re like me, you have tubs of fabric and always see the \u201cneed\u201d for more.\u00a0 But our love of fabric is NOT just manifested in our stashes and projects, it\u2019s also reflected in our dance, our beautiful veil dance and more recently the fan veil dance. Each of these three DVDs offers something positive for different dance goals.<\/p>\n

\"kaeshi\"<\/a>Expressive Belly Dance Veil with Kaeshi Chai<\/p>\n

Expressive Belly Dance Veil with Kaeshi Chai<\/em> is an easily accessible basic intro to veil.\u00a0 Her chapters include an Intro, Using the veil to Express Yourself, Selecting Fabrics, Steaming your Veil, Basic Veil position, Basic Veil technique (shown front and back), Combo 1, 2 and 3, a few other moves and 2 performances.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Her veil dance style is very New York, which is both dramatic and theatrical.<\/p>\n

Kaeshi has a positive and encouraging way about her teaching, with moves that are pretty straightforward and basic, I would say beginner to intermediate level. Particularly useful items are the way that she breaks down how to hold the veil while allowing for zills, and the discussion on breathing with your veil technique.\u00a0 Beyond these items, she gives a few really nice details to help with refining your veil work, something quite useful for beginners and beyond. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The one thing I felt was missing in this DVD was that there was no discussion of the mid or lower back in her section on posture. It would be nice to assume everyone buying a belly dance DVD has a teacher who teaches full posture, but I believe it it not the case. <\/p>\n

Kaeshi\u2019s performance was dramatic and full of energy.\u00a0 She was in control of her veil and was even percussive at times.\u00a0 She is a lovely dancer to watch and also had some beautiful moments of gliding smoothness.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Rating:  3 zils
\n\"3<\/h4>\n

\"Jrisi<\/a>Belly Dance Vol III. Fan Veil Combinations with Jrisi and Devi<\/p>\n

Belly Dance Vol III. Fan Veil Combinations with Jrisi and Devi<\/em> comes from Australia.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t play in my DVD player, but played fine on my computer. Of the three DVDs in this review this one had by far the most content.\u00a0 I have other fan veil DVDs and Jrisi and Devi gave a lot more information than they do as well.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The teachers alternate throughout the DVD.\u00a0 They both come across as very sweet and they communicate clearly.\u00a0 Their intro included great details such as marking your fan so you know which hand it goes in, and using an emory board to eliminate splinters.\u00a0 They also share different ways to store your fan veils.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each move and combination was shown from both the front and the back. Clear details were given on how to do the combinations and at the end of each one there were written tips.\u00a0 I think this technique could be quite helpful for many learners. <\/p>\n

They share a total of eleven combos, some brief, some lengthy, all lovely.<\/p>\n

One detractor from the video was that the instructors were wearing black and dancing in front of a black background.\u00a0 One could still see them, but it is most definitely not the ideal manner of presentation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I don\u2019t know the instructors – or their backgrounds – and have not seen them dance before.\u00a0 I felt that one demonstrated beautiful feet – lovely point and great sweeping\/brushing off the floor. She also gave nice details on lines to hit in the dance. I\u2019m always delighted to see an instructor with beautiful technique such as this. <\/p>\n

Their performance clips included a duet, a solo to live music and another solo.\u00a0 The dances were wonderful additions to the DVD particularly as they demonstrated fan veil usage to different styles of music and with different styles of the dance. <\/p>\n

Rating: 4 zils<\/strong>
\n\"Zil<\/p>\n

\n

\"Aziza's<\/a><\/a>Veil with Aziza<\/p>\n

Veil with Aziza<\/em>.\u00a0 Aziza is an engaging and thorough teacher and both of these comes across clearly in this DVD.\u00a0 She begins with an accurate history of veil in the dance and goes through the process of choosing the veil and holding the veil before going into the main concepts that she focuses on in this production. The application section starts with a warm up then goes into two technique sections, each being followed by a combo that incorporates the techniques.\u00a0 After a cool down, you are treated to a performance. <\/p>\n

The concepts that Aziza teaches in the beginning and emphasizes throughout are great.\u00a0 They help the dancer actually dance with the veil as opposed to just doing a series of tricks with the veil.\u00a0 She repeats these ideas as they apply with the techniques, technique variations and combos.\u00a0 She also reiterates the concepts at the end.\u00a0 This is a well organized DVD.<\/p>\n

Aziza teaches posture right at the beginning of the warm up and shows proper posture from both the front and side.\u00a0 The warm up appropriately included good shoulder and arm warm ups.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

I feel her techniques, concepts and teaching methods are really useful for any level of dancer.\u00a0 A beginner will learn strong basics and have items they can work with for quite some time.\u00a0 An intermediate or more advanced dancer may pick up a new trick or two or a new combo or may refine an existing technique.\u00a0 An instructor may develop new ways of describing moves inspired by Aziza\u2019s teaching. <\/p>\n

Rating: 4 zils<\/strong>
\n\"Zil<\/p>\n

\n

One thing that I loved about reviewing the Kaeshi and Aziza DVDs together is the comparison of East Coast vs West Coast veil style. With Kaeshi, is it easy to see how she adds an interpretive element to her dance, drawing the viewer into a dramatic story as she weaves a plot with her veil. With Aziza, it\u2019s clear she been inspired by the flowing ethereal, yet strong, stylings of the west coast veil masters.<\/p>\n

These three DVDS all had different strengths.\u00a0 Kaeshi\u2019s is a great beginner veil DVD with simple and clear explanations and a nice variety of basic moves.\u00a0 Jrisi and Devi provide a really large amount of strong material for fan veils.\u00a0 Finally, Aziza\u2019s Veil DVD is appropriate for all levels of veil dancers including teachers seeking inspiration.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n