WDNY’s already impressive Tribal Fusion lineup has an addition from the star who defines this genre: Rachel Brice herself. Starting with a nice and basic introduction from Tempest in 2006, they’ve steadily been taking it up a notch and then another notch until the just-released Serpentine. I know that dancers who read my reviews will want an answer to the general all-encompassing question, “So what’s it like?” As is often the case with WDNY’s videos, I find it a difficult question to answer because above all, there is invariably a stupendous amount of content – more than from any other producer. And for a really low price. Serpentine is no exception. In fact, it’s a 2-disk set in which Rachel Brice gives you the whole foundation of the unique signature style she dances. In four hours.
Yoga, the foundation
I think we’ve seen from Rachel’s previous two DVDs that it is yoga that got her where she is. It is the very core of how she moves and on this set of disks, she takes you through a complete program of preparation through yoga and isolations, the way she believes will lead to “strong, relaxed and sinuous movement.”
In previous reviews of her videos, I remember saying we didn’t want yoga from Rachel Brice, but the secret of how she dances. Well, it looks like yoga is that secret. If the aim is to dance like her and not do any yoga – forget it. In fact, this set is making me see the previous ones differently. Both the disks in this set have yoga programs spread over them. The content does not particularly repeat what’s on her previous videos, so this set doesn’t make those redundant at all. As an Indian, I’m happy to see she refers to the Sanskrit names of all the asanas. I think that’s a nice acknowledgement of where yoga came from in the first place. The yoga instruction is calm, disciplined and smooth – much as expected from Rachel Brice. It takes patience and motivation, until you get nice and addicted to it as people do, from where you’re on to a good thing. Rachel uses the downward facing dog position as a base and builds sequences for the starting or Yoga 1 session that starts the first disk.. On the second disk is the back bending yoga session. This section is unsurprisingly challenging but all doable except for one scary asana – the one where you put your hands backwards next to your ears and then lift everything up. You’re instructed to try this only if you’re really comfortable with it. I’m surprised not to find some of the positions other dancers recommend when conditioning the body for backbends. There’s the position where you sit between your knees (that takes weeks to get to) and then gradually bend back and place each hand on the feet. But well, since Rachel does very relaxed backbends, I have no quarrels with whatever her selection happens to be. If she says it works, I have no doubt it does. Each of the two disks has a “finishing yoga practice” recommended to relax and stretch with. In fact, Rachel has a small guide on how to use this whole program and change whi or classes you pick up to work with on each day of the week. Nice touch, that.
Isolations, the technique
There’s a ten-point posture check and then we begin with a shoulders drill. This is easy enough. But then, we go on to torso drill and things begin to change from other DVDs.
Right from the start, she has foot patterns and timing variations for you to deal with. That’s fantastic. While this is accessible to all levels and genres of belly dance, absolute beginners would do well to use a video focusing only on plain vanilla isolations first. Or learn these in live classes. It’s interesting but here’s where you’lll see Rachel Brice in regular belly dance mode. It’s interesting that WDNY or Rachel chose to use music loops of rhythms instead of the modern music they usually go for. Well, it’s better for concentration and timing but worse for motivation and variety. It’s also more drilly, I guess. We cover side to side chest seesaws, isolated waves of the upper body, and bigger waves that involves the back. Then we get into hip work in short but powerful drills. These include obliques and glutes on the up and down, pelvic locks, alternating small pelvic circles, interesting maya variations and other layered moves involving footwork and chest moves.
The whole isolations session isn’t what you’ll find on other videos and has a lot to work with. Breakdown here is brief and there’s quite a bit of layering and really, dancers who’ve got over the first brush with isolations will have a better time of it.
Shimmy drills
Overall quite a challenging shimmy drill. A few seconds into it you’re layering with shoulders, arms and torso moves and undulations. At one point there was a shimmy on, torso roll down and chest slides going on all at the same time. Come prepared to do sharp clean moves! You work with locks as well. Shimmy layering on other moves such as slides and circles also feature, but there isn’t a breakdown. As Rachel says, you just have to keep trying it. We also do the 3/4s. It’s a killer drill – the killerest I’ve seen for shimmies because it’s a lot of stuff squeezed into an intense and concentrated session.
Leg strengthening drills
There’s a nice segment focusing on building strength in the legs, much needed for keeping moves going while you change level etc. Toe-heel changes, releves, knee lifts, grapevines with passé, chair poses and level changes feature in this section. It’s a very nice addition to the whole program.
Two Choreographies
On Disk 2 are the goodies that we’ve wanted from Rachel Brice all along – combinations in her style. This is where we move into full-fledged tribal fusion style, but of the two choreographies, the first would help belly dancers in general to learn and sharpen some rapid-fire hip moves. The first choreography, set to an unusual piece of music, Kozarica Kolo, is sassy and uses a lot of contrast moves – sometimes slow and sometimes really fast. It’s a short piece and divides into two combinations repeated. But tough for those of us who haven’t worked on so much control.
The second choreography is set to Whisper Hungarian in my Ear and in this one, the moves luxuriate to the music. It’s also about as short. In fact, I do wish both had been about twice as long. In the performance Rachel does at the end, the Hungarian piece is extended to more combinations. The choreography ends in a backbend and a truly serpentine and Rachesque pose. There’s a great Practice Loops feature so you can keep running through the combo until you’re happy with how you’re learning it. Instruction In the yoga sessions, Rachel is calm as she slowly leads you the asanas. I find this a relief after working with some of the videos that never seem to pause for breath while shooting instructions at you. I think yoga practice needs tranquility – it’s part of the package. With the drills, she is businesslike as she makes you get on with it. And in the sessions for the choreographies, she’s warm and funny. As ever, she looks exotic and amazing no matter what she does or says.
The Rachel Lectures 
At the end of the second disk we have a fantastic set of lecture classes. In these, Rachel demystifies and advises you on various tricky aspects. These little lectures are accessible separately on the menu, in case you want to work with one part and not another. So here, Rachel takes up backbends and gives some critical advice on what to do and what not to do. Very important for the safety of your back. Then, she takes up basic footwork for those who are fairly new to belly dance. She explains and teaches four arm patterns — simple ones. There’s a portion about how to understand the basic beat of the music. And finally she teaches you how to do the Ujjayyi breathing for the yoga. These lectures add impressive depth to this already solid program. I’m often amazed at how dancers can “give away” their skill, knowledge and style and that too for just a few dollars. This is one of those times. Although I still feel I’d have liked less yoga (which you can, after all, learn elsewhere) and more and easier combinations and arm paths, I think one can’t complain. Two choreographies, drills, technique, yoga, advice –what more can one want!
I adore this dvd set. I am still exploring it, jumping around in viewing. I don’t think I really appreciated her as much as I should because of all her imitators. But after seeing this wonderful work by Rachel and WDNY, I am so happy to take a deeper look. I hate yoga, but I actually went out to buy kneepads so I can learn her technique (which I like very much) I love that there is no hip hoppy stuff and more bellydance. I even see the traditional in there too. I love it. Anyways, great review, Mala, as always!
Thanks, Tami, for your take. Not many people have the DVDs yet, so good to hear other opinions. She really has given everything she’s got and I think she and yoga seem to be inseparable. It’ll be very good if she manages to persuade you to take up yoga! I’m going to be interviewing her shortly, by the way!
By the way.. what do you think of the shimmy drill? Isn’t it totally killer??
I’m thinking that for the coming year of bellydance classes, I’ll be focusing on Ranya Renee’s dvds – I found The Baladi immensely helpful in deepening and refining my moves, in giving me a sense of what my teacher in Egyptian (and Lebanese) style expects from me at an advanced level, even though I am far from reaching that level. But on the one hand I want to get Sadie’s Thrillin’ Drillin’ as a drills dvd, and on the other hand I want Rachel Brice’s Serpentine. Right now I’m concentrating on Middle Eastern dance, but I hope to study Suhaila format and start taking the online classes in fall 2011. I’m also studying Hindustani voice and yoga with a swami from India, so I am certain I would benefit from the yoga instruction on Rachel’s dvd. I’m aiming to develop a cabaret fusion style that would be firmly rooted in Middle Eastern dance but would incorporate the acrobatics of tribal fusion without losing the fluidity of the “oriental” tradition, as well as in an educated manner incorporating kathak vocabulary. Of course all this would take years, but then my aim is art, not showbiz. If I had Serpentine, could I do without Thrillin’ Drillin’, at least for this year?
Hi Sajia,
Serpentine and Thrillin Drillin have very very different flavors indeed. Serpentine focuses a whole lot on the preparation and overall body health. And mind health too, says Rachel. But Thrillin Drillin is get-down-to-work hardcore drills. The difficulty level goes up sharply and well…it’s difficult. I believe it should be balanced with other things because it’s tough to keep at it and also one needs to not strain and sprain anything from over-drilling. Like, you can go through most of the Serpentine chunks at one go, but for Thrilling, it’s best to take chunks and combine with other exercises. The approaches and philosophies are very different. They sort of don’t compare.
Drills on Rachel’s video are one part of the picture and also go up sharply in difficulty level because they proceed to layering immediately. So, much depends on what other isolation drill videos you have. Asharah’s is based on Suhaila’s techniques and is a good thing to consider if you don’t have it. Proceed to the other two when you’ve worked with this one enough. Have you worked with her final segment of isolations, where she goes into small controlled movements?
I have Asharah’s dvd, but I haven’t worked with it in ages! The workout helped a lot immensely, but I got stuck at the glute contractions drills in the isolations section and never worked with the strobing section. But my glute contractions have improved a lot since I started working with Suhaila’s Buns dvd. Can you suggest a workout plan, 1 – 2 hours, balancing the Asharah dvd and either the Baladi or the Modern Oriental dvd? I want to develop my muscle control but also my Egyptian style.
How far along are you with the Egyptian style? What main DVDs do you have for this? And also, where are you on the flexibility and strength front right now?
Right now I’m using Modern Oriental and the Baladi for Egyptian style. I’ve gone through the technique section of the Baladi on disc 1 and have worked with the first set of taqsim drills on disc 2, Baladi 1, and have worked with the warm up and the first section of combos on Modern Oriental. My upper torso is very flexible, I can do vertical and horizontal figure 8s with my chest, my hips are less so, but I can isolate my glutes. And I can engage my magic points below my chest and above my pubic bone. I’m moderately strong, I need more work on endurance but I’m getting there.
So, just divide your available time into percentages. Do Ranya Renee for say 30 percent. Warm up with some conditioning for another 30 and pick some isolations from one of the tribal fusion DVDs (vary them) and work with those for 20. And 20 for strengthen/flexibility stuff like yoga or pilates. Would that work for you?
I’d need to keep some time for the homework from my two bellydance teachers and kathak class, choreographies and moves that aren’t in the dvds. But at least I have a rough idea of what to do, thanks.
I’m wondering how you get the time for all this! A plan really has to be crafted carefully to a person. if you’re taking classes, then you need to see what you want out of your videos that support the classes, or that make up for something you don’t get in the classes. The whole overall picture should take your entire dancing time into account!
Just read your interview, Mala! Lovely. I came back here after attempting the yoga with knee pads. As soon as I got onto hands and knees I was so uncomfortable! I don’t know if I can do the yoga with my knees on pillows! I really want to work fully with this DVD! I haven’t gotten to the shimmies. I have decided to go against my usual jump in and out, but to take my time with this. Can you email me an answer about if I can use pillows under my knees to do the yoga? Sigh.
Hi, Tami!
Being on the knees can be very hard for a lot of folks, so grab a chair and emulate the spinal movement that is suggested while sitting in the chair. Mobilizing the spine is the most important thing here, so you can still reap lots of benefits! Let us know how it goes!
Rachel
Thank you, Rachel! What a relief! I will keep you all updated.
Ooh, this sounds good Mala.
I love watching Rachel dance, but felt slightly disappointed by the content of the first two dvd’s. They didn’t seem to give a whole lot away, but it sounds as though this one is a whole lot more comprehensive.
Good old WDNY, trust them to come up with the whole package!
Ya, I think WDNY has done something to change the tone somehow. Brought out Rachel’s personality better. And it’s undoubtedly a big huge program – not just for tribal fusion either.
I am so frustrated. I still don’t know how the heck I can do this yoga. I sit in the chair instead of hands and knees as Rachel suggests but transitioning to the other positions from there is awkward. Yoga is so difficult for me and it’s disappointing because I really want to be able to do this.
Perhaps you should explore some of the yoga props there are. I think there are some schools of yoga that say you don’t need to force yourself into a position that is ideal. You can help yourself with props and gradually build up ability. Also, if something is that difficult does it not need to be looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist first? At least to rule out any underlying problems?
I wonder if being very overweight is one of the issues. In any case, I am going to lay off the yoga. I am having a ball with the bellydance portions, however.
I should start a blog, too, instead of flooding your comments, Mala, lol!
I thought you had a blog? But you’re still welcome to flood my comments, Tami.
I still think a consultation with a medical professional will tell you what’s in the way of the exercises you want to do. That way you’ll know either way. The knees are used so heavily in belly dancing anyway – so it’s good to keep them healthy.
I can’t tell if it’s me or not, but in Rachel’s narration is she saying Left & Right opposite of what she is showing. I am one of those people that have to completely break it down piece by piece to understand something. So when I am listening & watching, I keep thinking that when I am seeing her Left hip lift, she is say lift your Right hip. Am I just hearing/seeing it wrong?
Ruth… you’ve worked with it. Can you tell?
Yes, for the most part she mirrors in the narration, So she uses her left hip (facing you) and says use your right hip. I think there might be one or two times that she does it the other way round as well, i.e uses her right hip and says right. This is normally when she is side-on to the camera. To be honest I generally try to ignore lefts and rights, as it confuses me more than it helps (I spent too long teaching aerobics and re-learnt my left and right in reverse for when I was teaching!) I just follow by mirroring the same side the teacher uses.