I have the tribal belly dancers to thank for whatever success I’ve had so far with muscle isolations. While some videos have shown me exactly how to work on them, it’s the tribal fusion videos that have actually got me working – almost every day since I got them. Well, definitely thrice a week anyway.
These are the videos, in chronological sequence, that I went through from a couple years ago to now.
American Tribal Style 1 and 2 – Kajira Djoumahna
Kajira, who won an award for her instruction on this video set, teaches isolations in a style that is somewhat different from the “regular” belly dancing isolations. The muscle work is essentially the same but there are subtle differences in emphasis here and there. I bought these videos before a series of tribal fusion DVDs began to be produced by World Dance New York. The teaching on this “ATS” set is painstaking, detailed and patient. There’s a lot of emphasis on cues because this is a style danced in groups. For beginners looking for information, this is not the same style as what is now called tribal fusion although here are similarities. ATS is considered the parent genre. It was working with this video that the maya was finally demystified for me. This set is however not as “drilly” as the tribal fusion that came later are. It’s also three times as expensive while not necessarily being three times as good. The DVD has ATS combinations and is great for someone exploring American Tribal group dancing. For isolations, there is much else available now.
East Coast Tribal – Sera
I’ve had this DVD for a while and am just as impressed with it as the day I first watched it. Sera is a fantastic, polished instructor and leads you through the workout and combinations on her video at an expertly smooth pace. She has a nice method of getting you to do an exaggerated form of a movement or isolation so that you “get it” and work through the full range of motion. And then she reins it in so that you can get control and precision as well. This video is fantastic for beginners who want to drill isolations because the workout is varied and movements are not hard and forced like they are in more advanced videos. The risk of injury, in my opinion, is way lower. I’ve worked with this video a lot. It’s helped open up the body for later work with isolations. The 30-minute workout here is not only a gentle way to ease into muscle drills, it’s a wonderful everyday dance warm up. There’s even a 10-minute shimmy drill. A little bit of everything to warm you up head to toe (yes, there’s an ankles warm up too) and an unstressful way to do isolations without pain. The combinations on this video are also very funkily lovely.
Tribal Fusion NYC — Darshan
I’ve so enjoyed working with Darshan’s video. She’s instantly likeable and has a way of engaging with you one-on-one so that the entire instruction is between you and her. She may be on video, but she still has a way of being with you, as an equal. And that’s rare. Darshan has a nice, active workout which, now that I have so many tribal videos to compare with, I can see has several unique aspects to it. Her workout is more isolation based and there are no yoga and Pilates moves. Her short arms drill is totally different from others’ and isn’t about plain old snake arms. She gets you to understand your dance space as you move and gives you exercises that will give you balance and posture. Darshan’s four long combinations are like isolation exercises in themselves – apart from being very attractive. Every now and then I feel like pulling out Tribal NYC and working with it.
Contemporary Tribal Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning – Ariellah
No matter what went before it and what came after, Ariellah’s video was a godsend. Through three hours of gentle and warm teaching, she leads you through a yoga strengthening warm up (available in short and long sessions) and then 35 minutes of basic drills followed by another 35 minutes of more advanced drills. I’d recommend these for any belly dancer of any style and any level. The pace, which I consider very important, is perfect and without frenzy or anxiety, the reminders on posture and safety are invaluable, and gives you what amounts to a whole workshop on disk. I’m not using this DVD these days but have done so for months on end and it remains one of my most treasured. Her tribal combinations – six of them – are easier than on most other videos, and are nice-looking and also make good practice, even if you don’t intend to dance tribal style. This is the one video in the whole that should be winning a bunch of awards.
Fluid Precision — Kassar
The tribal twins as I like to think of them – though they’re not – took the strength and conditioning workout to the next level. And that’s what I like best about their video. The isolations they take up are specific to the combinations they teach on the DVD. But the yoga-Pilates workout was a good challenge. I worked with this for a short while before progressing to Asharah’s. Kassar’s combinations are disappointingly short but very cool and smooth. They even take up two floorwork combos. All of these need you to have no knee problems because they love abrupt level drops. It’s a specialty for them and the way they combine this with smooth mayas and half mayas is wonderful.
Modern Tribal Bellydance – Asharah
The DVD I’m using most often right now is Asharah’s. She too has a solid three-hour programme but these three hours are a lot more hard work than Ariellah’s three hours. The whole programme is pretty much hard work, in fact. And I love it. The strength workout is a whole 50 minutes or so long and is pretty much what Suhaila does in her Fitness Fusion videos. After that, Asharah goes on to take you through the isolations which you’ll find yourself doing on your toes, on one foot, seated, etc. And most of it with your arms up in 2nd or 5th position. This is no workout for the fainthearted. Because I’ve stuck to this workout for some months, there’s a visible difference to my strength, flexibility, precision and sharpness. Which is why I’m so grateful for this DVD. Asharah also has a big special section on breaking up the isolations into tiny parts which is amazing to work with. You may not like the automated and robotic elements that modern tribal uses, but the isolations will certainly give you no end of control over your movements. The combinations are a shade boring but again, make great drills – not that there’s a shortage of drills on this incredible video. I work with this video about three times a week – and don’t seem to be getting bored with it.