I’m an advanced beginner that hasn’t practiced. I’d like to start again. What dvd’s would you recommend for getting the basics of moving beautifully, including beautiful hand movements?
I have Tracy Anderson dvd’s and New York Ballet dvd, should I buy angles lines curves and Sandra’s dvd as she breaks down the moves? What to do??

But the pilates familiarization is going very well indeed. I’m also getting around to liking it, which hopefully will ensure it happens often. I still have to work on the fitness ball, a nicer flowing yoga sequence and some cardio program.

But tomorrow, I’ll dance! Well, in addition to some of the above.

I must say that Pialtes and its effect on the core really seems to make a difference to belly dance moves. No doubt about it. And to balance as well. Because you have the strength to stand tall and straight and not unevenly and heavily on your feet, balance seems to improve. I find I can do the drop kick (hip drop, drop release) way better, for instance. I can also do a little bit of Autumn Ward’s beautiful undulation with a figure-8 of the leg. (Exercise flow 5 or 6).

Fun!

Haha my sis often asks me when I feel like I m doing tiny movements no one will see whilst sitting in a chair watching tv – “what are you DOING??” – “meeeee?… nuuuthing!!” – “I see you move your head so weird” )

Are you working with Beautiful Technique, Sajia? You won’t believe this but I’ve recorded the audio for all the practice files and I have it on my mp3 player. Every now and then, when I feel like, I just do a bit of it. What this has done is to make me totally comfortable with her terminology. So when I work witht he video, it comes more easily. Autumn really has her own distinctive way of referring to stuff. I’ve actually started on the choreography and that’s not in fact any more difficult than the practice flows. It’s very much based on the same movements learned

I wish Autumn had a second DVD already. I’d love to get her guidance on reverse undulations and reverse eights, among other things.l I used to have a tough time with undulations too. Doing just a few of them used to be a strain. But I’ve stuck to it so persistently that now I find I’m doing undulations all the time for no reason at all. In fact, once I had a friend staying over and when I thought she wasn’t looking, I went into some mini undulations while doing something else. She froke and asked me if everything was okay! Must’ve thought I had some strange fit of some kind!

The reverse undulation used to be just about impossible for me. But that too has now become effortless. I just don’t like the stress it gives me on my knees. But the trajectory is pretty much happening. I did some undulations on the fitness ball! That was something. And in the yoga “cow face” pose in which just about everything is frozen – legs knotted up and arms knotted behind your back. What fun.