Title: Isis Wings with Phoenix- Isis Wings Technique for Belly Dancers and Performers
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Available from: directly from Phoenix herself
Retail price: $26.99
I bought a pair of Isis wings a few months ago, and performed with them recently. Although I was able to do enough with them to not look goofy, I'll be the first to say that I didn't really know how to *dance* with them - I mostly just swished them around a lot. I played with them in my basement until I had a few ideas to put together, but that's no replacement for some decent instruction.
Phoenix's DVD just came out within the past few months. It was great timing, a new DVD to review, and on a topic I desperately needed to learn about!
The DVD was filmed in a dance studio with a single camera. It is what I would think of as an high-quality home recording. The lighting is very good - It feels like natural lighting from a large window, maybe? You can see where different segments were filmed at different times because the light changes, but the quality of the images is always good. Phoenix speaks clearly and is easy to understand. The music used in the background is kind-of tribal-y, but not obtrusive.
Her instruction is really no-nonsense. She explains every movement multiple times in different ways, and repeats the motion many times. Her teaching style is well-suited to people who like to watch the teacher execute a movement, then need a handful of repetitions to practice along with. If you prefer a faster pace, be aware that her teaching may move slower than you would like.
She starts with a little introduction, then an explanation of posture. I really liked her posture discussion, she explains it well in a way even a beginning dancer would readily understand. That's great, since posture is so important with wings. She goes into a small warm up and stretch, but suggests that you pause the video and add to it. I agree, since the warm up is short and I know I have a weak upper body that needs a longer warm up to be ready for the demands of the wings.
She has divided the main instructional part of the DVD into 5 sections. Each section introduces a number of related techniques, then assembles them into a combination. These combinations are illustrative as to how to combine that set of movements together, but I don't think they are combinations you could drop into a larger choreography as they are without filling them in with some bellydance movements as well.
After each of the 5 sections, you get bounced back to the main menu, and have to select the next section to work on. It's a little jarring when I am working through a DVD from beginning to end, but since the DVD seems to be intended to be used a piece at a time, mastering one section before moving on to the next, I can see why she did it that way. Be aware that the menu music is loud. It caught me by surprise the first time I was returned to the menu.
These are the 5 technique sections:
Set 1 - Getting Started - Dancers who are more familiar with the wings may not necessarily need to review this section more than once, but I think at least one pass through it would be valuable since she has some good insights for how to make attractive lines. She demonstrates mostly facing the front, but also shows movements in profile or from the back when appropriate. She puts a lot of emphasis on practicing in front of a mirror to get a feel for how different movements feel. As a novice with the wings, I was very happy this DVD starts with the bare basics, because I needed it!
Set 2 - Continuing Technique - This section concentrates on "swooping" - I had figured out a lot on my own, but I still got some new ideas for how to use the swoops from this segment. She demonstrates arm movements without the wings as well as with them.
Set 3 - Varying your arm movement - In this section, Phoenix breaks down how to incorporate the wings into movements like snake arms and other related arm and shoulder movements. She provides a lot of instruction on how to use wrist motions to tie the arm motions and the movement of the wings together.
Set 4 - Building your Dance - This section incorporates more body motion with the wings. These are general movements, not necessarily belly dance movements - things like lunging or turning to look over your shoulder.
Set 5 - Turning and Traveling - This section breaks down walks, turns and spins. She shows a number of different arm positions while spinning, which is a great reference for where your arms need to be to achieve certain effects while spinning. She does, however, only demonstrate spins turning to her right - I have been practicing spinning in both directions, since I feel it's important to be equally smooth in both directions. Her breakdown of the arm positions in barrel turns is clear, but short. This section ends with two combinations, one using the movements in Set 5, and a second longer one that incorporates techniques from all 5 sets. (She does spin both directions in the combinations)
She has put the "tips" section at the end of the DVD instead of the beginning - which spares you from having to skip over it every time you want to use the DVD. I've got plenty of others that have the "how to select your prop", etc section at the beginning, even though you may only ever care to watch it once or twice. Not a big thing, but it's a nice touch.The tips section is pretty comprehensive, touching on choosing your wings, sizing them, and how to wear double wings.
The DVD ends with a performance. It is filmed in the same studio space where the instruction was filmed, in good bright light, so you can see what she is doing. The performance is composed primarily of the moves that were taught earlier, so it is a true illustration of what kind of dance you can construct using the building blocks she taught.
This instructional as a whole seems best suited to dancers who are just getting to know their wings. That said, since it is so reasonably priced, I would recommend it even to experienced wing dancers, since she includes so many accents and details, there's bound to be something in there to add to your repertoire. It is a good choice for anyone who likes a methodical style of instruction. It contains a broad range of techniques, and will teach you enough different movements to construct a full and interesting choreography.
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