I am an intermediate level belly dance student, always looking for good belly dance videos to practice my moves with between classes. I purchased The Goddess Workout Introduction to Belly Dance a few months ago, and have used it at least once a week since then, alternating with my other dance videos, to practice my dancing with.

There are many types of belly dance instructors out there, and my first impression of Dolphina was that she is very "new age" or a "free spirit" type. (Picture an hour of belly dancing with Dharma and her mother from "Dharma and Greg, and you'll catch my drift.) This is not uncommon with belly dancers, however. Belly dance is an ages old tradition that is very sacred, freeing, and uplifting thing for women.

The intro starts out showing Dolphina dancing in beautiful backgrounds, sharing a few words about the traditions of belly dance, and how the female form was once considered sacred. The workout starts with a 5 minute warm up of gentle arm and body movements with soothing drum beats and in a gorgeous background. The workout goes along separated by body areas-arms, chest, hips, etc. and she teaches basic belly dance movements for each-snake arms, shoulder shimmies, hip circles, hip shimmies, ribcage isolations...the basic foundations of belly dancing.

Each section Dolphina wears a different ensemble, usually an exercise top or choli paired with either a pair of exercise pants or a filmy skirt, and a hip scarf. Some reviews on other websites have scoffed at this and called it "her personal fashion show" but I liked it, as it gave me lots of inspiration of combining my athletic clothing with a few belly dance items to look a little more exotic in class. Each section also has a different background-a lush background full of trees, an indoor paradise with a fireplace, and various others. Move over Calgon-the background and beautiful rhythmic soundtrack "take me away" every time! (I also own the soundtrack to The Goddess Workout and play it often during yoga, in the car, or practicing moves from class.)

Dolphina has a true love of the dance, and it shows. She is a very kind instructor, and explains things well. The only thing I really didn't like was in a couple areas of the workout the camera man focused on her face while she was talking, when he should have done a full body shot so as to better show the rest of her body as she was explaining a certain move. This was not a big deal to me, but to someone not taking a belly dance class and not being familiar with proper positioning, it could be frustrating.

There is also a small section after the workout segment where she teaches a small choreogrpahy using moves used in the video. She wears a full belly dance cabaret style costume in peacock colors during this time. The choreography is nice, but I feel it could have been rehearsed a little more-she seemed a touch akward in this segment.

She ends with a short cool down, wearing a red cabaret costume accompanied by soothing drum beats and her gentle soft voice...once you get used to the new age feel of this video-she has the most soothing voice in the world!

This video is not a cardio workout-in that it will not keep your heart rate elevated a lot for a full 20-30 minutes, but it does have some cardio movements in it such as hip shimmies, and the movements really do tone and train your body in different ways than traditional exercise such as aerobics and weight training. The snake arms will tone your triceps and shoulders, as well as your upper back, and the ribcage isolations will strengthen your abs, obliques, and lower back. Shimmies and hip circles are wonderful for your hips and legs as well. I am not a small woman-but I weighed 185 when I started bellydancing months ago, and now I am at 176...so it does work, and it is freeing and enjoyable, which helps me stick with it...which can't really be said about the "spinning" class at the local gym.

Belly dance is for all women-all shapes, sizes, and ages. You can look great belly dancing if you are 18 or 80, 100 pounds or 300...it celebrates women of all walks of life, and Dolphina truly brings that point across in this workout-that she believes all women are goddesses.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older