The Golden Apple- Bellydance Stars from New York

This is a performance dvd- not a workout, instructional. I'm posting a review here because we seem to have some dancers and people interested in dance so someone might buy this looking for choreography ideas or to try to follow along with the dancers to learn dance that way.

If you want a performance disc (for whatever reason), there are much better ones to pick. First, the production is just wacky. At times its grainy, and there are some effects that detract from actually seeing the dancers and some of the camera angles are just bad. The music will not be to many people's taste. Mostly, its a fusion of techno- new age with some provacative lyrics with lines about secret places and the body temple, come in and find love. If you've got a problem with sexualizing belly dance, stay away. especially since some of the dancers' floorwork looks more like writhing around rather than floorwork.

The dancers are all very good. If you use performance tapes to try to improve your dancing, any of them would be fine to watch, sexy moves aside. Neon, in particular, is extremely dynamic to watch with incredible power and control to her moves. Its ironic, then, that one of the songs she dances to has lyrics about loosing control and being spontaneous! Also, Jehan,a plus sized dancer, moves over the stage with power and confidence, though her number is one of the more sexual ones. regardless her skill and charisma is at least equal to any of the others on this disc. You'll probably enjoy these performances and find them useful if you like techno music and prefer a fusion nightclub style performance to your bellydancing. If you're about traditional, ethnic or tribal dancing, this isn't going to appeal to you. The production quality occassionally makes it hard to see the dancers clearly and well so this is not the best choice if you're trying to use performance tapes to improve your own dancing.