Review of World Dance New York “Love Potion” Bellydance Fitness DVD

Love Potion from World Dance New York is the unofficial sequel to Luscious, a previous entry into the bellydance fitness market with the same instructors: Neon, Blanca and Sarah Skinner . Using American bellydance technique, they put together a drill session and workout. In addition to drilling the movements, the instructors make note of head angles, posture, and grace – the little details that make the dancer. As always, beautiful and flattering costumes are worn by the three instructors, varying by each section, and each of them trade off leading. The DVD is split into 7 different sections, each with a different inspiring name such as "Creative Flame" or "Goddess". There is a feel-good element to the DVD as well, little mantras uttered at the beginning of each section about loving yourself, talking about how shimmies give us joy. So, if you need a bit of a psychological boost, this DVD may just give you one. If not, these sentiments easily fade into the background.

It is more advanced than Luscious, as few movements are drilled consecutively and everything is mapped quickly into a combination. The viewer is expected to pick up on the combinations quickly and follow them, which is the reason why this is more of an intermediate/advanced DVD. There is, however, a beginner's practice flow, which goes through each of the sequences slower. I actually consider this to be a good thing, as the DVD will keep me entertained even if I repeat it over and over, which as a fitness DVD, I intend to do.

The movements themselves are not advanced – ranging from smooth moves like pelvic circles and infinity loops to hip accents and shimmies. You will get a core workout if you are utilizing proper posture, maintaining your core, and – as my teacher says – squeezing your princess. After the 40 minutes, I'm actually feeling it! For the cardio aspect, it's hard to gauge, since I'm 8 months pregnant and we don't seem to have the air conditioning on. I was sweating, but I don't know if the average person would. You might even see it as a "interval" workout, since the sections varied from undulating and circling movements to the more intense hip drops, accents, and shimmies, and back again.

The DVD is set to new-agey music. Most of it was OK. As a huge fan of Arabic music, the music on this DVD didn't really get going. It did make for nice backdrop music, but I wouldn't run out and buy the CD. The last section, where many of the combinations are joined into a dance, is set to a composition called "Goddess". I found myself feeling a little funny about the music – I just don't go in for this sort of thing, sung in English. It's very goddess-power type stuff. I don't object to the message, but it's not really my thing either. Luckily I was alone in the dance studio because otherwise I would feel pretty silly dancing around to "I'm a Goddess, Set me Free" if anyone could see me. That said, it's really nice to see the combinations and movements displayed in a dance, that was obviously connected to the music (as dance should be), and the dancers/instructors on this DVD display grace and, well, a goddess-quality when they demonstrate this section.

I should also mention that either of the two workouts on this DVD, Love Potion and Beginner Flow, can be done without voice cues, with the music only.

Overall, I got exactly what I ordered, a fitness dvd that works my core, drills my bellydance vocabulary, and keeps me entertained as I do it.