Welcome to Fantasy Bellydance. In this DVD: Atlantis flourishes and perishes; Firebird lights the forest with its brilliant feathers; Prince Charming loses his battle with the dragon; pirate wenches clash in a fierce duel... more » an invocation to the Moon goddess is recited in a jewel of a dance; a Mermaid finds and loses love; Salomé asks for the head of the holy man; the Swan Maiden swirls in a magical rite; Eleutheria, Ruler of the deep seas unfolds her tentacles; Android emerges from a Sci-Fi future to save the world with robotic grace; an Amazon warrior is called to the battle; Persephone falls from innocence into dark passion; a fantasy geisha glides mysteriously amid the waves of her silk fans, Aphrodite is born of the sea; a slinky cabaret seductress dances in an old-world port at the crossroads of the planet... This Fantasy Bellydance program features performances by New York City dancers Anasma, Autumn Ward, Ayshe, Blanca, Fayzah, Irina, Neon, Rayhana, Sarah Skinner, Sira, Tanna Valentine, and Uyum Dans (Elisheva and Kittarina), and brings you rich exotic world music by composers from the US, Europe, and Latin America. Fantasy Bellydance with its dreamy, exotic, highly artistic non-traditional dance, has evolved through explorations of many 20th century and post-millennial artists in the West, finding its distinct genre definition and a powerful impetus through lavish and whimsical Fantasy Bellydance concerts hosted in New York City by the Venus Uprising creative salon. This compilation of Fantasy Bellydance performances is based on creations seen at the Cult of Myth show held by Venus Uprising within its Fantasy series. Many artists performing Fantasy Bellydance stay within the vocabulary and technique of traditional bellydance, while others blend it more liberally with modern dance, jazz, and world fusion. Other dancers draw on Tribal technique, aesthetics, and concepts using these to create fantasy themes and images. Fantasy Bellydance is not a technique or style fusion: It is an image fusion, a unity of themes and image aesthetics combined with a diversity of techniques. Fantasy Bellydance reaches for images and themes related neither to the ethnic origins of bellydance nor to the image of a bellydancer as an entertainer. Rather, it embraces dance as theater and plays with spiritual, esoteric, medieval, Gothic, goddess, astrology, mythology, nature, magic, and other themes. Fantasy Bellydance performances echo the plots of fantasy fiction, and borrow from the fantasy aesthetics developed by a number of subcultures - Rock, Gothic, Comic-book, Pagan, Renaissance/Medieval, and more.« less
"Sit back and prepare for a spell binding, enchanting trip into the fantasy world of belly dance!
This is an incredible collection of belly dance styles pieced together by the "best of the best" belly dancers and brought forth by World Dance New York. Very entertaining and displaying skill of dance and great imagination and creativity.
This is not an instructional program. It is a 90 minute collection of performances in many arrays of styles.
Belly dance evolves into a theatrical experience and the dancer is your medium into the creations of the mind. This is a catalyst for any who may have fallen into a dance rut, awakening the visual senses and stimulating creativity as the characters portrayed so beautifully in this collection.
In content:
The presentations vary from the graceful feather in the wind technique as Blanca's to an earthy Irina in her Amazon Warrior performance. There is more; a fabulous presentation by Sira a sensuous sea maiden, and who else but Neon dancing as a golden goddess in Isis Wings and balancing a candle lit tray. Aysche in Isis Wings interprets one of my favorites by Strange Flesh," The Sins of Salome". Tanna Valentine skillfully exhibits an obvious love for silk fan veils in her presentation of a Geisha.
I must mention Anasma, in two contrasting presentations which leave no doubt that belly dance has evolved into fusions of modern dance and yet remain classy and tasteful.
Other fabulous dancers are : Autumn Ward, Sarah Skinner, Fayzah, Rayhana and Kittarina and Elisheva in captivating sword duel.
The menu section allows viewing all the presentations continuously, or select each individual dancer's performance by name. Music and title of interpretation are listed.
What a treat to share with belly dance friends or to enjoy selfishly! Wander off into a mythical land of long ago.. or modern day. Your choice!"
Bellydance-ish fantasy dance
Ligeia | 02/18/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I like innovative approach to dance and was looking forward to this DVD, but alas, big was my dissappointment. When I buy a dvd with a word " Bellydance" in it's title, I expect to see bellydance. However, in this dvd, the amount of bellydance is minimal. Why, when trying innovative or artistic approaches, bellydancers tend to forget their own roots and technique? It makes me me think that dancers feel that bellydance is not good enough for such a purposes, and it makes me sad :(
I give 2 stars instead of one, because production values are good, and there are some charming dancers and dance numbers in this dvd, namely wonderfully expressive Anasma (though she uses far too little bellydance technique to my taste, which I find rather strange, since she is a wonderful ME-dancer) and Autumn Ward."
More fantasy than bellydance..............
mamadoll | houston, tx | 12/23/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Little (or no) bellydancing was harmed in the making of this dvd. I so wanted to love this! I was so hoping to see some awesome bellydancing, but, this was mostly artistic creative movement to music with maybe some occasional bellydance elements thrown in. I appreciate the attempts to create narrative, and the experimentation with costumes, music, staging, and dance forms, but, I was disappointed at the lack of bellydance content."
Too cheesy
E. McKay | Chico, CA | 12/16/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"All the dancers have great technique, however this video is way too cheesy. The "acting" is horrible and some of the costumes are horrendous. I am a belly dancer, and a huge fan of dance, but I had to fast forward through most of this video. I was greatly disappointed."
The Flair for Drama in Dance
Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 05/03/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Imaginative, theatrical, and full of drama, "Fantasy Bellydance" has some of the loveliest and most accomplished dancers in the world performing in it. It is always entertaining, with many magical moments and aesthetic delights. The styles of dance and music are varied, and the good far exceeds the weaker numbers, deserving an overall 5 star rating.
Among my favorite selections are:
Neon's awesome "Swan Maiden," with her superb technique, as she balances a tray full of lit candles on her head, and swirls her shimmering Isis wings. Sheer beauty! Music is by Solace.
Irina's powerful and riveting "The Call of an Amazon Warrior." Excellent lighting and percussive music by Pete List.
Blanca's exquisite "Persephone." Blanca looks and dances like a goddess, and the music adds to the atmosphere, with Jaramar singing "La Llorona," with another Pete List piece following it.
Anasma is a marvelous talent, and she has 2 pieces on the DVD. The 1st, "Prayer to the Moon," is lyrical and expressive, the 2nd, "The Other Prince Charming," brings her fusion of hip hop and belly dance to the fore. Look at her final backbend...amazing!
Autumn Ward has 2 selections, and I love her "Raqs Europa," with its old world waltzy charm, and wonderful music by Jeremy "Lugarshz" Bloom, with its Balkan flavor. Her other piece is the amusing "Atlantis! The Decline and Fall," which begins and ends like a silent film.
There are also 2 pieces from Fayzah Claudia, "Eleutheria" and "Android Dream," which is in a "techo-robotica" style, 2 from Ayshe, #1 "Firebird" and #2 "Emergent," which she dances with Zobeida, "Fantasy Geisha" from Tanna Valentine, "Mermaid's Tears" from Sira, Rayhana's "Aphrodite Born of the Sea," Sarah Skinner's "Salome's Sin," and Uyum Dans (Elisheva and Kittarina) in "The Duel," a gypsy sword dance. Excellent production and performances make this 90 minute DVD a treat to watch!"