ENTERTAINMENT REALM

Title: Step-by-Step Belly Dance with Leilainia
Running time: 57 min.
MPAA: PG
Release date: March 23, 2010
ASIN: B002VJVCO6
Studio: Acacia
Review source: Acorn Media Group

Leilainia—“Feel sensual and powerful and you dance.”

Need to spice up your workout? Want to try something different and a bit saucy? Do you like yoga, Pilates or Core Fusion? Step-by-Step Belly Dance with Leilainia combines all those elements and is a fantastic workout. It works your abs, glutes, calves, upper body and utilizes many of the same principles as Pilates or yoga. Leilainia is an excellent teacher. She’s amazing to follow particularly when moves get complicated by working your arms and lower body at the same time. Good thing I don’t have a mirror on my wall [though if anyone was watching me through the mirror, I’m sure it wasn’t the prettiest sight]. I’m sure my shimmies look silly and I can’t get my arm motions coordinated with my lower body yet. Need more inspiration? Just look at Leilainia’s torso.

Step-by-Step Belly Dance is a lot of fun though and I worked up a decent sweat and know I worked my core and abs. Who wants to do crunches? I definitely don’t and I find other ways to work my abs and belly dancing really mixes things up. This DVD is a wonderful supplement to other workouts you might be doing. It’s a change of pace. I might not be ready EVER to perform my belly dancing at the Middle East nightclub in Cambridge, Mass. but I can do something kinda sexy once in a while.

Leilainia shows you the basics—the hand and arm movements, [snake arms and framing your face, smile, eyes], the hip pops, the shimmies. Then there are three 15 minute sessions: a high-energy routine with lots of hip action, a total-body toning segment which outlines different techniques and frames for belly dancing and the most fun is the flirty grapevine.