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READER REVIEWS....

A must have for understanding/developing skills.
This book is the most comprehensive dance guide for Middle Eastern/Bellydancers I have ever seen. By using photos, geometric diagrams, and visual comparisons of posture, the author, a well known dancer herself, has organized all the essential movement techniques in a format that is especially beneficial for the visual learner. Also included are easy to understand chapters on middle eastern rhythms and playing zills. I have never read a how to-bellydance book this valuable before-I only wish it had been available to me 30 years ago when I started dancing. I look forward to upcoming volumes.

What a treasure!!!!
This book is the most complete, comprehensive collection about the elements of belly dance - applicable to any style. It's detailed about body positioning, showing the proper alignment of the body in different movements as well as what to avoid to prevent injury. I agree that it certainly does not take the place of consistently working with a qualified instructor, but as a meaty practice companion - its top rate! I too wish I had this when starting out, (I've been searching for a book like this since I started dancing, nearly 3 years ago) - but I'm so glad I now have it now!! Its worth every penny - thank you, Zanbaka for providing a terrific resource!

Can you say BELLY DANCE TEXTBOOK?
What a brave, intelligent, and genius undertaking! I’ve read it 3 times already and it’s completely changed how I dance and teach my classes. IMO, this is the closest thing the belly dance community has to a “textbook”. It’s modern, unbiased to style, and includes fitness common sense which lots of classes and workshops that I’ve taken lack. A leg driven, glute driven, and oblique driven shimmy all in the same place? And that’s only 3 of the shimmies covered. Zanbaka, I think your book is going to put so much of the quarreling over styles and how to do bellydance moves to rest. I’m crossing my fingers that you get sought out by a publisher and look forward to the next installment!

Volume I : Foundations-- Very thorough!
I was very excited to see a new book come out on the market that discusses belly dance, especially in the manner in which Zanbaka does here. Here we find an intelligent and technically rich volume with great definitions and resources for your own personal practice, as well as a great handbook to refer to when making lesson plans as an instructor. CERTAINLY this book does not replace instruction, as Zanbaka states clearly, however if you are looking for a book with many movement concepts to wrap your head around, inside and out, for both your practice and your students', here it is! Well done! Can't wait for the next Volume(s)!!! :)

Where to begin...
    This book boggles the mind, and in a very good way! Not intended for any particular style of bellydance, any instructor and/or student can benefit greatly from this wonderfully structured presentation. Zanbaka starts out by introducing the concept of the book, and the series (which will have 7 volumes). She is a proponent of using all learning styles to convey information. The book is meant to be the mental, rational companion of a very physical activity. Zanbaka is a firm believer in first learning high quality technique and isolations before adding stylistic elements, which is why this book is a must for anyone wishing to have a bellydance workbook.
    Zanbaka includes a 'how to use this book' section, a brief history and styles, an introduction to learning styles (she defines ten styles), naming conventions of moves and a way to accurately refer to each move. She maps out the bellydance body, showing the regions and individual muscles that come into play during bellydance. Next, she moves on to injury prevention and a unique perspective on stretching and warming up. Posture and balance are addressed, with a simple technique to assure your pelvis is in neutral position. Next, three standard bellydance rhythms are broken down and a basic counting lesson is given. A practice structure follows, showing the advantages of each practice section.
    Zanbaka then explains how to verbally orient yourself in the physical world. This is extremely helpful and eliminates the need for phrases like: 'your right' or 'stage right'. Foot positions, basic levels and foot patterns are defined and discussed next. We move on to the two warm up phases. The first phase is a 'get your body going' kind of warm up and the second one includes light stretching and toning. Several basic turns are discussed next.
    Zanbaka moves on to isolations, which includes positioning, degrees, contradictory movement, shimmy, shape making, percussive/smooth, undulation and layering concepts. After digesting these concepts, isolations are presented for each region of the body, which include: head, shoulder, hand, wrist, arm, ribcage, abdominal and hip isolations. Greater attention is then paid to shimmies by going into more detail and showing how shimmies can be powered differently.
    Flamenco clapping (palmas) and finger cymbals are introduced, followed by a two-phase cool down. Deep stretching is introduced. A brief discussion of transitions closes the instructional part of the book. At the end of the book, there is a 10 Practice Sessions outline, a closing which includes developing presence, gaining constructive feedback and corrections, and raising the bar for bellydance. A bibliography and index are included at the end.
    All of this is written in clear, concise and well-defined language. This book is the bridge that has been needed for bellydance students and instructors everywhere. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's only 195 pages long, and it has over 170 illustrations and photos, but it is so packed with information, you will refer to it again and again, whether you are a beginner, a seasoned performer, a student, or an instructor. Well worth the price. It goes on the shelf next to "The Tribal Bible".
    This volume will be followed with: II. Shapes, Patterns & Layers, III. More Shapes, Patterns & Layers, IV. History, Styles, & Fusion w/ Fortitude (w/ guest writers), V. Floorwork, Veilwork, Props & Dangerous Diversions, VI. Choreography & Free Form Improvisation, VII. Zanbaka's Repertoire for Tribal Group Improvisation.

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