| | |  | DANCE PERFORMANCES | Home » » Gothic Bellydance | | | | | | | Description: | | Studio: Stratostream Release Date: 11/10/2006 | | | Features: | |
• Stark.sublime.intense. The phenomenon of Gothic Bellydance or "Raks Gothique" is a multitude of poetic visions born out of the Goth, or Gothic, subculture, music, imagery and fashion, and expressed in the language of Bellydance. Modern "Bellydance" is an amalgam of historical dance styles coming from both East and West. Its diverse vocabulary allows the dancer to experiment with the widest ra
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Ayshe, Ariellah, Asharah, Blanca, Jehan | | Format:
| Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| StratoStream - WorldDance New York | | Run Time:
| 85 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| March 30, 2006 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 68 reviews |
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| Used | |
| $5.77 | Used
- Good | | | $5.95 | Used
- Mint | | | $6.97 | Used
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- VeryGood | | | $7.76 | Used
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 68 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 Shiny!Apr 19, 2006
By R. Hannah
I'm an old school goth, plus I bellydance, so it's unlikely that I'd hate any DVD that combined the two! If you buy this and put it on and expect something traditional then you are going to be disappointed. Don't buy it with that expectation. You're going to get a fusion of styles, non-traditional dance music in some cases, and the overall styling of the disc is totally gothic. Which one would naturally expect in a DVD showcasing raks gothique. I think one must approach the disc from that place in order to get it.
I enjoyed most of the performances. Only two made me say "ho hum, next!" or "oh dear god no." and hit the skip key. There were some pieces that were completely enthralling and I found it fascinating to see how the dancers meshed traditional bellydance moves with gothic music and styling. As with most dance DVDs that feature several dancers, there were highs and lows. Several of the dancers are obviously very experienced and have amazing technique and control while a few seem like they are perhaps newer dancers. Even so, overall, the quality of dance throughout was good. I walked away feeling inspired and challenged as a dancer after watching several of the pieces. Standouts for me were Neon, Ariellah and Asharah. I really enjoyed Tempest's outstanding veilwork. Lovely. I could have done without some of the overlays during dance pieces but I liked the words which flashed up on screen and I felt that the camerawork was well done.
Tempest and other gothic bellydancers have created something unique in the dance world and I'm pleased to see the vision realized with an actual DVD. I think this is a nice addition to my dance video collection and I've watched it several times since getting it in the mail. Brava!
63 of 71 found the following review helpful:
Very Interesting....!Apr 15, 2006
By Cowboy Buddha
Gothic and Bellydance are perhaps not the most obvious combination in the world but this DVD demonstrates that it can be a very intriguing and entertaining mixture. Although it is hardly purely gothic and the choreography has lots of influences way beyond traditional bellydance. The costumes and makeup were certainly stunning. Not all the music was to my taste (but I'm merely showing my age here) but it did suit the atmosphere and the performances.
The presentation of the DVD itself cetainly will provoke mixed reactions. From the main menu, I made the mistake of going straight into "Play" which produced the 85 minute series of dances with absolutely no information about who was dancing or what the dance was supposed to be about. For that, you need to go into "Visions" where you will find all you need to know about the performers. But, considering all the artsy overlays used during the dances, a quick caption before each one wouldn't have hurt.
At first, I thought the artsy approach to the visual style might detract from the actual dancing but the camerawork generally served the choreography rather than the other way around, with a minimum of abrupt cuts and the dancer almost always being framed in full figure. Even so, some of the imagery seemed excessive although it was probably included to reinforce the gothic theme. But flashing song lyrics on the screen was definitely unnecessary.
As for the performances themselves, as can be expected with such a mixed program, there were highs and lows. My favorite dancers were Ariellah, Ayshe, Tanna and Tempest. They seemed to capure the intended mood perfectly. But Jehan's performance seemed more like a Madonna video than bellydance and Neon kept reminding me of Sandahl Bergman in Conan the Barbarian (that's not necessarily a bad thing). Compared to the other dancers, the duets by Raven & Ya Meena were rather uninspiring and repetitive.
Overall, I found the performances quite intriguing while my wife seemed to love nearly every minute. It would be interesting to see these dancers in front of an audience where that interaction might produce a bit more sparkle and spontaneity. I know the emphasis on these performances is supposed to be gothic, but it would have been nice if the dancers could occasionally crack a smile just to indicate that they were really enjoying what they were doing.
44 of 52 found the following review helpful:
 Refreshingly Unique!Apr 09, 2006
By Elyse Reardon
"elyse"
Okay granted, I am a devote goth of nearly 20 years, so it's hard to imagine my not loving at least part of this dvd. It was so great to hear these musical selections paired with such intense costuming and choreography. With the exception of the two more music video-based selections, I whole-heartedly disagree with the reviewer who said this was over-the-top and cheesy. The majority of these pieces were wonderfully mysterious and dramatic in their presentation.
The formatting is awkward, in that you have to access the "Visions" menu in order to find out the name of the performer (and no track listing anywhere!), but I am very pleased that the camera work was seamless and natural. (Bad dance camerawork is a *big* pet peeve!) I can't disagree with the reviewer who said the overlays were a bit much, but I didn't find them too tiresome.
A few of the dancers struck me as exceptional, and several others just had exquisite artistry working with costumes and imagery. I admit, I had to pass over two of the tracks, but the remainder definitely made up for their failing. So most of the dancers aren't on par with the Superstars (Ariellah & Neon certainly were, though!)- I'm just so glad something like this was made.
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
hhhhhmmmmm........Apr 05, 2006
By Heather
Well, I have a 50/50 review of this DVD. I really liked about half of the dances and the other half left me thinking WTF?? I was really taken aback with the whole girl on girl bondage routine and the black 80's prom dress with stripper heels routine. I am a huge fan of gothic bellydance (and even perform it myself) but I felt like I had to double check and make sure the TV didn't accidently switch to HBO's Real Sex show.There are the obviously amazingly talented dancers on there and those are the more "known/popular" dancers and make the DVD worth watching but some of the other dancers seemed like they were studio hafla quality dancers. And some just seemed like an excuse to make a short music video and was used to fill in space. I love the idea and love the fact that gothic bellydance is becoming more mainstream, but we dont have to "porn" ourselves out to be considered gothic.
23 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 Not much about itFeb 27, 2007
By Covergirl97
First of all I was expecting more. I am a bellydance and I've been following many of the tribal fusion movement. I have seen gothic bellydance before and liked it, but it does not compare to what I saw on this DVD. Was not impressed. Maybe 3-4 performances I actually liked.
The dancers I believe lack a lot of technical ability in their dance and need to practice more or change teachers. There was a lot of poor posture, bad arms, bad technique and unimpressive choreography. A lot of these dances would have been stronger had they just interpreted the music better. Instead what I am left in my mind is what the heck was that girl thinking, instead of a dance with decent skills. There wasn't much bellydancing in this video. Also there was a lot of bad acting during some of these dances. It came off more goofy and I wanted to laugh. Goth is not something you act, its something you feel. I think many of these girls were orginally cabaret dancers and and making the switch over to tribal fusion and I don't think its a good fit for them. I know Neon is not trbal dancer and in my opinion it shows. I also thought there was a lack of feminity and smooth flow in moves, some where really jerky and I think it just boils down to bad technique. I noticed a bunch of the bios said they followed the Suhaila Shalimpour format or studied from someone who did and I clearly don't see it. Suhaila is a phenomenal dancer that pushes technique.
Enough with that. One word of caution if you are watching this with a child or young person, please do not watch the jehan part. There is a lot of lesbianism, dominatrix, and I really didn't need to see her thong pulled up over her pants. That part was almost adult video store. And the singing is horrible and there was no dancing besides a few seconds, but you forget about that when you see the rest of it and the bad acting. I'm sorry as a performer that was just absolute rubbish and almost insulting to the rest of us bellydancers who work so hard to promote bellydancing as something for women in a nonsexual manner.
As for the prodution of the video, I found some of the performances a little too dark, you really miss out on some of the dancers moves. And I agree with a few of the previous reviews it looks like they worked more on the editing of the video with the visual effects then on the dances. and the switching of the backgrounds was a little much and detracts from the dancer
Overall I would have given this video no stars but there was some performances that I actually like so i will give credit to some of the dancers. If you are curious then buy this video. If you are questioning purchasing I would advise against it. Spend your money else on something more worthwhile.
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