DVD Review: FatChanceBellyDance’s Floorwork
 Alright ladies, whether you dance tribal
style, fusion, Egyptian or cabaret... it’s
time to get out your kneepads... Fat Chance
Belly Dance’s "Floorwork" has arrived!
In this
DVD (the eighth volume in the instructional
series, "Tribal
Basics Workshops,") Carolena Nericcio presents
information and techniques for floorwork that
will fit seamlessly into all our lovely flavors
of belly dance.
The DVD includes instruction
on several floor techniques such as the Berber
Walk and Mermaid Turn, as well as a yoga warm-up,
notes on dance anatomy, time for drilling,
and a performance by Fat Chance Belly Dance.
And my favorite part of the DVD: a behind-the-scenes
bonus feature that shows us a more humorous
side of the ladies of Fat Chance!
"Floorwork" opens with a brief discussion
of anatomical factors involved in techniques
on the floor, followed by a yoga warm up led
by Fat Chance dancer and certified yoga instructor,
Anita Lalwani. The nearly 25 minutes of yoga
focuses on hip opening, spinal lengthening
and core strength. When I asked Carolena about
her own yoga habits, she responded, "I do practice
yoga regularly. I find that this hip opener
routine is really helpful for floorwork if
you do it every day." Even for someone who
doesn’t practice every day, this yoga routine
uses poses and language that are easy to follow
and made my body feel limber and ready to hit the
floor.
In the instructional portion of the DVD, Carolena
teaches techniques for getting
to and from the floor, movements to perform
on the floor, and the dramatic
Standing Drop. The movements differ in their
degree of difficulty; some I was
able to perform with a little practice, while
for others I will be working months
or years to develop the strength and timing
needed to properly and beautifully
execute the technique. This spectrum of challenge
makes the DVD valuable to
a wide range of dancers. Regardless of your
dance style, your level of experience
or your level of flexibility, I think you'll
find movements on this DVD to
incorporate into your performance.
Throughout the instructional segments, Carolena's
carefully chosen words describe the subtleties
of
posture that allow us to not only perform the
movement within our natural anatomical framework,
but also create the signature ATS aesthetic
that we crave from a Fat Chance step. The instruction
is
clear and easy to follow, accompanied by demonstrations
of the movement from several angles. I
do wish the instructional section could be
longer, with more discussion of each movement.
(This
may be because I am a Carolena junkie and could
listen to her teach for days!)
In the Performance section of the DVD, the
steps really come alive. The ladies of Fat
Chance Belly
Dance perform a ten minute set that showcases
flooorwork in several formations including
a circle,
a faded quad (chevron formation), facing duets
and the beautiful dueling duet formation. The
performance
shows how floorwork creates a dynamic that
feels intimate, dramatic, and almost ceremonial.
Viewers (especially tribal dancers) will
find plenty of inspiration and ideas in the
performance, not just from the dancing, but
also the costuming, which is colorful and fresh...
very different than the heavier earth tones
we're used to seeing on Fat Chance.
In fact, to me the entire DVD has a lighter
tone than previous volumes. Carolena and the
Fat
Chance dancers seem to allow more of their
humor and charm into the picture. When I asked
Carolena about the tone of the DVD her response
was, "I didn't intend for it to be more
lighthearted,
but it did come out that way! I think the crew
we have now are so easy to work with that it
allows me to be less stressed during filming.
Plus having the whole troupe around makes for
a
pleasant day." This is by far most evident
in the bonus feature "The Making of Floorwork," a
behind
the scenes peek into the Fat Chance Belly Dance
studio.
I've met a few of the dancers and I love seeing
their humor and playfulness in the DVD. It
makes me want to be there., in San Francisco,
dancing with Carolena, chatting about tattoos
and wine (Sounds great, doesn't it) But since
this is real life, (and instead I'm in Eugene,
doing laundry, chatting with my kids about
super heroes
and spelling words) it's nice that "Floorwork" brings
Fat Chance to me!
The DVD, "Tribal Basics Workshop Volume
8: Floorwork" is available for purchase
through the
Fat Chance Belly Dance website (fcbd.com) for
$25. Carolena adds, "Thank you all for
the preorders!
It's great to know we are producing something
that you are interested in."
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