Shimmy: The Complete First Season DVD-ROM – DVD

This product arrived undamaged and quickly.My wife and I remember this show on Fit TV years ago and when we came across it on Amazon, we knew it would be a good purchase (to switch up from her yoga and pilates DVDs). First off, we are both physicians and admire the warmup exercises that are presented before each lesson. They utilize common postural stretches in a manner most can relate to. The only unfortunate aspect is that the stretches are not fully instructional. We wish they would tell the person not to over do the stretches, what the proper postural positioning is, and that you should only do a stretching feeling a mild pull/stretching sensation (other than that can cause physiological stress and/or damage). Remember, they are experts, and you are beginning. Do not expect to be as flexible as them, at least not right away. However, this is just two physician's point of view, and honestly, it is more informative than any other exercise video we have seen. My wife discovered, it makes you aware of muscles you never think of (lower body, core, and upper body) while teaching you "basics" in belly dancing (the shimmy aspects).The backdrops are beautiful, the lessons are clear and concise, and the music is placid. Admittedly, sometimes the camera view makes the first time of learning difficult via occasional lacks in visualization of the movements, but overall, its a great system. We recommend both season 1 and 2 to anyone who wants a great workout at home, while expanding your dancing horizons to placid music.We hope this review helps.

I was so happy to see the Shimmy season for such a great price on Amazon! This is thirteen workouts, with dance steps broken down from extremely slow, to a little faster, to pulled together for a short dance, to done at full speed. Very well organized. Even if you are out of shape, as I am now, you can keep up, or just take breaks and make it an interval workout. Even if you are in great shape, as I was ten years ago when I originally watched these classes on television, you will find yourself working muscles in very different ways and getting a nice workout, breaking through plateaus with this as cross training, and developing strength in smaller muscles, flexibility and balance. Fantastic way to have fun with your workout!

I use to be on a belly dancing team in college, but I suck at improve dancing, so I enjoy exercising to this series a lot. There are a few episodes on the second disc that if I'm not wearing my knee brace/wraps (I have runner's knee) they ache and hurt later. Needless to say, I can't shimmy like I use to. This series though is quite fun and each episode runs around 25 minutes long, give or take. The steps are very easy to follow and the camera actually does a good job following the movements to show you exactly what to do. The price keeps dropping on this item as well, so if it's a little out of range, a few more months might lower it. I also know it was very hard to find anywhere, so if you ever followed this on Fit TV you might just want to purchase it before it's too late.

I love this series. It is so much easier to get motivated to exercise when the exercise is dancing, and particularly beautiful dancing at that. The sessions start with a yoga warm-up section. Next there are sections that teach you how to do the dance movements, followed by pulling them all together into a choreography. I appreciate that the tail end of each show is a short freestyle section. That lets the viewer cut loose and engage in the joy of dancing without worrying about whether they are getting the choreography right. The choreograhies and costuming are lovely, and the dancers seem to be genuinely enjoying the dancing themselves. The choice of settings can be a little odd, but the production values are high. I like that they mostly use traditional cabaret style belly dance music. My only disappointment is that there isn't a cool-down. To be fair, for a half-hour tv show, there really wouldn't be time for that. I suggest doing Lumowell's cool down video afterwards. Anyway, great job, ladies!

I'm really pleased to have found this series again after it was canceled from Fit TV.Each Season contains 12 episodes each. What I love about the Shimmy series is that it breaks down the basics of belly dance over a span of episodes, not just an hour DVD. I have purchased several belly dance workouts in the past, hoping to get some practice and lessons outside of the classes I took in person and was always disappointed... for serious learners, this is a must series.In season one, there is a lot of introduction to basic moves.Every move is broken down to the bare basics with baby steps, detailing which parts of your body should be moving at each moment (The narrator is very specific and makes such a big difference in this series). Each episode teaches about 3 to 4 main moves, and then at the end, you combine your moves into a beautiful dance using everything you just learned (the narrator leads you through each step of the final dance).It's really enjoyable and highly recommended.

I like the music and the way everyone is dressed, but as far as me doing the steps as well as them it is not happening very easily. I have to rewind several times or replay several times to get most of the steps needed. I think they should really focus on the steps at a slower pace.

I was stunned when I first came across this program on TV. It is so beautifully done! Wonderful location shots, Great dancers. And enough exercise instruction to give you a good basis in belly-dancing while making you feel as exotic as the cinimatography looks. It's a win/win exercise program all wrapped up into one convinient DVD. If you're sick of yoga and pilates and gym workouts, try Shimmy for your New Year's weight loss program. If nothing else, you'll enjoy watching it while you sit on the couch.