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The connection and interdependence between yoga and belly dance are explored in Tribal Fusion, a reasonably comprehensive and intense program drawing on both disciplines and demonstrated by the remarkable Rachel Brice. Practices of three different lengths (15, 30, and about 40 minutes) are offered; elements in the shorter practices are repeated and expanded on in the longer ones. The yoga portions include some basic sun salutations, lunges, backbends (specifically the locust pose), and such; the more extensive belly dancing exercises and undulations focus on the hips, the chest, and shoulders. Brice's instructions are efficient, if sometimes a bit on the brisk side (it's one thing to exhort students to practice ujjayi pranayama, the deep, audible nostril breathing style used in yoga; it's quite another to do so without even saying what it is, let alone showing how it's done). Whether or not any of the female users for which this DVD is intended will be able to replicate Brice's belly dancing moves is open to question, as her technique and amazingly toned body make things look easy when, in fact, mere mortals may find them baffling, to say the least. Moreover, although Carolena Nericcio, one of Brice's mentors and the "hostess" of this program, stresses that "the main attraction (of belly dancing) is delight," Brice doesn't seem to be having much fun, never so much as cracking a smile. Little matter. When you're this good, there's no need to kid around. --Sam Graham
Trailer
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