| | |  | IRISH & ENGLISH ISLES | Home » » Dances of India: Ancient to Modern with Meera | | | | | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Meera Varma | | Format:
| Dolby, Digital Sound, NTSC, Color | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Akasha Productions | | Run Time:
| 89 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| October 03, 2006 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 6 reviews |
| | | | Used and New: | | | |
| All | |
| $6.50 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.50 | New | | | $8.53 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $17.49 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $19.99 | New | | | $21.45 | New | | | $24.95 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $29.93 | Used
- Mint | | | $29.93 | New | |
| New | |
| $6.50 | New | | | $19.99 | New | | | $21.45 | New | | | $24.95 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $29.93 | New | |
| Used | |
| $6.50 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.53 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $17.49 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $29.93 | Used
- Mint | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 6 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 If you love Bollywood or Fusion, you want this DVD!Oct 28, 2007
By Michele Reichek
"Creatively Free Spirited"
I am slightly biased in that I have met the wonderful Meera, taken dance workshop with her, and I knew right away that she was kind, professional, and knows what she is talking about. However, this DVD makes her shine even more in my eyes....it's awesome!
It has easy to follow instructions and short history about the various styles of dance she presents. Even beginners will be up and moving right away. An added bonus is the final presentation of each choreography you learn has Meera in full costume. As someone who loves the presentation of costume as well as dance, I enjoyed getting an idea of what is appropriate to wear when dancing these styles.
I also greatly appreciated that she is able to maintain appropriate respect. She makes it clear what you are learning is from a sacred devotion, and that she will present only a small portion of it for that reason. You can tell she loves and respects Indian dance, and isn't just trying to make a buck with this DVD. There is also a visual library of the mudras towards the end, which I found very helpful.
All in all, a great DVD and well worth it's price. Highly recommended!
15 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Great for those interested in learning bollywood dancingJan 15, 2007
By S. Pernsley
"Ameretat"
This is a great intro to Bollywood dancing. The best part is that you see all the different angles and close ups of what you really need to see what she is talking about. Even the quick lesson on different hand postions for dance. Even though the steps seem simple, it gets you moving in different ways you wouldn't think of being in for bellydancing. I didn't like the performance part of the DVD though. It seems more for the MTV set than for someone to enjoy the performance. I would have really loved to see how she did the six swords as a dance instead of a pose. Worth the money and the time.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Interesting and fun...Dec 21, 2007
By Kyra_Athena
"Kyra_Athena"
If you're looking at Meera's DVDs for the first time, I would try this one. There are four DVDs available on Amazon. The chapters on this one seem to be shorter segments of the other 3 DVDS according to the description. I'm not sure if they are abridged or edited versions, but that is what it appears like to me.
As I had never heard of Meera, I was cautious about purchasing her DVD. Living in the USA, I haven't had much exposure to Bollywood and Indian pop music either.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a high-energy and fun dance routine. I must agree the set looks like MTV goes to India, but at least it's not boring.
She clearly describes what she is doing and you can see her clearly. There is a "distance" to the filming which makes it appear farther away than it should and it doesn't look as professional as it should for the price ($24.95 at Amazon). At least I didn't notice any weird close ups or angles. The music was tolerable and didn't annoy me.
Individuals who like smooth and fluid exercise should enjoy this DVD, like dance or yoga. Meera actually incorporates some yoga into this DVD as well.
 a sampler plateJul 02, 2011
By Shannon B Davis
"Nepenthe"
This DVD is an appetizer sampler plate of some of the dances of India, the three that are most widely known: Bollywood, BharatNatyam and Bhangra.
Meera is a charming instructor, very clear, and does a good job of breaking things down. The video had enough repetition to pick up on the movements. She opens with a yoga (sun salutation) warmup, and each segment has a cooldown. Meera created two combinations for each style of dance, each with approximately 3-4 movements. The Bollywood combinations began slow and then became bouncy. The classical portion was slow and grand, a dedication to Shiva. I haven't viewed the Bhangra section in detail yet, but I'm sure it's the most energetic of them all. As someone with no experience in Indian dance, I was able to follow along with these combos, although I was quite sure there were many nuances I was missing. Sometimes movements didn't seem to flow fluidly one to another for my body, although they did look great on Meera. Such is the way when we learn new things. Overall, it was a good introduction to some Indian dances, covering classical, folk and a modern fusion. I would buy another Meera DVD, if it promised to go into more detail. I also bought Bollywood Dance for Beginners with Jaya Vaswani, and from what I've viewed so far, it seems to be a bit more detailed - but it focuses entirely on Bollywood.
I appreciate the educational focus, showing where the dances were from - or the meanings of the movements in the case of the classical dance section. This aspect was rather light, but appropriate to the type of video this is. There were a number of extras, however - one section showed all of the hasta mudras - though without explaining their particular meaning - and another section was a music video. Finally, there was a short section on the history of the dances.
It is not a fitness video. While the viewer will use their muscles - mine were especially engaged with the precise arm and hand positions - and at some opints the bouncy steps lead to an increased heartrate, the pace isn't consistent enough to be a workout. Of course, I bought this as a dance instructional - and that's exactly what I got. People looking for a dance-related workout have many options, including Honey Kalaria's Bollywood Workout and Masala Bhangra Workout, Vol. 1: Basic Style - both of which I have enjoyed.
Indian Dance with MeeraJul 02, 2010
By K. Hamsher
This is a wonderful dance dvd for learning a little bit of everything India has to offer in the three main dance styles. Professionally done and filmed in a nice studio.
See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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