This is a great introduction to the veil by one of my favorite instructors. Princess Farhana is one of my favorites partly because of her technical competence but mostly because I think she’s the embodiment of a true exotic dance artist. She’s a unique personality and it’s befitting that she’s named “Princess”.
She begins with an introduction about how central veil work is to a belly dance performance in the mind of a contemporary audience. She addresses the difference between Egyptian, Turkish or Cabaret styles in their use and style of veils.
She also goes over the different kinds of veils that are available; the fabrics, sizes and shapes and how they might be useful for a dancer. There’s also a section how to care for them.
The instructional part begins with a warm up with lots of shoulder rolls. Other chapters include hand and arm positions for holding and moving with a veil, different kinds of poses and how to use the veil to frame different parts of the body to showcase movement, chapters on entrances and exits and veil discards.
Also covered are basic movements like an easy butterfly flutter and angel wings, how to turn and transition from move to move, as well as tips on using zills and veil together.
Her instruction on how to get the veil to move beautiful is very clear and effective and she goes over each movement several times with each hand and from a front and back view so it’s easy to follow along with your own veil at home. The bonus performance is a vibrant one showcasing her skill with the veil as well as her amazing flutters!
Princess Farhana really shows how fun it is to experiment with the conceal and reveal aspect of veil work. In this respect, I really admire how much she “gets it”- that element that I think goes unaddressed by many in the belly dance community.
What I mean is, the connection between belly dance and other “exotic” dance forms. Perhaps this is because Princess Farhana is also a burlesque performer, but her innate and unapologetic understanding of the connection of play and tease is one of the reasons I’m such a big fan of hers.
As always, I can easily recommend any video by Princess Farhana. Particularly for the newer dancer that hasn’t ever worked with a veil, this DVD covers everything you need to know to add this beautiful prop to your repertoire!
Click here to Buy Veil Obedience From Princess Farhana’s Website.
Princess Farhana Veil Obedience School: How To Be A Material Girl 2006 (1 Hour 7 Min)
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