"Belly Dance with Veil" DVD by Sarah Skinner - open level

Veil dance is one of the most glamorous and visually stunning genres of belly dance. Its expressive language conveys a wide range of moods - mysterious, romantic, celebratory, spiritual, meditative... Bellydance with Veil, created by New York City belly dance star Sarah Skinner, is an instructional open-level program teaching the technique of veil dance from the basics of veil manipulation to the nuances of carriage, body lines, and tips for achieving an effortless, flawless performance.

Sarah’s Veil Technique section is designed as both, a learning and reference tool: Veil dance moves are arranged in functional categories:

1. Hand and arm positions; body lines

2. Veil dance entrances and wraps

3. Turns - traveling and in place

4. Veil cascades and waterfalls

5. Traveling steps

6. Veil twists and switches

7. Veil dance endings

8. Mishap recovery

Each veil move is broken down step-by-step and practiced with music. Within each category a number of steps are assembled into a combination ready to use in your veil dance.

In the Choreography section Sarah demonstrates and teaches a full veil dance choreography incorporating the moves presented in the technique section. She provides tips for expression and adapting the choreography to one’s individual style.

A special section in the program is devoted to veil selection and logistics: Sarah goes over types, textures, sources, and qualities of veil fabric, explains the correlation between veil length and fabric weight, and discusses veil shapes, edge trims, and the aesthetics of veil dance as these relate to fabric weight and transparency. Illustrating every point with her amazing selection of veils, Sarah tests each for its qualities in floating, filling with air, sheerness, and ease of manipulation.

Sarah’s own style of veil dance is uniquely lyrical, sophisticated, and distinctive in its effortless elegance of execution. Sarah believes that veil “tricks” and methods of mishap recovery are an important gateway technique. Once mastered, this knowledge will take you to a new level of freedom in interacting with the veil, and create flawlessness and individuality of style through intuitive blending of diverse veil patterns and steps.