Sarah Skinner is a belly dancer living in New York. This DVD was released in 2007, but I recently purchased this fantastic DVD.

For the first part of the film, Sarah sits down to talk to you about Turkish belly dance. Immediately, you feel as if she is sitting down in your living room, having a one on one with you. I love when dancers do this, because it shows me that she feels her audience is important to her, and giving that extra time to share knowledge, is so sincere.

After the introduction, Sarah has a mini-workshop to show you the different costumes to use for Turkish belly dance. First, she shows different belts. She comments on the origin of the belts, and she shows you which belts to use when doing floor work. Second, she shows you some of her favorite belts and why she cherishes them.

Going onto the different bras. For Sarah, the most important thing to consider when wearing a bra is allowing a dancer to breathe. To get the extra "give" in the bra, Sarah shows you how to use elastic. A final note, Sarah did comment that when performing in restaurants, a dancer may want to consider using a vest. A small best with bell shaped sleeves are good to wear over your bra, making you feel less vulnerable, according to Sarah.

There are different skirts to use with Turkish belly dance. Sarah displays different types of skirts and explains how each serves its purpose. Check out some of the cool Gypsy skirts in her collection!

What dancer goes without the accessories? Sarah explains that arm and wrist bands are important to have. She makes most of her stuff, which is amazing. Head pieces bring the focus to the face. Some head pieces are simple, while others that Sarah shows are very detailed and dazzling to the eye.

There are three performances that Sarah does after her costume workshop. The first is a veil, followed by a ciftetelli, and a drum solo, with drummers.

Ciftetelli and Karsilama are part of Turkish belly dance. Sarah teaches two pieces. The first is to "Rompi Rompi" and the second is to "Mastika". In the introduction, Sarah explains what each song means and why it is important for a dancer to know what song she is dancing to. "You don't want to dance to a song that is about war and sadness", says Sarah.

Sarah does a fantastic job of teaching the different combinations for each piece. In both sessions, she wears a skirt. The front of her skirt is tucked away, so that you can see how she moves her lower body.

Before teaching, she does an overall. You get to see what the performance looks like before she teaches it to you. Throughout the sessions, she stresses different elements to make your dance as beautiful as can be.

You can see more of Sarah Skinner at her website www.shakemyday.com. By the way, she is an expert photographer!