Silk & Feathers: Burlesque Fan Dance course for beginners with Jo Weldon

I purchased the whole Burlesque series-Honey & Spice, Striptease for Burlesque, Silk & Feathers by Jo Weldon, based on the clips I saw at the New York Burlesque school website. It looked like fun & I liked that she taught and that she spoke about about feeling sexy & good about yourself. So I was excited to try these DVDs out.There is alot of good info on these DVDs, history, Burlesque as a art form, tips, positioning and basic instruction. Especially if you have never done this type of thing before. But I found the instructor's persona left me flat & it was hard for me to stay excited about learning the material all the way through, for she seemed to come across as hard & detached.With Silk & Feathers, I wanted to learn how to dance with the Sally Rann type fans- there is lots of prep-how to hold, tips, history, what kind to buy, etc. but there weren't enough actual fan dancing moves taught in the routine. Jo did teach a step by step choreography with them- but it was really a series of short simple poses strung together. It looked ametuer to me. I could have figured out how to do this from what was offered in the reveal & conceal section. Maybe that's just me, I guess I expected too much.The rest of what is taught is with smaller fans & fan veils (bellydance). I personally don't feel they have the same mystic & presence of the large fans, so the rest of the material wasn't relevant for me.I will say there is alot of good information on this dvd. If you are looking for instruction on the large dance fans, this is a good introduction- but there's not enough here to really learn how to dance with them.I wish there were more instructional dvds available on this topic...if there were I would buy them.

I have been a burlesque dancer for about 7 years now and I want to add ostrich fan dancing to my skills. I was in need of a very easy to understand instructional DVD that I could work with on my own time to perfect my technique. This was exactly what I was looking for. I found the routine very easy to learn and with practice I've managed to put together a very simple act that doesn't look too amateurish. If you have worked with fans before this will be review but if you are brand new to the art you will find this a very good resource. There is also a very nice section on the history of the burlesque fan dance. I have shared this DVD with my entire troupe.

It's a good video but not great unless you got the honey and spice video first. Great instruction, nice beginner routines, could have used a little more explanation on what I'm doing with my torso while moving the fans.

Some very good ideas, and movements. Could use more detail about types of feather fans. She is using clear stays, the ones I have are bamboo. Same techniques for most, but the dark bamboo does change the photo shoot.

DVD is very good. Breaks things down and provides good, clear instructions for fan dancing. International shipping took a bit longer than expected.

It was super easy and fun but also very short in duration. It's a great resource for the beginning fan dancer.

Jo Weldon is very informative and explains directions very well. this video is great for ppl who are just starting burlesque classes or who need suggestions on how to organize an on going class. Great organization and clear instruction.

This is a wonderful video for anyone interested in learning the art of fan dancing. Steps are broken down so it's easy to follow. Highly recommended.

Fabulous DVD - as a burlesque teacher I wanted to give that extra oomph to performances. The moves are broken down well and then you can dance the routine. Hints and tips all along the way. Very glad I purchased this.

I bought this DVD after watching the trailer on youtube, and I am very pleased with it. The DVD consists of an introduction to fan dancing, with a detailed look at ostrich fans, hand fans and fan veils and some background on the origins of the fan dance, followed by performances of three fan dances with a breakdown of all the moves Jo uses. Her presentation style is clear, informative and not at all patronising (not always the case with instructional DVDS!). I would recommend this DVD to any burlesque performer; for beginners it provides lots of moves and ideas and for experienced performers there are lots of insights in to the technical aspects of fan dancing. Great music too!

Good detailed DVD easy to follow would definitely reccomend to s beginner

Excellent - Jo is brilliant!

Again another great dvd from the queen of burlesque! Jo's way of teaching is really easy to understand and follow and she breaks the routines down so anyone could follow them. Gives lots of extra information and is very entertaining as well. Great value for money!