DVD Learn To Swing Dance (3 Hours of Instruction from Beginner to Advanced)

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Summary: I love to Lindy
Review: I started dancing about 6 months ago. I was really excited about the dance. It is fun and energetic! Well, I had to move and could no longer take the local swing classes I was attending. So, I bought this tape. Just comparing them to the professional swing dancers at a swing camp I went to in California, their knowledge was minimal and sloppy. Overall, I was disappointed with the video. I did though find videos later that the professional at that camps made. They were wonderful. Overall, if your looking for a tape that teaches you a style that is good for dancing to very RETRO music and you are NOT expecting to make swing dancing a long-term hobby, I recommend this video. But, if you want to dance to the good ole big band music and lindy like they did in the 40's, I recommend a different video than this.

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Summary: A good example of how NOT to make a dance video.
Review: Of the nearly 200 tapes in my dance training collection, this is among the worse. Although it appears to be a good value in terms of the large number of moves shown for the cost, as well as the fact that it teaches moves suitable for single-step basic (suitable for Rock n Roll music) and triple-step basic (suitable for slower tempos of swing) it includes virtually no explanation. This package demonstrates rather than teaches the dance figures. Virtually the only narration is "step, step, rockstep" throughout. Critically important explanation of how to lead and follow dance moves are altogether absent. An especially poor selection for a beginning dancer who needs to learn the basics in order to actually be able to dance, and not likely useful for a more advanced dancer, who would probably already know the moves shown in this package. The best choice for a beginner wishing to learn swing dancing is to search the web for tapes by Paul Overton and Sharon Ashe -- these are the finest swing dance tapes I've ever seen (I own most of the swing dance tapes which are available). Also a good choice are those by Chris Yee and Julee Mertz, which are sold by Amazon. If you wish to learn the more difficult 1930s style of swing dancing, called the Lindy Hop, Yee and Mertz' tapes are also a good choice for the absoluate beginner, though I would recommend working through their "6 count swing" tapes, first. A word of advice to absolute beginners: it isn't the nuber of moves that you know that will make you a good dancer -- it's how well you are able to lead (or follow, for the woman) dance moves, so it is particularly important to purchase tapes which teach you good technique and actually explain how to dance, rather than showing you a gazillion moves.

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Summary: EDITORIAL REVIEW FOR LIBRARY JOURNAL
Review: This two tape set, is jam packed with 32 moves, including everything from basic Turns to Swivels, Kicks and syncopated steps. You learn steps from the Single and Triple Swing.The instructors demonstrate each step to music followed by the "guy's gig" and "gal's gig" in which clear shots of footwork and body movement show the leader's and follower's patterns. Follow up demos of each move are done to both show and fast music and a review sequence is shown after every five steps. High production value and higly recommend!