Paperback: 344 pages
Publisher: Human Kinetics; 3 edition (November 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736095071
ISBN-13: 978-0736095075
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.9 x 10.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #118,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Ballroom #1 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Popular #11193 in Books > Humor & Entertainment
I was looking for a dance instruction book with which to refresh some dance steps learned long time ago; this search led me to check out Judy Patterson Wright's Social Dance - Steps to Success (2nd Edition) from the local public library. I was happy enough with this book (with a music CD) and was trying to order the book from . By sheer luck, I found that there was a third edition, with a DVD. This book and DVD combination is the best value among the many Dance DVD's I have looked at from the local library -- I browsed through about 12 such DVD's.Let me elaborate why I believe this book-DVD-combination is such a fantastic value for me.1. The highly acclaimed book was expanded and brought up to date with new pictures; a couple of additional dance styles as well as expanded chapters (about 100 page additional materials added) make the book itself more than worth the total price;2. The DVD is fantastic -- the demonstrations are clear, attractive, economical in presentation, and contain many more variations for each dance than most other books I have looked at. Male and female separate parts are shown together and therefore eliminated usually boring repeats that eats up unnecessary time. This presentation method represents a clear innovation.3. One of my biggest stumbling block was identifying music and recognizing the underlying beat and matching those with appropriate dance. The instructions and the music CD helped me to overcome this uneasiness for me.I am preparing my retirement and looking for a dancing nights on cruises: with this book and DVD combination, I feel confident that I will be knowledgeable and polished enough to enjoy any and all type of ballroom dances. This is my first review ever on -- a spontaneous reaction to my gratitude to Judy Patterson Wright and producers of this wonderful book-DVD combination.
I teach dance and am a stickler for teaching small details to my dance students. This book and DVD were far more than I expected and includes fantastic details that are essential for good dancing. Judy Wright has done an incredible job. Both the book and DVD are beautifully put together. The book has so many of the tips you need to be a good dancer and the DVD is great for demonstrating the steps. I liked being able to see the moves done from both the front and the back with nice exercises that progress you step by step. You will save yourself so much time learning to dance by using this book & DVD rather than trying to learn using YouTube dance videos. This is the next best thing to taking a class. I think even if you are taking a ballroom dance class, this book will serve as a great reminder of how to do the steps you've learned in your class. If you are one of those folks that are too embarrassed to take a ballroom dance class, or you can't get your spouse to attend a class to learn to dance then this is the book for you.
Social Dance Steps to Success, 3rd edition, by Judy Patterson is an excellent resource for basic dance rhythms and techniques for ten social dances including merengue, four-count swing/hustle, waltz, six-count swing, foxtrot, polka, cha-cha, rumba, tango, and salsa/mambo. The 323-page book devotes a chapter to each of the above dances showing step patterns and drills for steps and turns. The last couple of chapters give strategies and drills for dance floor etiquette enabling couples to move from practice to social dance settings. Best of all, a DVD is included demonstrating key movements of the dances on side A, and music soundtracks are provided for practice on side B. The drills and step patterns described in the book, the demonstrations of dance steps on the DVD, and the music soundtracks for practice make this a "must-have" book.
Social Dance is a great book to learn how to ballroom dance. The instructions are organized very clearly. There are numerous exercises in order to get your muscle memory. My wife and I have really advanced using this book, it really got us off on the "right foot". The book and the DVD complement each other very clearly. If you can't understand something from the text, you can most likely pick it up from the DVD. And if you can't grasp something from the DVD, the book explains the technique very clearly. If you are starting out to dance, or are taking dance lessons and wish to have something to look at when you get home and find you "forgot" most of what the lesson was about; this book can help. I highly recommend it. This book would be a bargain at $100.
I watched the entire dvd and liked the short to the point series of clips for figures of each dance. I was able to go through the dances I was most interested in, and get a good overview in minutes, and then go back and watch each individual figure at my pace. I have been dancing for a few years, so it was easy to follow. A novice to dancing might not be able to digest the info in the fast presentation, but all the info is there on steps, body positioning, leading, following, timing, etc. A great buy!
I can truthfully say that I enjoyed "Social Dance: Steps to Success" by Judy Patterson Wright who I know to be a beautiful dancer along with her husband Sam. She has given specific instruction as to performing steps in the different dances along with the foot positions diagrammed. Correct body position and frame. are also addressed along with character of each dance, I really enjoyed the video which aptly shows execution of dance broken down in segments and then a repeat of the amalgamation of steps for the viewers to practice. Indeed this is a good reference for dancers and should answer many technical questions that arise in the learning process. The demonstrators in the video are excellent.-Eleanor Edwards
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