I am extremely new to dancing. My girlfriend and I really want to learn how to ballroom dance, but there is no one near us that teaches. We have been looking up videos and the one we found was "How to Dance Through Time"

http://www.amazon.com/How-Dance-Through-Time-Vol/dp/B00013F2YU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6810012-3050338?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1181062190&sr=1-1

Another one I just found is the "Ballroom 10 Dance Collection Series"

http://www.amazon.com/Ballroom-10-Dance-Collection-1/dp/B000EFQYHE/ref=sr_1_3/104-6810012-3050338?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1181065719&sr=8-3

This sounds really fun to us, but we do not know for sure if it is a good buy. What would you guys recommend? Which video, or any others?

Thank you very much,
Max

I'm not familiar with either of those.

Check out the shopping section on this site and/or dancevision.com.

I borrowed "Dance Through Time," from my library and found mildly entertaining but not instructional at all. Never heard of the other. I can vouch for the quality of the productions available from this site. I've been very pleased with all of my purchases from dancevision (with the exception of the salsa one which gets really wound up with the different styles and tries to teach the same step in each - confusing and tedious for a beginner like me). Dancevision videos are a little spendy but worth it. From one beginner to another - you want the "syllabus" titles, not "technique". The technique ones are aimed at a higher level than the one you and I are at. I will look at my technique titles again in a year.

Hi there--

I too am a new dance student, and like the other posts mention dancevision.com is really good. Depending on what type of ballroom dancing you want to learn, I really recommend the DVDs with Ron Montez and his wife Carla. The dialogue and instruction are really clear, precise, and they don't rush through anything. They illustrate the steps slowly and go over everything with detail so it's easy to follow.

I bought the west coast swing DVD w/ Ron Montez and it rocks. I also got the Rumba DVD with Corky Ballas; his videos are also equally good. For Cha Cha I bought Karina Smirnoff and Slavik's DVD, and I love it, although I think this is more for slightly advanced or not pure beginners.

One DVD that I DON'T recommend is the Salsa DVD w/ Jose DeCamps and Jami Josephson. Jami herself is great, she speaks well and is a great instructor, but Jose is retarded and listening to him speak and try to narrate throughout the video is one of the most painful experiences ever. I got so frustrated and annoyed I stopped the DVD and use it as a coaster now.

Hope this was a little helpful.

Roxygir. Slavik and Karina Cha Cha DVD. If a beginner looks at the Technical section, and stays at first with the Cha Walks and Locks. And understands the position of the body, that is position A. B. and C. Plus paying attention to the section on the turn out of the feet instructed by Karina. Then that DVD is not too advanced.

Hahahahaha. Roxygirl, the possibility that the inst. was impared had not occured to me but you just might have something. I assumed he was complicated and over my head. I like your interpretation better. Think I'll use mine as a coaster, too. (Too bad it was $49.95.)