I am a new user of this site. First off, thank you for this invaluable resource. I am also a beginning dancer - 4 months from my first lesson and a rabid consumer of private lessons, group lessons, books, tapes, dvd's, Fred Astaire movies and anything else I can get my hands on. (BTW, I am 50 and writing from the states.) I've got a great kick out of reading these forums, not the least from the persnickety exchanges between "anymouse" and "quickstep". I am beginning to suspect they are actually one guy getting a charge out of stirring the pot. Anyway, here's what I use the tapes/dvd's for: I am at the stage where just remembering the steps to a particular figure is challenging. With a recording, I can easily refresh my memory with a moving picture. I can also observe (but not learn) a model's technique. My instructor has to tell me whether my execution is anywhere near on the right path and, if it is not, what to do to correct it. I don't think video is without value nor do I think it is a substitute for instruction from an experienced teacher. It is another tool to help me reach my goals, namely: to have fun and to dance socially with confidence as soon as I possibly can. There are no competitions in my future. I am the bread and butter student. People like me who have ever tried to write down a step on the back of a cocktail napkin immediately after class so as not to forget LOVE video.

Great to hear from new people! I used to be a bread and butter student, but have come a long way. Stick with it! It's SO worth it! And keep watching Fred Astaire! My personal favorite number is when Fred and Ginger dance to "Who's got the last laugh now"? (not sure if that's the actual title) I have all their stuff on video.

Congratulations on your approaching the age for geezer club status. I will send you an invitation when you actually get there.

I commend you on your ability to recognize what you can and can't do with video tapes. Many students, when first starting, think they can learn everything from a video. Your private instructions have helped you to recognize that is not true. As you learn more of the basic techniques from private instruction, you will find that adding a step pattern from a video tape is pretty easy. Adding technique learned from a video tape is not so easy. And of course, correcting those funny quirks that all beginners have that they don't realize, is impossible to do without outside help.

If you haven't started to do this already, I would recommend that you also keep a notebook describing everything you learned in your private lessons. This will help a lot in committing that information firmly into memory, and it also serves as a tool to make sure you understand it. It you can't describe it in words, chances are you don't understand it. It also serves as a good reference for later use.

Smoothgeezer, thanks for the kind words. I actually DO keep a notebook after being encouraged to do so by my instructor's instructor, who made a guest appearance in a class. It was one of the best tips I ever got. It often seems that no matter how positive my sense of having "got it," it can easily slip away in 24 hours. I misplaced my notebook and it went missing for two weeks. I spent more time and effort trying to recover it than I would have on my WALLET! TG, it was found and I have a vital part of my brain back. I like your comment, "if you can't describe it in words, chances are you don't understand it."

Molesaver.The trouble with videos DVD's is they do not have a second dimension. I think if they were to show a overhead shot when teaching a step, or even on the initial set up it would be a great help. I have one where they did a profile on Soale and partner Cerasoli and showed a near over head shot, and the camara went the full 360 degrees around the couple. From this the contact points can be clearly seen. Also how far to the man's right the lady is, plus the positions of the heads and so on. Now I have a constant reminder and something to copy.

I'm with you. I started last winter at age 50. The memory isn't that of a college freshman who soaks up everything like a sponge anymore.

I have only taken group lessons and I find a notebook and DVDs very helpful. I might have an added advantage in that my indy instructor sells his own DVDs so what I see on video is what I get in the studio.

I appreciated you posting this. I was beginning to wonder if I was a total idiot, having to review vids and take notes...

I view videos much like a textbook to a course.

They are a good backup resource.

Interestingly, the longer I've been dancing when I go back and look at a video again the more I see.

OB

I agree. Videos are a great supplement to private lessons. Our coaches lend us dance videos on whatever we're working on at the time. We review the vids, work what we can, then in class we can go over the steps/pattern/amalgamation and fix what needs fixed. It increases the amount of work we can get in a normal hour lesson.

We take the "notebook" one step further, and actually record our private lessons using a DV camera. This way we don't miss anything.

I have three dvd's two are modern. All three are more like a lecture. There is a lot of detailed talking pointing out how it should be done as well as how it shouldn't be done. I wouldn't be without them.

Videos, as a general rule, are a guide to inform one of the finished product.

The " pathway "to getting there, can be obstructed by many of the technical aspects, that may need further explanation, not suplied.

use them as a supplement to a specific figure or sequence .

The nuances of dance cannot generally be captured in the documentary form.

A handy " tool " to have at your disposal .