Watching Dance Videos to learn more...

Instructional Dance Videos can help you make much faster progress in learning to dance. Private lessons combined with group classes are great. But an instructional dance video has many advantages. For example, you can:

*Watch it again and again.

*View it in different ways.

*Watch in slow motion.

*Stop it at various points.

*Take notes conveniently while watching.

*Practice dancing just before going out to dance

"It was great," said Frank. "I learned to dance with my wife, in the dessert in a 5-wheeler (trailer). You see, we travel, and we couldn't always find a dance teacher. I especially like the DVDs because you easily jump to where you want in the video"

If you play DVDs on your computer, you can even bookmark certain spots so that you can return to them quickly. Often a good way to do this is to rightclick and explore the menu options that are available.

Learn to Dance in a Hurry. If you are in a hurry to learn, videos can *really* give you an advantage. With regular group lessons, you have to often go very slowly and only one lesson is offered per week. With private dance lessons, you can go at your own speed, but again usually only one lesson per week is available.

Dance Workshop. With video dance lessons, you can create your own workshop, if you like, and spend the afternoon or the whole day working on a dance and learn it very quickly.

Advanced steps. You can often learn more advanced steps with a how to dance video, too -- even steps not taught at your local dance studio. For example, in our salsa DVD dance instruction series, we have 11 different videos at progressively advanced levels.

The cost of a dance lesson video is quite reasonable when you compare it to the cost of private or group lessons.

When I was learning to dance (many, many years ago), I was quite nervous taking group dance classes. I didn't want to look stupid, but usually anyway. I really felt embarassed. But when I started watching videos, that all changed. I was confident because I had already learned the basic steps from the video. The instructor said, "Phil, you look so much more relaxed now. What happened?" I didn't tell him about my secret weapon: instructional videos. :)

Leaders: To get the most from instructional videos, write down a brief descriptive name for each step. Put it on an index card and slip it in your pocket or dance shoe bag. (you are wearing dance shoes aren't you? If not, you are missing half the fun of dancing. How can you pivot, slide and glide in clod-hoppers??) When you get to the dance hall, look over the dance steps you have learned and see if you can lead them well on the floor! Remember, as a leader, the responsbility is on your shoulders. If your follower doesn't get it, don't blame her. It is always your fault. Remember, your purpose as a leader is not just to lead, but to give pleasure to follower. Make her look great; that's the first step in doing that.

Followers: Watch the video before going out and practice the steps along without a leader. Then go dancing and forget your steps and just follow. Avoid backleading!