Dance Lovers: Level 3A Ballroom Course

Much, if not all, of the material in these four disks (1, 2, 3A, 3B) seems to have been “cut and pasted” from other DVDs done by the Lamperts on particular dances (also available for rental) in Waltz, Samba, Foxtrot, etc. As assembled here, it’s more than enough material to cover most wedding dances, cruise ship dancing, county fair dancing, etc. where you get major points for showing up – never mind if you’re not prefect.

The Lampert’s – as my earlier review of disks 1 and 2 say – mostly show you what a move looks like, repeat it once or twice, and then move on to the next move. But, that’s actually how most beginner level classes progress – only you can’t easily speed up or slow classes down in real life. In other words, in real life it can take an entire class an hour to see, try, and practice a move – and still not, “get it.” Here, you can see it, jump up and try it, view it again, try it again, and move on/come back/redo/polish it/etc. as you wish. It takes some time and effort, but if you can practice with someone you can wind up much better off by working with these disks than if you wait in a class for, “insight.”

I recommend these disks exactly because they’re so close to what is taught in most “mass market” dance schools – without a lot of the bother and expense (in time, money, and patience) of “endless” beginner classes. It’s a lot of the same thing in terms of, “see and do,” it’s mostly the same thing in terms of, “now you try it.” and, it’s mostly the same thing in terms of, “What did they say?” You can use these as introductions to particular dances, reinforcement for classes you’re taking, or, as refreshers for things you knew, but forgot. You can pick the dance and move you want – thanks to the “buttons” given on the disk menu – and you can jump from one dance to another if you like.

These are not great DVDs, but they are of great practical value compared to many newer, more complicated efforts by other instructors. They are all about as exciting as watching paint dry – at least these are fast-dry by comparison. We watch them, sometimes laugh at them, sometimes fast forward through them, but at other times, say, “Oh, that’s a good idea. Let’s try that.” They’ve been great for us to review what we already know, and we’ve learned a few things here and there too. For beginners, these can be very helpful, but you have to do the work to learn... Same as in class.

If you’re learning, you have to start somewhere. The “moves” taught are properly named and clearly shown, so if and when you take a class later, you’ll have a leg up on what’s going on. You may even be able to skip (up) a class or two because you already know the basics of most the moves. If you can step out the patterns before you get to a class, upping your game from there will be much easier for you and the instructor. If you’re preparing for some dance or event – say, New Year’s – and you practice a lot to some music in the weeks before you go, you’ll probably be “good enough” when you get there.

Good luck.