Much Ado About Ballroom Dancing

Rating:
Summary: Generous!
Review: Great work Ronnen! You are an extremely generous writer who is passionate about dance!

Rating:
Summary: Good Beginner's Tips and Fun To Read
Review: I am an Intermediate Bronze ballroom dancer. I wanted a book that concentrated more on the etiquette of dancing and not the footsteps. This book provides it all in moderation very nicely. For example, what to wear, how to buy shoes, hygiene, how to stand, how to hold your partner...lots of personal details like that is what I wanted to know. I am lucky in that I have an excellent dance instructor. I don't want to look at dance diagrams. They are impossible to read anyway - it's like trying to take out your own appendix. The author showed some steps, but just a smattering to help you get more versions out of a dance. I was also curious about the type of music he would suggest, and was vastly relieved to see it wasn't all from The Lawrence Welk Show - but an excellent range of modern musicians, movie themes or songs from movies. This was a very user-friendly book for beginners. The writer's warm personality came through nicely and he obviously really loves to dance. I'm glad I bought it. My dance instructor asked to take it home to read after glancing through it for several minutes just before a lesson! I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Generous!
Review: I have come across many guides on dance steps, but never found a book quite like this that comprehensively covers all the other things that can make dancing so much more enjoyable. This book provides lots of useful tips and insights that allow the reader to avoid a number of the little mistakes that can add a degree of frustration to the process of becoming a social dancer. Skip the website and buy the book; the book has more information and doesn't require you to get online whenever you want to reference the content.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview
Review: I have come across many guides on dance steps, but never found a book quite like this that comprehensively covers all the other things that can make dancing so much more enjoyable. This book provides lots of useful tips and insights that allow the reader to avoid a number of the little mistakes that can add a degree of frustration to the process of becoming a social dancer. Skip the website and buy the book; the book has more information and doesn't require you to get online whenever you want to reference the content.

Rating:
Summary: Great Overview for the Social Dancer
Review: This book is replete with insights that allow the reader to avoid the mistakes typically made by the social dancer. Although there is a website I would definitely spend the money and buy the book. The book has more information and is a lot handier to use. There are many guides on dancing, but this book is special in the way it comprehensively covers all the things that make dancing so enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Not that different from website
Review: This is a great book for beginning ballroom dancers, but only if you have not visited his website before buying the book. The book has a couple of sections not offered on the website, but most of these are in the music compilation sections, which are not as useful for beginners anyway. If you have ever visited his website, do not buy the book, it's not worth the $15. If you haven't seen the website, then I highly recommend it if you're a beginner dancer, it has many helpful hints (especially for those in the San Francisco area).

Rating:
Summary: " . . . music, music, music!"
Review: This is a nifty little guide for the amateur social dancer that tell some things teachers don't mention. Much of the book is devoted to dance music and has a quick guide to the current music scene with some ready-made dance programs. The scope includes selections from soundtracks as diverse as "Alladin", "A River Runs Through It" and "Strictly Ballroom" as well as vocalists that run the gamut from Doris Day to Lyle Lovett!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is a very informative book for people being introduced to partner dancing. It covers the important topics that people should know about ballroom dance in a simple and easy to understand way.

Rating:
Summary: A worthwhile read for beginners.
Review: This is an excellent introduction for those interested in learning ballroom, particularly the first five sections of the book. The other sections probably won't be as useful to true beginners, but would be helpful for their teachers and more advanced students (addresses music selection for classes, etc.).

Rating:
Summary: " . . . music, music, music!"
Review: This short book is an excellent reference for beginning and intermediate dancers. While it does not contain dance steps, it does contain good information on dance floor etiquette, dance technique, and clothing. Most dance instructors will agree with the author. While the last part of the book on collecting and playing dance music will have limited appeal to the average dancer, the first part of the book contains lots of good practical information.