Use of Videos

suburbaknght

Well-Known Member
What sorts of videos do people find the most useful? Video syllabi? Technique? Variations? I have a couple video notebooks from workshops I've attended which I found helpful to retain what we went over, but I'm finding myself overwhelmed by everything out there.
 
I have the bronze standard PAL technique videos from Dancevision and like to refer to them every now and then. Get someone else's perspective on what a bronze student should focus and be aware of. They also explain more advanced concepts of swing and sway on the videos which is not really helpful for me at the moment as my dancing is not up to that level yet.

However for the syllabus steps, while i was on a recent surf visit to the same site i saw that the new DVD's with DVIDA syllabus is out... but now i am a bit confused as to what difference is there ultimately between "Alex Moore's BAllroom DAncing syllabus" vs DVIDA syllabus......

Be sure to watch the video clips on the site to give you an idea of what you are buying..
 
Only the international syllabus is standardized. The international syllabus as taught at to a college dance team, at a local independent studio, or the closest chain studio, is the same. They may be taught differently, but the steps, technique, and every other part of the official syllabus will be the same.

American style can vary a great deal. Because American style evolved as a simplification of international style for social purposes (disclaimer: I have incomplete information on this and if anyone would care to correct me and can cite sources regarding the evolution of American style, I would greatly appreciate it) it often became regionalized and different variations turned into different syllabi. They are all more or less compatible, but they are not the same.

DVIDA was an attempt by a number of different dancers, from highly ranked American-style competitors to independent studio operators to the heads of chain studios like Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire, to provide a standardized syllabus that could be used by independent studios that would be compatible with all the other major American syllabi, both for social purposes and competition.

I don't know what Alex Moore's syllabus is like, but it's probably pretty similar, at least at the level you're describing.
 
I find the FA syllabus DVDs very useful when I can sneak in after hours and watch them. :) But also find top open showcase videos useful to me, jus tfor different things.
 
Honestly? At this point I don't find videos useful, full stop. I have trouble learning just by sight and really need to have hands-on correction. Once I'm better, maybe they'll be good for learning new steps and figures when I already have the basic technique.
 
Video's can be a great source of material to get ideas for choreography. You see stuff and can modify or adapt to suit.
 

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