Basic Styling & Technique, American Style Smooth

If you want to look better, move better, and feel better in your on-going dancing of Viennese Waltz then this is a disc for you. If you’re an early-on beginner, this content may be best saved for later after you’ve had some experience to build on.

The first 45 minutes of this disc are about Posture, Swing, Rotation, Sway, the use of the feet, Frame, etc. But it’s all headlined and differentiated as “Posture - in the Viennese Waltz,” “Frame - in the Viennese Waltz,” and so forth. Details vary between dances, and some are small, but give some thought to why they discuss these details and not others.

The last half hour of the disc is of three example patterns - which Mead and Redpath demonstrate quickly and then discuss in great, great detail. If you’re into Viennese Waltz, these are things you want to see, study, and learn from to improve your dancing – and they are presented well, slowly, and, clearly here.

This is an *excellent* video, with tons of useful material for dancers at just about any level. I took more notes on this material than just about any other DVD I have watched, and I might have to rent it again, after I've put some of the material I learned this time to use, in order to build on it. The instructors are very knowledgeable and capable of explaining the concepts and practice clearly, and they work well with each other. The content is well organized and builds as it goes along (though there are also some sections that can stand on their own, without viewing the previous sections). Both instructors add a lot of ideas and comments, for both the lead and the follow. Some more practice exercises or demonstrations might have been nice in a few places, but at 70 minutes, the DVD is already packed with material, and almost everything is demonstrated at least once. Some of the material might require personalized instruction to implement it fully, but that will probably vary from person to person, and I think that most people will still benefit from being exposed to the ideas first. I really liked that the instructors usually explain not just *what* to do, but also *why* (such as why you should lean back on your heels before stepping forward and forward on your toes before stepping backward - very counter-intuitive actions, until you understand why). I'll definitely be adding some of Michael and Toni's other technique DVDs to my queue.

As always: I recommend that you take what you learn from a video and try it out in a studio, with an instructor to help correct any parts you didn't get (whether you realized it or not). And if you really like a video, buy a copy, to further support and encourage the video makers!