Foxtrot Styling & Technique, American Style Smooth

This is really an excellent DVD. Much of the material on this DVD parallels material in the "Basic Styling & Technique, American Style Smooth" DVD (also by Michael Mead and Toni Redpath), but with some tweaks for the character of Foxtrot (e.g., Foxtrot naturally has more swing movement, while Waltz naturally has more rotation), and some sections that are very specific to Foxtrot (e.g., the Music Interpretation section). I'd recommend watching the other DVD first, since it goes over some of the topics in a little more detail; then this one will be a reminder of those points and bring out Foxtrot-specific aspects - but this DVD can stand on its own, as well. A lot of the material on this DVD sort of fits between dance moves, so you can get some of it from various videos, but often just a little at a time, incidental to the video, and not in as much detail as you get here.

Sections often start with very basic principles, at the very beginner level, but go on up through techniques for advanced-intermediates or even advanced dancers, many of which should apply to both social dancers and performers/competitors. While I don't think this video is intended just to train performers and competitors, it could probably give them a lot of useful tips, and some nice demonstrations, as it's clear that the instructors have worked *a lot* on their form, etc. The Arm and Finger Styling Technique sections seem to go beyond what a typical social dancer is likely to need (though maybe more advanced social dancers would disagree), and seem to focus more on the woman's role than the man's (but not entirely). The video has some very nice demonstrations of sequences of moves at various points, showing good posture, styling, etc., slow enough that you can easily focus on different aspects without having to rewind or play in slow motion. The Demonstration in Detail section is almost half of the DVD (starting at 35 minutes in) and shows 5 different combinations of moves. Each is done first in a technically correct manner but without any styling, then done with styling, and then the chosen styling is explored in detail (along with alternate variations), including the reason why certain styling is used. This section seems to be targeted much more toward performers/competitors, with at least one reference to "the audience", but still contains some information that could be useful to the social dancer.

Overall, this isn't a DVD to learn Foxtrot moves (you might pick up a few, but probably not), but rather to learn *how to do* Foxtrot moves *well.* That said, it's probably better for the viewer to know at least a moderate amount of Foxtrot before watching this, so that they are familiar with the aspects that are discussed. Even better would be to watch it a few times, spaced well apart by training and practice, because the video speaks to such a wide range of skills and has so much content that I think most dancers will find material that applies to their level every time they watch it.

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!