How To Dance Through Time, Volume I

As with all videos in the How to Dance Through Time series, the dances in Volume I are introduced with a concise, historical overview and illustrated with authentic photographs and drawings. The steps were carefully researched from period manuscripts and are accurate representations of historical dance. Close up and slow motion views make learning the moves simple and fun.

Dance historian and choreographer Carol Téten is an engaging presence in the series, providing historical context and calling out dance instructions as professional dancers demonstrate. Following each instructional section, dancers from the Dance Through Time company perform with authentic music and fashions of the era.

Program: Volume 1: The Romance of Mid-19^th Century Couples Dances

Basic 19^th Century Couple Dances

Waltz

Galop

Polka

Schottische

Polka Mazurka

These instructional videos will be invaluable to choreographers who create dances for period films or for cotillions and charity balls. They preserve the art form and provide the story of the cultural phenomenon, thus making a perfect addition to dance, design, and anthropological libraries.

Dance On Camera Journal

As close to a trip back to the mid-century as most dance enthusiasts are likely to get.

Billboard

This is a solid introduction to the 'easy' dances and a much appreciated effort to preserve those ballroom glory days.

Video Librarian

Provides an intriguing glimpse into the social world of the era. Each dance is preceded by a historical overview, with original lithographs from the period and entertaining commentary by Téten. We learn, for example, that the art of turning reflected elements of the Industrial Revolution, such as the 'spinning Jenny,' and that the Mazurka was a dance of majesty, unreservedness, and allurement. Adequately primed for the tension and intrigue of the 19th-century ballroom, the student is then carefully guided through the basic steps. This well produced and entertaining video is highly recommended.

Library Journal

The Waltz, Polka, Schottische, Galop, and Mazurka--your students may have heard or even played examples of these forms, but can they dance to them? A recent video, How to Dance Through Time, Volume I -The Romance of Mid-19th Century Couple Dances, can show them all the steps. This historically accurate introduction to these varied dances draws on period manuscripts and music composed specifically for dancing by Chopin, Liszt, and their contemporaries.

Teacher"s Market

Each dance segment is introduced by a brief presentation of fascinating historical information accompanied by the romantic music of the past associated with each particular mode of dance. Also highly recommended are Dancetime Publications two volume video set, Dancetime DVD! 500 Years of Social Dance.

The Midwest Book Review Wisconsin Bookwatch

The organization of the material in each of these sets is first to go over each step of a dance several times in different tempos, from different angles, and with full explanations by the creator and head of the company, Carol Téten. You can watch, then skip back and try the steps yourself as you watch a second time, and over and over until you have it down pat.

Brattleboro Reformer Keene, N.H.