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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ballroom Dancing, DVD Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to) | 
| Author: Jeffrey Allen
Publisher: Alpha
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $13.62
You Save: $11.33 (45%)
New (31) Used (9) from $13.62
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 49072
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2 Pap/DVD
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 1592575773
Dewey Decimal Number: 793.33
EAN: 9781592575770
ASIN: 1592575773
Publication Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Ships by USPS. 1+ million customers served-In business since 1986. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support
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Product Description
Ballroom dancing is back! And now anyone can move like a pro. DVD included!
In addition to the step-by-step photos, footwork illustrations, and instruction covering all the common ballroom dances, this new edition of the bestselling Complete Idiots Guide to Ballroom Dancing includes a 90-minute instructional DVD featuring award-winning dancer and dance instructor Jeff Allen. It corresponds with the text seamlessly, giving readers the next best thing to one-on-one instruction, at a fraction of the cost.
The #1 selling ballroom dancing book
Includes a fantastic, new instructional DVD and hundreds of illustrations and instructions
Allen is a renowned, award-winning ballroom-dance teacher
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 Lots of fat - not much meat... March 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book uses a lot of words, but fails to make clear how to master a dance step. Disappointing. It makes a good coffee table book (one leg was shorter than the rest.)
 Not entirely for dummies December 23, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I had high hopes when I bought this book. I have never danced before so perhaps that is why after reading it, I did not think this book was entirely for dummies who did not know how to dance. The book had much advice about dancing and the preparatory stages before dancing, but when it came down to the actual explanations of dancing it was difficult for me to follow the sequences especially looking at a book while trying to copy what it said. I felt it focused to much on the wedding day event, which is old news for someone who has been married for a while- perhaps including a section about how to animate a reluctant spouse to dance would have been more appropriate! The book wasn't the main disappointment. It was the DVD. I had hoped for more explicit instruction when viewing the DVD and there was none. He spoke some advice during the clips but did not explain what was going on. It was like watching a performance which although beautiful to behold was still mysterious. Not having had any prior dancing experience but lots of desire to want to teach myself, I suppose I expected too much from this book and it left me naturally let down. Those who have some dancing experience will find this book much more enjoyable and will benefit from it more fully.
Great for the absolute beginner September 14, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book will take you through the basic patterns of popular social dances and does a fairly adept job of doing so. This is purely a footwork book, as there is little mention of styling, but for the absolute novice it will get you out on the dance floor.
I particularly enjoyed the section on rhythm and the emphasis that dancing is about doing the same motion, the exact same way every time, so you don't really have to have rhythm to dance, you just need to perform the same motion the same way consistently. I have a friend struggling with this same issue in his dancing and recommended this book to him, with the practice exercises included, to help him improve.
All in all, a well written book for the novice dancer and one I recommend.
More information than in a dancing lesson! August 27, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are taking lessons and are serious about putting some hard work into learning how to dance then this book is a great resource. As a 50-ish beginner, I loved the background information but did skip ahead to the "lessons", only to come back later and see how important the background and foundations were! Like anything else, there are no shortcuts if you want a quality result. You're not going to pick this book up and be dancing in a week, any more than you could learn to paint a landscape or play the piano in a week. Dancing is music, art and body control. Idiots, - It takes practice!
One suggestion: I would like to have seen some footwork diagrams as many "Idiots", like myself, need a visual diagram in addition to photos and the lengthy "Step" descriptions.
pretty good August 4, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
To bo honest I have not read much of the book, I started dance classes (ballroom and latin)about 2months ago and I am able to pick up the moves pretty fast cause I love it. So I focussed more on the CD here which I was very impressed with. It was more than I expected to find, covering a few basics two or three patterns per dance, having a little knowledge of dance already it was a nice review and practise. However to thos of you that are interested in the book you will find explanations for both the man and woman's steps and also pictures as guidelines covering waltz, foxtrot,tango, viennese waltz, rumba, merengue, samba, cha-cha, mambo, east coast swing...that's a good spread for your money, of course the Cd is necessary to also help explain.
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