Review(s): DVD Intermediate 6-Count Swing, Volume II
Sharpen Your Skills!
The whole series (though Vol 3 is called "Introduction to Lindy Hop" compared to 1 and 2 which reference "Swing") is excellent. We thought we had the fundamentals and even intermediate points of swing pretty well off - and we did - but we got a lot of "fine tuning" out of this series. Some GREAT really clearly illustrated stuff on subtle hand signalling, great camera angles to illustrate what is going and good comentary will all improve your footwork, body position, leading and following. We also got some new moves which on the East Coast USA were new to folks around here and expanded our repertoire.
If you are beginners - this series is probably the best illustrated and paced we have seen. If you can't get an instructor locally then this is a good start and will get you putting on a great swing routine pretty quickly.
The series of DVD's really build on the previous ones - so take them in order, push back the furniture and dance with your DVD remote in your hand. They really lend to track back and slow motion play if you want to see what is going on!
Well done
What I liked best with this video is how they combined various moves from the first video and ones taught early on this one to make sequences. This helps you practice transitions between patterns. A little more about up-beat/down-beat and musicality in general would've earned this a 5-star rating, but otherwise a solid choice for the beginner/intermediate dancer.
Excellent Instructional Video
I have taken lessons, taught lessons, and watched many videos on swing dancing and this series is the best. Intermediate 6-Count Swing introduces the triple step variation of the dance and adds many more moves to your list. Chris and Julie are excellent dance instructers and use excellent methodology to teach beginners how to dance. I would recommend viewing Beginning Lindy Hop (even if you already know a lot about swing dancing) befor using this one.
Related DVD's Intermediate 6-Count Swing, Volume II
Simply one of the best dance instruction DVDs I have. John Hill explains things clearly, from different angles, and with a good deal of easy-going all-American charisma befitting Swing.
This DVD has added a lot of nice flourishes to my current repertoire of Swing moves, and I even recently used many of John Hill's techniques that I learned from this DVD at a national ballroom DanceSport competition. These included the Alternating Rock Turns (aka Stop Turns) and Flare kicks. (I did quite well with my dance partner in the competition, most of the time earning first place finishes on our heats.)
I also got a lot out of the chapter on Multiple Turns, including the cool Double Inside Turn. In fact I still have quite a bit to go through on this DVD and it has provided... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 30 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I started dancing about 6 months ago. I was really excited about the dance. It is fun and energetic! Well, I had to move and could no longer take the local swing classes I was attending. So, I bought this tape. Just comparing them to the professional swing dancers at a swing camp I went to in California, their knowledge was minimal and sloppy. Overall, I was disappointed with the video. I did though find videos later that the professional at that camps made. They were wonderful. Overall, if your looking for a tape that teaches you a style that is good for dancing to very RETRO music and you are NOT expecting to make swing dancing a long-term hobby, I recommend this video. But, if you want to dance to the good ole big band music and lindy like they did in the 40's, I recommend a different... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Chris Reilly DVD Release Date: Released the 01 September 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Finally here is a DVD that beginners can actually learn from. Gigi does a great job at teaching the steps in a very simple manner. As far as a review that was posted about how this is not a popular dance style in the US and how it's not useful that Gigi shouts out the names of the turns, I'd like to explain a little something.
Cuban salsa (also known as Casino or Rueda, when danced with multiple partners) is very popular in Miami, DC, and now up and booming in NYC. The reason why the turns are shouted out is because when danced in a cirlce with multiple partners, all the men need to be able to start the same turn at the same time...people have even devised a sort of sign language for the turns too (in case the club is too loud).
I've been to clubs in NYC where I've... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 21 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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