Customer Reviews

Dance with Len Goodman

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was really looking forward to getting this DVD as I love Dancing With The Stars and am a big fan of Len Goodman and wanted to learn more of the ballroom style dances. I just finished going through this DVD with my husband and we were terribly disappointed with the instruction. It was hard to see the dancers when they were demonstrating the moves and the ladies' (or "girls'" as Len says) footwork is never broken down. Len just says to do the natural opposite of the men, but never has his dancers show it. Well, when you watch the dancers, you can tell the ladies aren't doing the "natural opposite" or anything that looks opposite, so I was rather lost. The dancers did cool demos of each dance, but the dance steps they taught looked nothing like what they demonstrated. Overall, I was very disappointed. Not worth the money. I love to dance, and have reviewed a few other DVDs along this same line - some of them are pricier, but definitely worth the investment - you'll actually learn to dance.

I, too, was inspired by Dancing With The Stars, and signed up at a well-known dance school franchise. After 2-3 weeks of attending private and group lessons, I got this DVD thinking it'd serve as a refresher so I could practice at home. To my surprise: no instructions for the ladies. Instead, when Len gives the instructions slowly, the lady moves out of the hold to stand BESIDE the man, and THEY BOTH DO THE MAN'S moves! The camera zooms in to show both of them doing the exact footwork side by side--helpful for men only, I'd say! I want to see that pair of pumps do the lady's role! When they finally do the entire movement in the hold (in position), it is too short of a time period for a new beginner to absorb what the lady is doing. I wish that they had eliminated Len's 4-lines of poetry that he does to (aptly)describe each dance, and use the time to teach the ladies' role.
Also, for Rhumba, the beginning basic move in my class has been the box-step, but this shows another (easy) move (that I learned later.)The Foxtrot shown in the DVD was SO different it really threw me, but later Len shows a variation called the Social Foxtrot, which is what I've learned.
Watching the DVD again, after a total of 4 weeks of studio training, I could make much more sense of what was being shown. But if you are a female just beginning ballroom dance, there have got to be better DVD's.

I ordered this DVD for my parents' anniversary despite the previous review mainly because they love Dancing with the Stars and the finals were on their anniversary. As you can imagine, I was a bit apprehensive about it. I was pleasantly surprised!

First, the previous reviewer is correct. They do demonstrate the man's steps and then expect the ladies to do the "natural opposite." I found that to be quite easy if I learned the male version first, and then reversed it. If I tried to think "His left is my right," etc. as I was first learning it, it was hard. On the video the lady does the male version as they teach the steps, and then when they get into the holds and face each other, she does her version. (You can pretty much watch her feet the whole time.)

Next, the professional dancers do have exhibition dances to demonstrate what a Fox Trot, Quick Step, Waltz, etc. CAN look like. Do not expect to be able to follow them after five to ten minutes of instruction per dance! This is a demonstration of THE BASICS.

(For some reason I can't edit the number of stars.) I gave it five stars originally right after I had watched all of the instructions, but before I had clicked on the part of the DVD that said practice. I would take a couple of stars off for that. When I first clicked on that, I thought the DVD was stuck! The practice portion for each dance is just a still picture with music! Couldn't they have just filmed the dancers doing the basic steps to music for a few minutes of practice time? How hard would that be? This way you have to flip back to the instructions to remind yourself of the steps and then go back to the music section if you want to practice. (Personally, I think leaving the DVD on the instructions and popping in a CD of appropriate music would be easier than that for practice!)

I'm still glad that I got it because it helped clarify the differences between a lot of dances, but I'm not as impressed with it as I was originally.

A complete and total waste of money. I bought this to learn from a master after seeing Len dance on DWTS. Though this covers several dances the instruction is virtually worthless: After showing only the mans steps (as I knew from previous reviews-no worries-I dance) there was no showing of the basic steps shown in rhythm, only set show routines by his dancers. Len-SHAME !!!

Great entertainment from a special guy. The dances are not done in the standard American Ballroom style, but I got some ideas from them. Considering the low price I am glad I bought it. If you want to learn to dance from the beginning, get something else.

I found Dance with Len Goodman to be quite entertaining, and generally easy to follow. The eight dances included on the DVD are high on style and easily translate into both casual dance environments and those special nights out.

However, if you struggle with watching someone else complete a task and then repeating it on your own, this might not be for you. The Quickstep, in particular, poses a strong problem for learning on your own. But Goodman reminds us throughout the program that this is a first step in learning these wonderful dances--if you enjoy the moves and the exercise and the magic, follow up with a local dance studio or instructor.

For good clean fun--and some special time with your significant other--this DVD is a great starter. You also learn some of the history and evolution of the dances, as well as some of the keys to making the holds and posture look like the pros!

Len Goodman breaks down and teaches the most popular ballroom and latin dance steps in a easy-to-follow format. Len starts with the man's moves, so if you are a woman, you simply do the opposite. I think this is a great presentation for beginners looking for an introduction to the world's most popular dances.

This DVD apparently was made for a British audience and appears to have been on television in the United Kingdom. Many advertisements for BBC shows are given at the start of the DVD. Len Goodman uses plenty of puns and witty phrases to introduce the dances which could serve as devices to help memorize steps.

The basic steps are given for the various styles of dance, but often Len just says in reference to the female part that it is "the natural opposite". A couple provides demonstrations of the steps, as does occasionally Len Goodman. Opportunities to practice in a simple and easy-to-follow format are provided.

This DVD is for a beginner and not intended for an advanced dancer. Some simple routines are provided in order to help the beginner look nice on the dance floor and know enough to "just get by" when called to dance at a party.

The instruction is basic for the beginner and the demonstrations are easy to follow. I wish it did have some accompaning music to practice the dance steps. Overall, it is a great instructional video for the beginner. Good buy.

My husband and I have been ballroom dancing for at least 22 years having taken lessons at a dance studio for 20 of those years. We find Mr. Goodwin entertaining and very informative. We bought this video so we could refresh our memories on some the dance patterns and we hope he makes another covering those dances that weren't on this video. We highly recommend this video to anyone wanting to either learn or brush up on their dancing technique.