Product Details

• Actors: J. Brosnahan, S. Fava, M. Marchiaro, T. Virmond, E. Wolfram
• Directors: Carol Teten
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Dancetime Publications
• VHS Release Date: September 11, 1998
• Run Time: 45 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0966207416
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,606 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The Washington Post

"This video pleases those who enjoy information concerning history, social studies, cultures and costumes, as well as dance and music."

Product Description

DanceTime! is a journey through 500 years of social dancing, traveling from court to country, ballroom to bistro, salon to street. The choreography of each dance is the result of extensive research and is staged with period music and costumes. Volume II, The 20th Century Dance through the 20th century with the elegance of the Castle Walk, the spunky madness of the Charleston and Black Bottom, the desperation of the marathons, the sultriness of the Rhumba, the acrobatics of the Jitterbug, the rebellion of Break and Punk and the startling creativity of Hip Hop. The DVD has all of the original sources, 100s of them! The Dances/Animal Dances, Castle Walk, Apache, Tango, Black Bottom, Charleston, Marathon, Movie Musical, Big Apple, Jitterbug, Rhumba, Swing, Rock n Roll, Mambo, Twist, Mod, Psychedelic, Disco, Break Dancing, Punk, Moonwalk, Vogueing, Hip Hop, Country Western. DANCETIME DVD! 500 Years of Social Dance is a collectible two-volume set with an outstanding array of dance and music spanning 500 years. The 38 dances shown in the DVDs are woven together with witty commentary, and provide outstanding entertainment, as well as a comprehensive dance and social history education. Volume I displays the dances, fashions, and music from the 15th century through the 19th century, while Volume II focuses on the 20th century. The two volume set includes 60 well-known musical selections and 100 elaborate period fashions within the 38 dances. The DVD adds 600 source documents and historical timelines. Anyone who loves history, social studies, culture, costumes, dance, music or theater will be captivated by this unforgettable set. All the dances in DANCETIME! are carefully researched from authentic period manuscripts. Both volumes have received rave reviews from consumers, libraries, colleges, dance lovers and historians.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical, NOT instructional, September 17, 2000

By 

J. Laws "Jenn" (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancetime! 500 Years of Social Dance Vol II : 20th Century [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video is probably one of the only accounts of the Turn-of-the-Century dances (done in 1998), but you see them performed fairly quickly, and, blended with other steps, you're not quite sure which is exactly which. This would be for historical purposes only, unless you can figure out the traditional dances for yourself. It really is very interesting stuff, and I'm grateful to have it on video, but as the decades draw closer to the present, the dancing is better seen in Saturday Night Fever and MTV.

The order of dances: 1910's - Various Animal Dances, Castle Walk, Apache, Tango

1920's - Black Bottom, Charleston

1930's - Dance marathons, Movie Musical (a la Astaire and Rogers), Big Apple, Jitterbug

1940's - Rumba, Swing

1950's - Rock-n-Roll, Mambo

1960's - Twist, Mashed Potato, Wipe out, Mod (Frug-style), Hippies (free spirits)

1970's - Disco (Saturday Night Fever), YMCA

1980's - Break Dancing (not well done), Punk slam-Dancing, Moonwalk (Better seen by Michael Jackson)

1990's - Vogueing (better seen by Madonna), Hip-hop, Country & Western

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ridicules as social dance overview, August 10, 2005

By 

Ersa (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancetime! 500 Years of Social Dance Vol II : 20th Century [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a group of ballet and show dancers performing their "witty" impression of social dance. I didn't see a single dancer being social with their partner(s). Then again, I could not stand to watch the whole DVD. The production is dated, and those annoying narratives...

5.0 out of 5 stars Good value, December 30, 2009

By 

Shannyn Bishop Snyder - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dancetime! 500 Years of Social Dance Vol II : 20th Century [VHS] (VHS Tape)

We bought this inexpensively, to supplement my daughter's homeschool curriculum in the arts. She enjoyed the video series.