Product Details

• Actors: S. Fava, L. Ewing, Carol Teten, Sonia Fava Lawrence Ewing
• Directors: S. Fava, Carol Teten
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Dancetime Publications
• VHS Release Date: November 20, 2000
• Run Time: 35 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 0966207459
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,915 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

LIBRARY JOURNAL

These tapes will be of primary interest to instructional dance collections and those concerned with dance and social history.

Product Description

HOW TO DANCE THROUGH TIME, Volume IV shows the most influential social dances of the French Baroque Court. The Minuet, the most famous 18th century dance invention, is demonstrated with step and floor pattern detail. The complicated handholds of the picturesque Allemande, the bridge to the 19th century, are carefully delineated. The intricate patterns of the Contredance are brought to life by eight dancers. As with all the HOW TO DANCE THROUGH TIME videos, the dances are introduced with a concise, historical overview illustrated with authentic photographs and drawings. All the steps are carefully researched from authentic period manuscripts. Each instruction shows close up views and slow motion so that easy learning is possible. Professional dancers demonstrate step details. Following the instructional section, dancers perform all the dances with the authentic music and fashions of the era. Production of the How To Dance Through Time series follows rave reviews from critics, dance experts, libraries, colleges, dance lovers, and historians who have enthusiastically embraced the two volume video set, DANCETIME! 500 Years of Social Dance.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Minuet, November 27, 2004

By 

Paula Morrow (Mira Loma, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HOW TO DANCE THROUGH TIME Volume IV - The Elegance of Baroque Social Dance (DVD)

The lessons are not a professional couple swirling themselves about showing themselves off as a number of dvd dance lessons are tragically. You can actually learn the steps. The steps are shown close up, an instructor talks you through it,

and it is slow, piece by piece.

Is this perfect? No. The demonstrators of those steps, who as I said, are not showing themselves off, are professionals. This does mean that you have to remind yourself that no one way back then looked like them. "Rise up on your knee" and your shown these feet in very high heels balancing about five inches from the floor effect. Obviously, you're watching ballet dancers, who though they are not performing ballet raise their heels MUCH higher than ourselves or ancestors could ever do.

The biggest problem which is not the fault of the program will be shoes. The shoes have to be utterly flexible, almost made out of a single layer cloth, with quite a heel. So that means the student is barefoot rising a heel about two inches at best. The only pair I could find was a males Irish dance shoe which is a bit much to tinker with the Minuet.

The lessons are good and worthy. I am pleased and I do recommend it.