Nursery Tap, Hip to Toe—Volume 1

“When's it going to stop, Mommy?” asked my four-year-old just minutes into this recitation of nursery rhymes accompanied by images of dancers filmed from the waist down (my 21-month old quickly grew restless and began throwing things off the end table). When a children's video receives glowing recommendations from Parents' Choice as well as a Peabody Award, it's hard to be honest and say my sons hated it. A combination DVD/CD set, filmmaker Juleen Murray Shaw's Nursery Tap, Hip to Toe— Volume 1 features 30 nursery rhymes, including “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” “Banbury Cross,” “There Was a Crooked Man,” “Little Miss Muffet,” “It's Raining, It's Pouring,” and “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” presented with voiceover singsong narration, as costumed dancers with props perform tap, ballet, and hip-hop steps against a backdrop of colorful sets. This is not dance instruction (though the DVD does have a bonus section describing the basic tap and ballet dance steps, which my four-year-old liked). But it remains baffling why the producer chose to show the dancers from the waist down only—if you're going to expose children to tap and ballet, why not let them see how the entire human figure moves to express rhyme and rhythm? Although handsomely produced, this may well appeal more to parents than their children. A strong optional purchase. Aud: K, P. (R. Reagan)