The JVC/Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of the Americas

An ambitious endeavor in cultural anthropology, this 6-volume video and book set is literally a visual and aural catalog of various musical and dance traditions found in North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Comprising 158 entries overall, each individual volume features an index on the back of the jacket and detailed notes in the accompanying book for each of the sequences presented on the tape. We watched the fourth volume, The Caribbean, where footage of varying age (1979-1994), quality, and length demonstrated solo, couple, and group dancers cutting the proverbial rug in Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, and elsewhere. While a few of the more ritualized dances--both secular and spiritual--were interesting, and a (convincing) performance of "Woman is Boss" by the humongous Steel Drum Massed Band (who all played some form of steel drum) are entertaining above and beyond any intrinsic cultural value they might have, the majority of the unnarrated catalog will leave most general viewers shaking their heads. As a linear program, this is not your grab the popcorn, lay back in the Barcalounger kind of film. Yet, larger libraries, schools, and universities should still consider the series for its reference value, and even though video often performs poorly as a reference tool, it is unquestionably one of the best formats for this particular subject. Other titles in the series include: Canada and the United States, The United States: European and Other Secular Traditions, The United States: Sacred Music and Dance, and Central and South America. Recommended, with reservations. (R. Pitman)