Dances of the Ragtime Era, 1910-1920

Volume 2 in the series How to Dance Through Time (see review of the first volume, The Romance of Mid-19th Century Couple Dances, in VL-5/99, as well as Dancetime! 500 Years of Social Dance on VL Online), hurries through 44 step combinations of 5 different styles of dance that would have kept Zelda and F. Scott hopping: animal dances (including the fox trot and--believe it or not--the grizzly bear), castle walk, tango, maxixe, and hesitation waltz. Each style of dance is prefaced by a truly illuminating educational section wherein the sociological and historical significance of each is explained, buttressed by period photographs and drawings. Using authentic music and fashions of the period, each of the combinations is shown in real-time, first in full-body view, then in a close-up on the feet. The script does not provide any preliminaries (i.e., where do your arms go?), definitions of terms (what is the "yale position" or a "corté"?), or slo-mo views of these sometimes complicated routines. Assuming an advanced level of knowledge, or at least intuition, this video--despite its fine production values--is optional for all but large dance or Americana collections. Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)