Steps in Time: An Autobiography
by Fred Astaire
from Harper Paperbacks
One of the foremost entertainers of the twentieth century—singer, actor, choreographer, and, of course, the most dazzling "hoofer" in the history of motion pictures—Fred Astaire was the epitome of charm, grace, and suave sophistication, with a style all his own and a complete disregard for the laws of gravity. Steps in Time is Astaire's story in his own words, a memoir as beguiling, exuberant, and enthralling as the great artist himself, the man ballet legends George Balanchine and Rudolf Nureyev cited as, hands down, the century's greatest dancer.
From his debut in vaudeville at age six through his remarkable career as the star of many of the most popular Hollywood musicals ever captured on celluloid, Steps in Time celebrates the golden age of entertainment and its royalty, as seen through the eyes of the era's affable and adored prince. Illustrated with more than forty rare photographs from the author's personal collection, here is Astaire in all his debonair glory—his life, his times, his movies, and, above all, his magical screen appearances and enduring friendship with the most beloved of all his dancing partners, Ginger Rogers.
Best Dance Moves in the World, The - Ever!: 100 New and Classic Moves and How to Bust Them
by Matt Pagett
from Chronicle Books
Capturing centuries of rhythmic wisdom just in time for Saturday night, this must-have compendium of classic dance moves and exciting new gyrations is cause for footloose celebration. Here are the illustrated, step-by-step moves for 100 hot-blooded hipshakers sure to please veteran groove-machines as well as those with two left feet. With easy-to-follow guides for the Robot, Running Man, Cabbage Patch, Smurf, Hustle, Funky Chicken, Moonwalk, and dozens of other bustable maneuvers, plus inspiration, suitable music, and special advice for each dance, this fun and stylish guide is the key to walking like an Egyptian or breaking it down like Napoleon Dynamite.
Let's Dance: The Complete Book and DVD of Ballroom Dance Instruction for Weddings, Parties, Fitness, and Fun (Let's Dance)
by Cal Pozo
from Hatherleigh Press
Master any dance in minutes with the first major dance instructional book/DVD from America’s bestselling dance instructor
Cal Pozo, director of the bestselling “Dancing with the Stars–Cardio Dance” DVD and creator of the multi-platinum award-winning “Learn to Dance in Minutes” series, has taught more than three million people how to dance with his patented “Reverse View” method. Over the years, thousands of his fans have asked if he also had a dance instructional book.
Here is the package they’ve been looking for: an easy-to-follow, fun-to-watch book and DVD combination that gives the reader multiple angles and methods from which to learn. In addition to basic step patterns and rhythms, you’ll learn:
-Smooth dances like the classic foxtrot, waltz, two-step, and tango
-American rhythm dances like the Lindy and the hustle
-Latin dances like the salsa, mambo, chacha, rumba, and merengue
-Line dances like the Electric Slide, the Macarena, the Tush Push, and the Boot Scooting Boogie
From the foxtrot to the Lindy hop, the merengue to the Macarena, you’ll learn how to identify each style of dance so that you’ll be prepared for any type of dance party. Whether you’re looking to wow the relatives at your wedding, impress your boss at the holiday party, or get a spot on “So You think You Can Dance?,” Let’s Dance! Weddings and Parties will have you moving and grooving, turning and twirling, and hopping and bopping with the best.
Ballroom Dancing
by Alex Moore
from Theatre Arts Book
For nearly 70 years, Alex Moore's Ballroom Dancing has been a favorite guide to standard techniques of ballroom dancing-for beginners, for competition dancers, and for students of ballroom dance courses. Now in its tenth edition, this classic and comprehensive handbook has been revised to bring it up to date in keeping with changes on the dance floor and in the rules of dance competitions. The Quickstep, Waltz, Foxtrot, and Tango are all illustrated and described in great detail. Popular dances, old and new, such as the Viennese Waltz and Rhythm Dancing, are also included, together with ballroom novelty dances and games.
Quick, Before the Music Stops: How Ballroom Dancing Saved My Life
by Janet Carlson
from Broadway
“I’ve been dancing steadily since that Valentine’s Day. I have taken countless lessons and classes, passed a professional certification exam, done several shows and a competition—yes, dressed in those outrageous gowns and false eyelashes—and then gone back home to the kids, the soccer, the housework, and to work the next day. It hasn’t been easy to make room in the schedule for my passion, but I have done it, because I’m certain now that it is necessary for life. This new period is rich—as rich in some ways as having my two children because it has been a kind of birth—but it has also been extraordinarily painful thanks to the self-examination that dancing has provoked in me. And so, because of dance, I can say, unequivocally and gratefully, that I am alive at last.”
– From Quick, Before the Music Stops
“There is no time for regret in dance. You have only now, this moment, for your performance, your glorious movement. Whatever you’re going to do, do it now, quick, before the music stops.” – Janet Carlson
In her twenties, Janet Carlson was a successful competitive ballroom dancer, but she abandoned dancing to raise a family and pursue a more conventional profession as an editor for a luxury lifestyle magazine. Twenty years later, she seemed to have it all: two beautiful daughters, a glamorous job, and a handsome, talented husband. Despite all of her successes, she felt a terrible void - her marriage was deeply troubled, and she was somehow withdrawn in the very midst of her own life and the lives of her children. Then, one Valentine’s Day, her husband gave her ballroom dancing lessons as a gift, and everything changed. She discovered the joy, passion, and confidence she hadn’t realized had gone missing for so long.
Over time, Janet discovers that ballroom dancing also contains the secrets to life and love: the give-and-take of dance, two bodies in rhythm and harmony, mirrors the reciprocity of human relationships. Total trust between partners is as vital on the dance floor as it is within a marriage. And yet, both partners - in dance and in life - must stand on their own two feet. The unadulterated joy Janet feels as she intuitively moves to the music speaks to the kind of absolute, whole-body happiness we were born to have. On the dance floor, she finds resolve in the waltz, self-confidence in the tango, and passion in nearly everything. Embracing dance once more allows her to let go of a marriage that was completely out of sync; put more heart and emotion into her work; find more time to truly be with her children; and ultimately rejoice in her intrinsic balance and poise.
Told with precision, grace, and painstaking honesty, Quick, Before the Music Stops is the tale of one woman’s midlife renewal through dance, and how her newfound empowerment transcends the dance floor and becomes immediate and relevant in every aspect of her life. It shows us how to recognize and celebrate both our strengths and our flaws, reignite passion for the everyday, and how to step from the periphery into the light and surrender to the music.
Tango: The Art History of Love
by Robert Farris Thompson
from Vintage
In this generously illustrated book, world-renowned Yale art historian Robert Farris Thompson gives us the definitive account of tango, "the fabulous dance of the past hundred years–and the most beautiful, in the opinion of Martha Graham.”
Thompson traces tango’s evolution in the nineteenth century under European, Andalusian-Gaucho, and African influences through its representations by Hollywood and dramatizations in dance halls throughout the world. He shows us tango not only as brilliant choreography but also as text, music, art, and philosophy of life. Passionately argued and unparalleled in its research, its synthesis, and its depth of understanding, Tango: The Art History of Love is a monumental achievement.
The Souls of Your Feet: A Tap Dance Guidebook for Rhythm Explorers
by Acia Gray
from Grand Weaver's Publishing
Acia Gray's The Souls of Your Feet is an exciting self-paced journey into the world and creation of the art of tap dance. Whether student, professional or fan of this indigenous American dance form, this guidebook leads the reader on an exploration of the essentials and basics of tap dance composition and communication from the perspective of a career professional.
Social Dance: Steps to Success (Steps to Success, 25)
by Judy Patterson, Ph.D. Wright
from Human Kinetics Publishers
Feel confident on the dance floor—step by step! Social Dance: Steps to Success will teach you all the moves for eight popular dance styles:
· Swing
· Cha-cha
· Foxtrot
· Polka
· Waltz
· Rumba
· Tango
· Salsa/mambo
Each step you take is a smooth transition from the one before. Your first few steps provide a solid foundation of skills and concepts. As you progress, you learn not only the basic dance steps and styling but also how to adjust to a partner, how to make the transitions between positions, and how to create sequences from variations of those basic steps.
Each of the steps also explains why the concept or skill is important, identifies the keys to correct technique, helps you avoid common errors, and explains how to practice each skill. A compact disc featuring music for each style is included to help you practice.
Written by master teacher and dancer Judy Patterson Wright, this book is part of the Steps to Success Activity Series—the most extensively researched and carefully developed set of sport skill instruction books ever published.
Modern Ballroom Dancing: All the Steps You Need to Get You Dancing
by Victor Sylvester
from Trafalgar Square Books
Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution
by Eve Golden
from University Press of Kentucky
Vernon and Irene Castle popularized ragtime dancing in the years just before World War I and made dancing a respectable pastime in America. The whisper-thin, elegant Castles were trendsetters in many ways: they traveled with a black orchestra, had an openly lesbian manager, and were animal-rights advocates decades before it became a public issue. Irene was also a fashion innovator, bobbing her hair ten years before the flapper look of the 1920s became popular.
From their marriage in 1911 until 1916, the Castles were the most famous and influential dance team in the world. Their dancing schools and nightclubs were packed with society figures and white-collar workers alike. After their peak of white-hot fame, Vernon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps, served at the front lines, and was killed in a 1918 airplane crash. Irene became a movie star and appeared in more than a dozen films between 1917 and 1922.
The Castles were depicted in the Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers movie The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), but the film omitted most of the interesting and controversial aspects of their lives. They were more complex than posterity would have it: Vernon was charming but irresponsible, Irene was strong-minded but self-centered, and the couple had filed for divorce before Vernon’s death (information that has never before been made public). Vernon and Irene Castle’s Ragtime Revolution is the fascinating story of a couple who reinvented dance and its place in twentieth-century culture.
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