If you can't get enough of Dancing with the Stars and always wondered how modern ballroom dances developed, you should check out Dawn of a New World: Two-Step to Lindy Hop (1890s-1940s). This DVD traces popular social dances "from bygone eras that are professionally reconstructed, smartly choreographed, and skillfully executed" by members of the Centuries Historical Dance troupe. It features famous dances like the Tango, Charleston, and Fox-Trot and more unfamiliar ones such as the Grizzly Bear, Cakewalk and Turkey Trot. The 60 minute film goes beyond dance moves with brief discussions about "how changes in politics, economics, behavior, and dress molded and shaped the way people moved and expressed themselves" (cover description). Come in and ask for this video at the circulation desk.
Posted by mhs160 at September 27, 2007 04:58 PM