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Salsa & Mambo Video Reviews

 

MamboFodadaz


Crazy Turn Patterns

Level: Adv

Style: On 2

Content: Turn Patterns

General Comment: And I thought I had seen them all? Thanks so much to Micah and Kathy for proving me wrong; rarely being proven wrong has been so entertaining and I enjoyed every bit of this DVD, at times raising an eyebrow at a complicated move, other times smiling at the cleverness of an arm-work or nodding at the resolution of a knotted figure.

Also rarely has a DVD title been more appropriate; these turns patters ARE crazy and you would be equally crazy not to try them out, at least once in your life.. this is mambo style (on2 of course) and everything below the belt looks fairly traditional. Above the belt, it's a different story. Micah and Kathy take inspiration from complicated casino arm-work (the one in which people get tangled up in knots) and use the mambo-inspired 'release-catch again' trick to make the turn patterns more comfortable. Technically, this has been done already, but their turn patterns are more advanced compared to what I have seen so far and surely very, very original. But this is just the starting point. From here, they take the 'catch-release-throw-catch again' trick to a new level, a level creative enough to become the feature of a move in itself; here they are at their best.

Given the complexity of the turn patterns, the clarity of the explanation is crucial. Micah does a very good job; he goes slowly, repeats every passage many times and builds the turn patterns (which are fairly long) one step at a time. Kathy supplies further information for the follower, when needed; her dancing is nice and clear, perfectly suitable for the DVD. The pace of the teaching allows you to practise the turn patterns while you watch them in a comfortable manner. You can learn each of them by following Micah and Kathy a few times; becoming fluent at executing them may take the rest of your life and the next, but it will be fun.

Technology-wise, the DVD is very simple, simple filming and simple editing, but this is a minor issue, since what we wanted was a way to learn MamboFodadaz moves which have become so popular on Youtube; the DVD delivers from this perspective both because of the teaching clarity and because the camera views are effective to peruse all details. Plus, Micah has already promised technological progress in the coming future :) If, like me, you think that Salsa DVDs are also a record of the incredible evolution we see happening in this dance in front of our eyes, then this DVD is a very welcome addition to the 'what is possible in partner dancing' repertoire.. well worthwhile adding it to your collection .

Reviewed by Fabio -Recommended


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