What do you think of the current crop of videos

[Paul F]

Just thought I would start a new thread for the benefit of all those who are thinking of buying any of the new english or australian ceroc videos.

There has been a new batch of videos from both major organisations in Oz aimed at the intermediate/advanced level as well as a couple from closer to home - including the brand new Beginner video by our very own Ceroc London!!

If anyone hasn't seen them most can be found on www.boogiesteps.com (I hope this is ok putting the address here but its the only place i know to get them)

So to help all those who maybe sat deliberating which ones to choose :confused: I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on them??

I have bought a couple from both organisations and found them to be very good.

[michael]

Hi Paul. Glad you mentioned this subject it is just what i am looking for! Firstly are they on DVD as it is so much easier to skip to parts etc rather than wind tapes. I shall look at the site you mentioned to see what is available. You did not say if you bought any and i would appreciate your opinion if you did.

Delighted to hear London has produced a beginner video.

Just one other important point. Recently i purchased one particular video from another dance place and it would not play on my DVD because my player was restricted to region two only.

Does anyone know if they are region two as they all ought to be if they are sold here in Britain??? I aint going to replace my DVD yet until the format is sorted and recording/player versions comes down in price.

[jiveclone]

Region code is not the only reason you might have trouble playing a dance DVD. Since dance DVD's will often be produced in relatively low quantities they may not be manufactured using the process used for normal commercial DVD's, but instead created using a PC and DVD burner (i.e. DVD-R).

If you have an old DVD player it will not recognize DVD-R discs (something to do with the laser being the wrong colour to reflect off the dye layer).

I was unable to play the UK "Ceroc Finals" DVD on my DVD player for this reason.

Allan.

[Dreadful Scathe]

If it is region locked or you just want to find out what your DVD player is capable of , visit....

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers.php

and type in the name of your player, there may be a simple code you can enter to select region or there may even be files you can download to upgrade your player
(i got a dansai player that i upgraded to play VCD's)

[michael]

Thanks to both Jiveclone and DS for that. You got it in one Jiveclone.

Unfortunately DS the big makers sony toshiba etc dont usually allow you to use a code to break the region. You would normally have to get your player chipped.

Wonder if we could set up a dance night with 5 channel stereo blasting out and a big screen showing everyone dancing and having fun????..........

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally posted by michael
Unfortunately DS the big makers sony toshiba etc dont usually allow you to use a code to break the region. You would normally have to get your player chipped.


True and in my opinion there is no reason to buy from those manufacturers, you can get a Dansai DVD from asda for £80 a cyberhome from richersounds.co.uk for about the same or a player from scan.co.uk for £72 - all have 5.1 sound, decent remote control, great picture (hey its digital) and will play ANYTHING (toast doesnt work though, doesnt fit :) ). They all look great too (although the cyberhome is a bit bulky but has a nice display). Only possible drawback with a "cheaper" DVD player, in my experience, is slight pauses when it switches to another layer on multi layered DVDs - but i dont know of ANY recent multi layered DVD releases, and DVD writers physically cant write multiple layers anyway.

[Gary]

Originally posted by Paul F

If anyone hasn't seen them most can be found on www.boogiesteps.com (I hope this is ok putting the address here but its the only place i know to get them)


I believe Nicky is heading Up Over (opposite of Down Under) for the Jive Masters finals, and will almost certainly bring a box of videos/DVDs to sell. I think she'll be visiting Scotland this time.

www.cerocdance.com.au probably has more info.

I've got one of her Advanced videos which was pretty darn good. Filming the moves from in front and behind makes it a lot easier to learn from the vid.

By the way, I agree about preferring DVD to video for this kind of stuff: it should last longer, you can random access faster, slow-mo, A-B mode, ...

[michael]

Thanks again DS. Unfortunately i am into home cinema in a BIG way. The quality of some DVD players is so so. If i can find out when and if Nicky is bringing with her some DVD videos i can purchase some and i guess i will just have to get a new DVD player. There are some cracking Multi Region ones out now and the quality has improved in the last couple of years. Richer sounds is pretty good for a bargain so i shall have a wee look.

Thanks gcapell for the info. I checked the website that Paul f mentioned but they only have the Leroc dvd the rest are on tape.

[Franck]

Originally posted by michael
Thanks gcapell for the info. I checked the website that Paul f mentioned but they only have the Leroc dvd the rest are on tape. As mentioned earlier in this thread, Nicky Haslam will be coming over to Glasgow for an Aussie week-end in September, Style workshops, guest class and Cabaret, at the September Glasgow party in the Henry Wood Hall, 13th / 14th September.

She will bring with her a selection of fantastic videos / dvds with her, so a great opportunity.

You can also buy the Ceroc DVDs directly from www.ceroc.com

Cheers,

Franck.

[Chris]

I seem to have more dance videos than I know what to do with :blush: ! Anyway, here's my top three fave instructional vids:

1. Swayze Dancing. Grandmaster Patrick Swayze and his top teacher mom giving insights and advice and clips from classes. Cheesy presentational style with 70s outfits but the dance knowledge is almost incomparable.

2. Intermediate Moves & Dips 1. (Ceroc Australia Dance Company). From one of the two Ozzie groups, this one is a bit closer to NZ Ceroc which stylistically I prefer. It contains very little in the way of 'choreographed' moves so is equally helpful whether you have a regular partner or not.

3. Ultimate Close Moves Tape 1. (Ceroc and Modern Jive Dance Company). From Nicky Haslam, who runs the other Ozzie Ceroc group, and has a more 'British' style (with characteristic semi-circles to start a dance) but with lots of the sort of dazzling moves that we associate with down under. Unlike many of Nicky's tapes, this one also has a low preponderance of choreographed moves.

Certainly on a similar level in terms of quality of instruction is Jump 'n' Jive's video, 'Advanced Jive'. It is a long tape with both expert detailed instruction in Nigel and Nina's brand of advanced jive and Andy and Rena's aerials masterclasses. My own copy had a fault on the sound at one point but I think it was just a one-off or that batch. Nina gives good instruction on technique to girls as well - a bugbear of mine as much UK jive/Ceroc teaching and workshops may be aimed mainly at guys.

For DVDs, the only ones I know of are Drop in Jive's (by Peter Phillips, who some met for the first at Jive Extras this weekend). I haven't seen them yet and Peter's website is still under construction, but you could always ask Boogie Nights to pass on a request.

As well as Boogie Steps, you can also get them from John Sweeney (http://www.modernjive.com/Videos.html) (same price).

For sheer inspiration, my faves are the classic Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly movies. You can get many of them now for about a fiver from Amazon and places. For non-film addicts, I've added mini reviews on my website, or you might want to check 'film entertainment' content/quality (rather than just dance) on IMDb (http://uk.imdb.com/search.html) .

Best wishes - and enjoy

[Chris]

ps I should add that I think it's greatly to Franck's credit hosting teachers like Nicky Haslam - I went to her classes at Cambers and she's pretty good! From what I remember of Franck's nights, I'd also support his idea that a genuine passion for dance and making money are not mutually exclusive - he seems to demonstrate good business sense in bringing more people into dancing (he always seemed to me to make a point of dancing with beginners and visitors as much as with experienced dancers and regulars). Bringing top teachers in helps to keep dancers interested though, not just woo them to the dancefloor. And thank goodness someone's realised a non-isolationist policy actually works.

Mind you, his interest in celidh is a bit dodgy . . . :D

[Grant]

Originally posted by Chris
Mind you, his interest in celidh is a bit dodgy . . . :D
it's just an excuse to wear that thing he calls a kilt :wink: :devil:

Grant

[Franck]

Originally posted by Chris
[BMind you, his interest in celidh is a bit dodgy . . . :D [/B] :D :D

Well, I like a good excuse to wear my kilt (and yes Grant, it *is* a kilt, from a proper kilt shop :wink: )

Having said that, because the Perth venue is so large, I thought a Ceilidh would be perfect for everyone who wants to introduce friends / relatives to Ceroc... They can get a Beginners class, a bit of dancing, cabarets displays, Jivemasters to see the cream of the Scottish crop, after all that, when they think that the 3 moves they learnt are not enough to sustain them for the night, they get a chance to dance something more familiar... I believe the Perth Party will be the perfect showcase for what makes Ceroc so great :D :waycool:

Franck.

P.S. At the request of a few people who were planning to invite non-cerocing friends / family, I have introduced a group booking discount for the party only. Any group of 6 or more booking for the party in advance will only pay £10.00 per ticket!

[Lounge Lizard]

Hi you may be interested to know that there are three drops and seducers DVD's or Video's available at £15 each (or £35 for three DVD's in single package) + P&P

They contain 0ver 80 different moves and variations from beginners to advanced showcase level.

The moves are taught by Peter Phillips and Alina, who are regulars at the Camber/Bognor weekend events.

[michael]

Hi Lounge Lizard. Where exactly can you get these three DVD for £35.00. Seems a great buy since i noticed one web site selling ONE DVD for that price.

Its always nice to get a wee bargain!!!

[Paul F]

Thats sounds like an absolute steal!!!

I have been to quite a few of Peter and Alinas classes and workshops and found them to be excellent. I would be very interested to find out where to get a copy of these dvd's.

Does each DVD run at its own level ie. beginner dvd, inter dvd etc? OR are they all mixed ?

[Lounge Lizard]

Each vid/dvd contains a range of moves from simple dips to the advanced stuff, contact me for details