Books about dancing

Parts of this compilation of books on dancing have been assembled by Mark Balzer. Many of these books are out of print; I recommend searching for them on http://www.bookfinder.com/.

Web sites where you can find dance books:

Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot, Tango

ISTD
The Ballroom Technique All figures broken down step by step in tabular form. This is the official book for ISTD examinations. (Intl. Style) (This is the successor to the now out of print Revised Technique of Ballroom Dancing by Alex Moore)
Alex Moore
Ballroom Dancing 9th edition (1986, A&C Black, London. ISBN 0-7136-2794-8) An excellent book for all types of dancers; many tips and instructions. Figures broken down step by step in tabular form and with footprint charts. This book also includes the Viennese Waltz. (Intl. Style)
Guy Howard
Technique of Ballroom Dancing. (1992, ISBN No. 0 900326 19 0) All figures broken down step by step in tabular form. Charts are more readable than ISTD books. IDTA syllabus. (Intl. Style)
Frank Borrows
The revised technique of modern ballroom dancing explained, publ: Altrincham, England, 1950

Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Samba, Paso

ISTD
Revised Technique of Latin American Dancing. All figures broken down step by step in tabular form. Official book for ISTD examinations. (Intl. Style)
Walter Laird
Technique of Latin Dancing. (1992 Walter Laird, ISBN 0 900326 21 2) All figures broken down step by step in tabular form. Charts are more readable than ISTD books. IDTA syllabus. (Intl. Style)
ISTD
Popular Variations In Latin American Dancing. edited by Elizabeth Romain, ISTD, 1982 Advanced variations and amalgamations for competition dancing. (Intl. Style)

American Style Syllabi

The NDCA sells books with the bronze and silver american style ballroom and latin. Contact: Ms Joy Edwards NDCA Publications Director 407 Mill Street SE Vienna, Virginia 22180 (703) 242-2569

General ballroom and social dance books

The Complete Book of Ballroom Dancing by Richard M. Stephenson and Joseph Jaccarino
Introduction to American Style ballroom dancing, including Bossa Nova, Merengue, Polka and Hustle. Step descriptions and photo's. What sets this book apart is a decent and well documented history of ballroom dancing, covering the 19th and early 20th century.Get this book from Amazon.
Elizabeth Romain, Flick Colby: Let's Go Dancing
Foreword by Dennis Rogers (pres. of US Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) 1979 Octopus Books Ltd 59 Grosvenor St. London W1 ISBN 0 7064 0965 5 Disco Dancing section (only contains pictures): hustle rock & roll (one step they call the lindy hop...) stroll twist shimmy frug monkey jerk hitchhiker pony swim bump. Contains large drawings of body, and footsteps (for Leader, Follower) along with text for: Tango, Waltz, Jive, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Chachacha, Samba, Rumba, Pasa doble
Bryan Allen and Victor Sylvester Modern Ballroom Dancing
(1993, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, ISBN 0-943955-77-7, $19.95) Good book for beginners, detailed description and footprints. Covers Smooth and Latin. Interesting section of dance history.Get this book from Amazon.
Walter Laird. The Ballroom Dance Pack
(Published in the USA by Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 95 Madison Ave., New York, NY l00l6, $24.95 plus tax) The book presents helpful learning hints for beginners, in the Waltz, Quickstep, Tango, Cha Cha, Samba and Rumba. They refer to this book as a "pack" since it includes "Step Cards, Foot Templates and a Compact Disc" with good strict tempo dance music available for both learning and dancing International Style.
Teach Yourself Series: Ballroom Dancing
(the Imperial Society of Dancing) ISBN 0-8442-3908-9 NTC Publishing Group Ballroom Dances: Waltz, Social Foxtrot, Social Quickstep, Quickstep, Quick Waltz, Tango Latin: Rumba, Samba, Cha Cha Cha, Jive, Mambo, Bossa Nova, Merengue, Paso Doble Rock & Roll, Disco _Freestyle_ Dances List of Organizations Worldwide (List of steps per Figure (man, woman); approx 5 Figures per dance)
Much ado about ballroom dancing.
http://OutDancing.com/
GSDTA
Ballroom& Back (Notebook & Cassette) - $40.00 Teachers Introductory Handbook - $10.00 Teachers Workbook Dance Terminology Notebook - $35.00 available from: Golden State Dance Teachers Association, Inc. (President: Skippy Blair) 10804 Woodruf Downey, CA 90241 USA Phone: (310)869-8949, Fax: (310)862-7129 $4.25 Shipping & Handling for first item - $2.00 each additional item

Specific dances

Hustle
Carter Lovisone The Disco Hustle
Step by step instruction in Line Hustle, Latin Hustle and Street Hustle. Six photos and text per page, with one photo per step in each figure. Brief history of Hustle. 1979, Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. ISBN 0-8069-8838-X -
Cha-cha, rumba
Guy Barry How to Dance the Cha Cha Cha
(1957, pub. by Frederick Fell Inc.) Written by the man who originated and introduced the cha-cha cha to the USA from Cuba. -
Guy Barry How to Dance the Rumba
(1953, pub. by Dover Publications) American Rumba figures - Pearlroth, Jonathan. Lambada! 63 p., ill. Published by Dell Publishing, New York, N.Y., 1990 ISBN: 0440503469
Salsa
!Salsa! Havana Heat: Bronx beat Hernando Calvo Ospina
Translator: Nick Caistor ISBN 0 906156 98X Latin American Bureau Ltd, 1 Amwell St London, EC1R 1UL (1995) First published by EPO, Antwerp, 1992, as Salsa: 500 jaar optimisme, liefde en ritme.
Swing
See the Swing page.
Tango
See the Tango page.
Waltz
Night work
A collection of writings about Waltz; order through the web site at

History and Biography

The Dancing Years, Bill and Bobby Irvine
W.H. Allen, London 1970. ISBN 0 491 00144 4. Auto-biographical account of this couple who reigned supreme throughout the 1960s.
My Husband, Arthur Murray, Kathyn Murray with Betty Hannah Hoffman
Simon and Schuster, New York 1960. Account of the dance and business partnership of Arthur and Kathryn Murray, their studio, tv show, and the influence on the development of ballroom dance that AM had.


Contents of the r.a.d. FAQ


This file is part of the FAQ list for the newsgroup rec.arts.dance. The FAQ list is being maintained by Victor Eijkhout (victor at eijkhout dot net, talk about vanity), who appreciates being sent additions or corrections on the material in this collection. Copyright 1994/5/6/7/8/9/2000 lies with the maintainer and the contributors of various parts.

Listen up: Victor did not write most of this stuff; he just collected it. So don't send him any dance questions.

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Last modified on: 2000, Saturday August 19.