[.ca] Dancing for Kids (Baby Ballet / Tot Tap / Junior Jazz)

From Amazon.com:
Budding ballerinas ages 4 to 6 receive a thorough introduction to ballet at the tutelage of "Miss Rosemary" Boross in Baby Ballet. The program features Rosemary Boross, a student helper, and a small class of preschool age dancers as they explore the basics of warming up at the barre, stretching, center work, dancing across the floor, and revérénce. Miss Rosemary first describes and demonstrates steps like plié, tendu, suté, chassé, and grande jeté, then leads her class through each step to the accompaniment of original piano music by Bruce Stephen Foster. Because the program covers a large variety of steps and progresses fairly quickly, it is most effective when used in conjunction with enrollment in an introductory ballet class. Alternately, young dancers may want to view the video in short segments, then follow with ample practice time to ensure the correct execution of each individual step. In Tot Tap, Miss Rosemary Boross presents an authentic first-year tap class specifically geared toward children ages 4 to 6. Miss Rosemary covers a variety of basic tap steps like shuffle, dig, heel drops, toe taps, heel taps, and cramp rolls. She carefully details and demonstrates each tap step, then incorporates the steps into simple dances rehearsed by preschool-age, beginning tap students and accompanied by original, rhythmic music by Bruce Stephen Foster. This informative, 30-minute video can be used alone or in conjunction with enrollment in a beginning tap class. Junior Jazz is an introductory jazz dance lesson aimed specifically at children ages 4 to 6. Teacher Rosemary Boross covers four styles of dance within this "jazz" presentation: hip hop, musical theatre, rock, and swing. After demonstrating and explaining the individual steps within a combination, Miss Rosemary invites young viewers to dance along with her, two young adult helpers, and a small class of preschool children. Each dance combination has an animal theme like "Hippo Hop" and "Jungle Monkey Swing" and is set to fun original music composed by Bruce Stephen Foster and Brian Sepel with lyrics by Boross. --Tami Horiuchi

Great way to introduce children to the world of dance.:
This is a really cute dvd. I would guess the students are anywhere from 5-8 years old in each segment. Each collection shows how to do correct movements, gives the correct name of actions performed and creates a little dance part at the end. I believe it to be a good way to see if your child really wants to take classes, to practice positions learned in dance school and also to excersise. I also think it is a good way to remember positions learned during the summer break from Dance centers.

Great Dance DVD For Kids:
This is a great dvd for children who are interested in ballet, tap or jazz. I purchased this for my 4 year old daughter who has been taking dance for the last 6 months. I thought it would be a good teaching tool during the summer months and give her a head start for the upcoming year. The teacher is good at giving instruction, but you may have to hit the back button a few times to fully understand the moves she is teaching, especially when she puts the moves in combination. The ballet and tap were easier to learn for my daughter. The jazz, however, is more advanced and my daughter just seemed to get lost when trying the moves. I definitely recommend this to any parent who has a child who wants to try dance for the first time or one who wants the extra practice between classes.

Good for non-beginners:
I bought this DVD for my 4 year old. She enjoys dancing around the house, as well as watching a yoga video that I picked up. This DVD was a bit too advanced for her. Although the teacher shows each position, it still goes too fast for a little one who has never had a dance class. My daughter did enjoy the jazz section, and I caught her trying many of their moves. This DVD is great if your little one already has a little dance background. Be prepared to have tap shoes for the tap section, as the teacher focuses on the sounds that a tap shoe makes. We don't have tap shoes and were practicing on the carpet, making it difficult to fully appreciate the tapping. I will probably put this DVD away and bring it out again when my little one is closer to 5.