What follows are responses I received when I sent emails to SavoyStyle
customers who had bought Balboa videos during 2003.
About 100 emails were sent out and about 20 responses were received.
Not everyone agreed to have their responses included
in this digest. I have only omitted irrelevant comments, otherwise
everything is as it was sent to me.
Thank you all very much for your participation! This has been fun and very, very interesting.
Judy
email: judy@savoystyle.com
1. from Valencia, Spain
I can compare Eric & Sylvia's with Marcus & Baerbl's: for the
price, Marcus'
ones have more steps and you can see two couples teaching (+ Steve&Denise)
and several couples dancing in a jam. For those who don't have access
to
workshops, teachers and dances I would recommend Marcus' series if
you had
to choose only one.
Perhaps the best (for one that don't have teachers in his area) would
be to
buy the whole series (3 tapes) from Marcus' plus the first tape from
Eric's
to learn the direct throw from step 3-4, as Marcus' always uses the
transition step.
As for Johnathan & Sylvia, I haven't seen the tape/s, but a friend
of mine
that has many instructionals, also living in Spain, told me that their
tape
is not so thoroughly made as the other ones as it seems is a live recording
from a workshop, not a specific work for an instructional tape. Not
for
recomending, she says.
Hope this can be useful and yes, I'd like to see the "survey results".
And
please, excuse my English mistakes!!
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2. from Massachusetts, USA
Marcus and Barbl -
The run times for their
videos are listed as pretty long, but it's not
all instruction. There's some interviews with some Balboa greats,
which
is cool stuff, but people shouldn't expect two hours of instruction.
They
do show quite a bit of material, but their instruction is very
superficial. Not a whole lot of explanation to what they do,
and
frequently when demonstrating a move they don't even say the count
or talk
about what goes on in the different counts. For those that learn
by
watching people, this is fine, but if you need to know ahead of time
what
you're supposed to do then these guys are really tough to learn from.
Sylvia and Jonathan -
Their basic video is really
disappointing. It's a video recording of the
two of them teaching a workshop to lots of people. Not at all
what I
expected for a $40 video. The second and third videos are more
typical
in-studio instructional videos. They're both pretty good quality
and
pretty good instruction with quite a bit if explanation for each move.
This next comment is definitely a personal preference type of thing,
but I
found their instruction somewhat choppy and hard to listen (one would
talk
and then the next would talk immediately, and back and forth).
Erik and Sylvia -
I found these to be the
best Balboa videos. They explain everything
they're doing and demonstrate all their moves beautifully. It
seems like
they both really enjoy dancing and teaching together, and that's something
that I think you can feel in watching the videos and it really makes
it
more pleasant to learn from them. A couple of the moves I had
already
learned in classes from some great instructors but Erik mentioned a
few
minor details that made the move a lot smoother and easier. The
videos
have very little wasted time and they dive right into their instuction.
All in all, I think they've got the best dancing, the best instruction
and
the best presentation.
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3. from North Carolina
I think I have the 3 E&S tapes, the 3 J&S tapes and the first M&B tape.
We've found the J&S tapes the most "user friendly" and we are about
half way
though the second one. They'd might be a dissapointment
to the hot-shots,
but seem best for step-by-step, let's build on the last move, instruction.
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4. from Upstate NY
Bal is significantly more difficult than Lindy or West Coast to us. The tapes are therefore much more of an asset for practice and review than other dances. The quality of instruction differs on video too. Over the past several years, we've had several sources of training for Bal, local instructors, several Joel and Allison workshops and CD, Sylvia Sikes, Marty and Valerie segments of in workshop, and the Eric and Sylvia tapes. The workshops were essential. The local training struggles to maintain skills. The tapes can keep skills up.
While each instructors excel in different areas and styles vary, the very best tapes in my opinion were Erik and Sylvia's. They breakdown Bal into simple pieces... e.g. "Bal Singles," "Bal Doubles"... so its significantly easier to understand and master. The technical quality of the video is excellent. They have a fun, smooth, attractive and easy style as well.
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5. from Illinois
A while back you asked about Jonathan and Sylvia Bal instructional tapes compared to Markus and Barble. Well, Markus is a great dancer and I have all of his tapes, but with regard to the Bal/Swing, Jonathan is a much better instructor and presents the material slower with more explanation, making it easier to understand and follow. If you have never danced Balboa, Jonathan and Sylvia is the tape to get.
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6. from Washington DC
The general problem with videos: to learn something, you should have
a permanent partner. It is our case.
We learned Balboa from Erik and Sylvia videos (all 3 levels) and added
some steps from
Jonathan and Sylvia (advance tape). We saw some samples from Marcus
and Barbl videos but have not found them interesting enough (it looks like
they introduced some tricks from their swing tapes). We believe that a
CD-ROM from Dorry and Sommer is useless. We have never taken classroom
Balboa instructions.
We love Balboa and are able to dance (lead and follow) with strangers.
As we noticed, most people, who had learned Balboa in classrooms, can dance
only a very limited set of basic steps.
...I prefer Erik and Sylvia's videos to those of Jonathan and
Sylvia. Both have a good teaching technique, but Erik and Sylvia's videos
contain more material and demonstrate much better dancing style (Sylvia
is a great dancer!)
We have seen only some examples from Dorry and Sommer's CD-ROM. Nevetheless,
we feel that they demonstrate a primitive dancing style. We also have strong
reservations about instructions on CD-ROMs -- the video tapes are more
convenient to rewind and watch steps in slow motion.
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7. from North Carolina
I have the Marcus and Bärbl tapes, and the Jonathan and Sylvia tapes. I plan to order the Erik and Sylvia tapes also.
Our Balboa group is located in a small town with no teachers, so we love the tapes and feel we are learning pretty well. We all plan to do some privates too.
I also ordered the All-Balboa DVD from Valerie Salstrom, and have been pretty fascinated by watching that. It's a great DVD.
Jonathan and Sylvia move slower and I feel explain it better for beginners. Marcus/Bärbl moves faster, and they assume you know how to dance already, (understand connection, etc.) However, they are both very, very good in their own way, so I think it's good to have both.
The Marcus and Bärbl tapes could break some things down more (esp. when Steve and Denise are teaching), because we have to back the tape up a lot with certain movements that they assume you know how to do already. They could spend a little more time explaining the come-arounds coming out of moves like the Salsa Kicks and Maxie Stop Step for instance.
I like them both, but with M&B, you get more moves.
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9. from the United Kingdom
My dance partner and I bought some Marcus and Barbl instructional videos
for
the Balboa. Our opinion is, they're brilliant.
Using the videos, we learnt the Balboa quickly - far quicker than our
friends who were going to classes. We have a good range of steps and
are
able to get out on the dance floor, feel comfortable with the dance,
and
impress everyone.
Marcus and Barbl explain and demonstrate everything very well, and they
have
a wicked sense of humour. We don't think the other two instructors
(whose
names I can't remember at the moment) on their videos are that
good,
particularly the girl. (Sorry!)
We particularly like the jamming sessions at the end of the videos which
we
find quite inspirational!
We'd have no hesitation in recommending the videos to anyone.
Hope this gives you some useful feedback. We'd be interested in
hearing the
results of your survey.
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10. from southern California
I have Marcus & Barbl (Bed/Int/Adv), Erik & Sylvia (Adv) &
Jonathan & Sylvia (Bed/Adv) Balboa videos. I have not watched
any tape from beginning to end but have skipped through each tape to look
at the things that interest me.
However, I like Marcus & Barbl's Balboa tapes because it has interviews
with the "Originals/Old Timers", Marcus & Barbl / Steve & Denise
- Two different couples providing instructions and dancing the moves and
the most important aspect of the tape to me is the "Jam Session at Bobby
McGees". I have shown more people the Jam Session which has sparked
or in some cases re-sparked their interest in Balboa.
Erik & Sylvia & Jonathan & Sylvia both provide good instructions and would not dissuade anyone from buying these tapes.
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11. from southern California
I loved the Balboa tapes. Erik and Sylvia were
recommended to me by an
instructor whom I trust very much. They were my first exposure
to E&S. I
had some lessons in balboa already.
Tapes were fantastic. I learned so much from
them. First, E&S's
chemistry and tape was fun, cute, and enjoyable. There instruction
was
great. I learned more in one tape than I did in my 4 classes.
Not only did
they go over technique but they went over do's and don'ts and why,
they also
gave tips, and lots of styling. I like how they broke down the
steps and
showed it from different angles.
I like the tapes better than classes because I can
take my time learning
them and learn at any time. I can also rewind steps over and
over again
until I get it unlike classes were you are limited by time and the
needs of
the class. Also more content is covered in one tape than in a
class and
because they are not limited by class they can go over concepts that
would
take too long. I now just learn from tapes and take privates
with 2 couples
of instructors. 1 couple being Erik and Sylvia them selves and
they are
great people, very funny. Every now and then I will take a class
or
seminar.
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12. from Fairbanks, Alaska
The only Balboa tapes I have at the Marcus and Barbl ones and we are
almost
done with tape 1. With enough going over it we have mastered
the steps. I
only have 2 partners that know any bal so expect leading strangers
will be
a challenge. The reason I selected the tapes is that I had the
opportunity
to take a Marcus and Barbl/Denise and Nick? workshop in Denver.
I knew I
wanted to know more and I knew they were great instructors. I
would love
to receive other feedback you get.
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13. from Norfolk, Virginia
I bought the Sylvia and Jonathan Balboa basic video. The video
was right on target for me to learn good fundamentals. I do recommend
this video very highly. It supplements what I learned from Sylvia
and Jonathan's workshop.
The four basic moves... basic balboa, cross overs, come around, and
come around to lollies, were quintasential to my beginning social balboa.
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14. from Columbus OH
The one I received was OK. In the past I received (I think Jonathan
and
Sylvia) that was a group class and very disappointed with. If I'm spending
the money for a video I don't expect a group class.
I have Marcus and Barbl that I found to be excellent.
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15. from Western Australia
I find the Balboa and all other videos from Marcus and Barbl very good. They are explaining the steps very well and the camera angles are just super.
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16. from North Carolina
I have just about every Balboa instructional tape currently and I've
traveled taking private instruction from almost all of the current
'rock
stars' in Balboa.
Going by what is commercially
available currently, I would rank the
World of Swing (WoS) Balboa set far above all others. This is
the set that
Marcus & Baerbl did with Steve & Denise. Second would
be the Erik & Sylvia
(E&S) Balboa tapes and third would be the Sylvia Sykes tapes -
which I would
guess would sell by name recognition alone but I prefer the organization
of
the WoS tapes. The World of Swing Balboa series has a very clear
path of
learning and is broken down exceptionally clearly. The come-around
was
somewhat difficult to grasp using tapes alone (I was using the WoS
and E&S
series together at the time) until I actually worked with Steve on
it. I
still recommend the WoS tapes as the best on the market and easiest
to use
to learn. Having the tapes to use and work with gave me a good
grounding,
and I followed that up with some privates with the instructors which
polished things up.
Steve & his new fiancée
Heidi are coming out with their own DVD.
Without even seeing it, I would highly recommend this DVD. Given his
past
performance with the WoS tapes, and instructional knowledge I see it
as
rising to be a top seller quickly.
I'd be happy to provide
more information if you need it. I've
recently started teaching Balboa in North Carolina myself. I'd also
be
interested in hearing the results of your survey.
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17. from Toronto, Canada
I have taken lesson on Balboa from Jonathan & Sylvia when they were
together, and a couple from California, can't remember their first
names,
but the last name was Plys. I have taken other swing classes
from Babl &
Marcus. As far as the feedback on the Balboa tapes, I personally
like
Jonathan & Sylvia, but each teacher is different. I, being
a swing teacher
myself, pick up things very easy while others may not. Jonathan
& Sylvia
may not be for everyone though they are my favorite. Different
people need
different types of lessons. My personal suggestion is to take
a live
lesson, then build on moves and styles with the tapes. With a
teacher
present, one can avoid bad habits where a tape cannot pick up on this.
Your
instructor may suggest certain tapes from different instructors.
It's a
personal thing.
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18. from Ohio
Also, you recently put out a note requesting folks comment on which
balboa tapes they liked best. We thought about it and decided each
one had their strengths and weaknesses; however, when we give beginners
one of your catalogs we always suggest they get Frankie as a first tape
for the lindy, and Erik and Sylvia for the balboa because they are so good
at breaking down the moves for both the lead, and the follow.