Ken Baldwin - Dancefish.com

"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying."
--Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

As simple as I can put it, this is a great movie. I make this mandatory viewing for my dance students at Santa Monica College. It gets to the essence of dance and what we go through as students in learning how to dance. This is the Japanese version I'm talking about and not the American (terrible) remake that came out 7 years later. Anyone who has taken a dance class, tried to learn a dance or has become obsessed with dance will be moved by this film. I've watched this movie at least 20 times and it's never gotten old. If you've seen the American remake with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez just know that this is not that film. This film is funny, sad, inspirering, just a great movie.

(Click here "Shall We Dance" or on the picture above and it will connect you to Amazon.com where you can purchase the DVD.)

Awards:

• Awards of the Japanese Academy: Award of the Japanese Academy for Best Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actress, Newcomer of the Year, Best Director, Best Lighting, Best Screenplay, Best Music Score, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor, Best Sound
• Blue Ribbon Awards: Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: BFCA Award for Best Foreign-Language Film
• Cleveland International Film Festival: Best Film
• Flanders International Film Festival: Special Mention
• Florida Film Critics Circle Awards: FFCC Award for Best Foreign Film
• Hochi Film Awards: Hochi Film Award for Best Film, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor
• Kinema Junpo Awards: Kinema Junpo Award for Best New Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Film, Best Actor
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards: Sierra Award for Best Foreign Film
• London Critics Circle Film Awards: ALFS Award for Foreign Language Film of the Year
• Mainichi Film Concours: Mainichi Film Concours for Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Film, Best Actor
• National Board of Review, USA: NBR Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Online Film Critics Society Awards: OFCS Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Satellite Awards: Golden Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language
• Seattle International Film Festival: New Director's Showcase Special Jury Prize
• Society of Texas Film Critics Awards: STFC Award for Best Foreign Film
• Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards: SEFCA Award for Best Foreign Language Film

(Click on banner above to purchase)

This is my "How to Dance Salsa" DVD I made last year with Vanessa Arevalo and SER Productions. It teaches the basics of the dance, proper technique, and simplifies how to do the dance.

(This customer review from amazon.com sums it up best)

"... I've been learning Salsa recently and have been looking for good instructional videos. This one is excellent. The video really does start from the very beginning for new dancers by starting with the timing (rhythm pattern) of the dance and the basic foot work. It then progresses through the basic moves and culminates with a couple intermediate patterns. The instruction by the male teacher was very clear.
One thing that I really appreciated about their teaching style was that the instructors always danced with very good clean form..........Many instructors "dumb down" the steps to make it easier to see what is going on, but the disadvantage is that you then have poor movement as your model......These instructors do the steps beautifully and use different camera angles, close-ups of the footwork, and slow motion to help you see what is going on.
I also appreciated that the instructor mixed in technique pointers with each step. This is often left out of instructional videos.
Overall, I highly recommend this video. I just wish that they had an intermediate version. I'm already done with this one."

Stefan Gonick (Western Massachusetts)

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