| Razz M Tazz Instructional Video Series | |
By Edie the SalsaFreak
I
just got done watching the second set of the Encyclopedia of Latin Dance by the
Razz M Tazz dance company out of New York. These videos are chalk FULL of moves!
The part I love best of all, is that they truly show Angel Rodriguez and
his beautiful wife, Addie as themselves - full of energy, spunk, love, and a lot
of laughs. This
video is relaxing and enjoyable to watch.
You get a kick out of some of Angel's gestures, Addie's laughing, and how
they interact with each other in a playful way.
When you get done watching the series, you feel you are part of their
family. I
truly admire this couple as one of Salsa's finest.
What's
great about these videos is that they are not excrutiatingly painfully slow to
watch. Trust me, you will not need to fast-forward through ANYTHING in this
series. Razz
M Tazz knows that most of us have "rewind" and "slo-mo"
buttons on our VCRs, so they go at a healthy pace demonstrating each move and
turn pattern.
The
beginning of each video gets you "in the mood" for New York style
dancing "On 2".
They film the streets of New York at night, and in some videos the
snowfall as well!
What's cool is that you see Angel and Addie dancing Salsa in the middle
of a feathery snowfall to kick things off.
Addie's style is sexy and intense and Angel truly does a beautiful job of
showing her off.
Each
video is very well planned.
Each move and turn pattern is named with subtitles at the bottom of your
screen for easy access if you need a move in a hurry.
The
Partnering video was brilliantly done.
In steps where it is imperitive to see upper-body arm and hand positions,
the camera focuses on the upper torsos.
At the same time, editing was done to display the footwork from an
"overall view" in a smaller second window on the lower left portion of
your screen. To
me, this was a great idea.
I
especially appreciated how the Shine On
video was done.
Both Angel and Addie demonstrate the same shines - HOWEVER, they
demonstrate how the moves appear when a man does it, verses when a woman does
it. It
certainly makes all the difference in the world!
I often get disappointed when I see women learn shines from men, and they
end up looking like their male instructors when they do them at the clubs.
A
little bit of flair and sex appeal ALWAYS helps, and Addie certainly knows how
to teach it!
What was nice about the Shine On
video was that after the move was demonstrated, a breakdown from the back was
shown. This
is paramount in learning, because when we teach "live", we usually
teach shines with our backs to our students so they can pick up the moves much
more quickly. I
believe every instructional video where shines are involved, should be shown
from the back side of the instructor.
Addie's
Sexy Moves video is to die for.
In it, she's playful, fiery, and sexy as ever.
Addie can be a bit intimidating to the relatively "toned down"
timid dancer, so each move is demonstrated with other women doing the same moves
behind her. This
way, the viewer can get an idea of how each woman can have her own flavor and
unique style. I
think if all of us tried to look as sexy and energetic as Addie, we'd be trying
for a very VERY long time!
It's nice to see the variations of each move.
I found myself rewinding the tape several times to catch intricacies and
details of arm, hand, and hip movements.
Whether you're a girl or a guy, THIS VIDEO WILL MAKE YOU SWEAT!
The
Sexy Partnering video was one of my personal favorites. I've already used some
of the moves myself, and have passed them along to many of my students.
Here, Angel tells the men very bluntly that they are to DISPLAY the
woman, and not "outdance" her.
Why? That
would mean "warfare".
Angel comes from the school of thought that if you make the woman look
good, the man looks awesome by default.
I've always written about this myself in past articles on Salsaweb.
When the woman looks fabulous out there, the guys always end up getting
the compliments after the dance!
I'm not kidding!
The
Sexy Partnering video also
demonstrates men's styling as well.
Here, Angel demonstrates male moves that are also sexy and look fabulous
on the dance floor as well.
Overall,
the entire Razz M Tazz video series is a breath of fresh air.
I often refer to it as a reference teaching video notebook for my own
classes. They
definitely have taken the quality and quantity of moves demonstrated in a single
video to a different level.
They've "upped the ante" in the Salsa video market so-to-speak,
and have set a new standard of excellence.
This is a Salsa video collection you won't want to be without!
A definite "must" for your library!
Click here to purchase Razz M Tazz Videos