The Ballroom Dance Pack
Like its forebears featuring heavy vinyl (or maybe it was shellac--they weighed a ton) records, this forthrightly named dance pack will require an inspection something like a customs luggage search every time it's returned to the library. But libraries where dance instruction sets remain popular will do well to add this one that, modernly enough, substitutes a light, shiny CD for the old platters. It also includes dancing shoe templates to photocopy and put on the floor for solo rehearsal and his-and-her cards (loose, so you'll have to put them in a paste-in pocket or something) with the basic footwork for the six dances that are featured in four-color photos in the book component of the pack. The six include three Modern (that's a formal name, hence the capital M) dances--waltz, quickstep, and tango--and three Latin dances--cha-cha, samba, and rumba. Laird's commentary is enlightening, his instructions are clear, and Dorling Kindersley has packaged the whole product quite handsomely.Ray Olson