Come Dancing in sequence: a review of sequence dance cds

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Come Dancing in sequence

~ a review of sequence dance CDs ~

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Introduction

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This review site for sequence dance CDs was started in 2006 with three purposes in mind: (1) to facilitate the Internet search for good sequence dance CDs; (2) to act as a database for the increasing number of CDs on offer; and (3) to alert artists/suppliers to ways in which their CDs might be improved. Good music lies at the heart of all dancing. Nowhere is this more so than with sequence dancing. Our pleasure in sequence dancing should not be diminished by music that is uninspiring or out of sequence. Neither should the music have an introduction that is uncertain or be other than four bars long. The music should not have a phantom ending where some dancers stop and others continue. The music should not be too fast or too slow or have variable sound levels that make it difficult for the hard of hearing to follow, etc, etc.

Sequence dance CDs are usually bought off the Internet. It is often impossible to judge the quality of music on a CD until you possess the CD. The ‘recent’ provision of abbreviated Internet sound tracks by some suppliers has now made this a little easier. However, as one supplier succinctly commented “it is difficult to buy CDs if you haven’t heard them first”. Most owners of sequence dance CDs jealously guard them. They are often unwilling to share their experience with others. This is understandable but also frustrating to those who are attempting to build up a library of good sequence dance CDs. It is more than a little disappointing to order CDs, eagerly await their arrival and then find that many if not all of the tracks are unusable. Having said that, no CDs that fall into the latter category will be listed here. We have no desire to denigrate artists or suppliers. We appreciate the skills and difficulties in producing good quality sequence dance music. Our hope is that this website will aid sequence dancers in the task of choosing CDs and also alert suppliers to the market’s wishes. We trust that visitors to this website will treat it in the nature of a book or general CD review: a personal view interspersed with useful factual data.

There are many hundreds of sequence dance CDs in the marketplace. The task of reviewing each CD for this website was therefore initially a monumental task. We have now (July 2012) reviewed over 450 CDs although some were of such poor quality that they have not been uploaded to this website. Although some may consider many of the CDs reviewed ‘old’, they often contain very good music and are a useful addition to a dance club’s library.

We appreciate that errors or omissions may have occurred in setting up this website pro bono publico. Feedback from site visitors, including suppliers and distributors of dance CDs, is therefore more than welcome. We have especially appreciated the positive feedback we have received thus far from six of our sequence dance CD artists, and many sequence dancers.

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Page last revised 17 July 2012

DISCLAIMER: While every effort has been made to ensure that all the information provided in this website is correct, no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions that may be present or losses that may ensue to users of the information. The omission of any particular sequence dance CD from this site does not by itself imply that the CD is unsatisfactory: it may simply be that it has not yet been assessed.