Canter Bridge

If Brasilia were the capital of the world, everybody would grow up knowing samba and how to dance to it.

Alas, the world has not capital and Brasilia on the short list. So most of us need to be *taught* to dance samba. That’s where this CD claims its usefulness. Each of eighteen tunes is worked out to ‘strict tempo’ samba in order to facilitate dancing by the novices, the newcomers, and the merely stiff.

If you’re new to this, I must warn you. Samba is contagious. But there are worse things to catch.

If this kind of infectious rhythm doesn’t seem like such a bad idea to you, start here.

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If salsa is not the most joyous of musical genres it is at least one of the happiest. This entry in the Ballroom Latin Dance series features splendid CD liner artistry and a solid lineup of high-energy salsa performed by little-known but expert musicians.

The series comes at you without written comment as a simple source of dance music. It delivers extremely well on that promise and can hardly be faulted for what it does not aim to accomplish.

Great salsa here, on the cheap!

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Compilations of tunes that are assembled to support beginning dancers in their instruction vary wildly with regard to the quality of the artists and the adequacy of the recording technology. This selection from the Ballroom Latin Dance series excels on both counts.

Nine tunes average about four-and-a-half minutes each, long enough for the dance student to get into the rhythm and movement of a piece. It’s beautiful music for pure listening too, and that comes from a reviewer who is not easily moved by merengue.

The photo that graces the CD liner of each entry in this series is wonderfully evocative of the dance in question, a bonus that may move you to choose from the Ballroom Latin Dance lineup rather than a competitor.

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