Obsession much?

I watched They Shoot Horses, Don't They a couple of nights ago (thanks, Professor Goldman, for the suggestion!). For those who haven't seen it, it's set in the Depression, at a 'dance marathon.' These were contests that lasted for days on end (I believe the one in the movie was 60 days long), and contestants had to keep moving the whole time (barring a short break every two hours). The sheer determination that the contestants had, despite their complete exhaustion and lack of adequate rest, was astounding. This is perhaps the strangest thing I have heard of with regards to dance. It also does not seem possible that anything really analogous could happen nowadays - even with the prize money and some people's determination to become famous, the way the people were treated in these contests was inhumane.

I am realizing now that it is difficult to find books that adequately explain social dancing with relation to the movement itself - the brief descriptions do not really capture the essence of the dance, and are difficult to visualize. I am therefore planning on trying to find videos (possibly instructional dvds) of the various types of dance, in order to get a better sense of what the authors of the books I have been reading are talking about. I am also hoping to find more books that deal with recent styles of social dances, as the majority I have been able to find so far deal with the early 20th century.