Большой русско-английский фразеологический словарь
П145
ТАНЦЕВАТЬ ОТ ПЁЧКИcollVPsubj:humanto begin at the beginning, from the simplest point, and follow the usual routine
X танцует от печки - X starts (takes it) from step one (square one)
(in limited contexts) X starts over (goes through it again) from the beginningX takes it from the top (starts over) againX starts all overX goes back to the drawing board (to square one)it's back to the old drawing board!Аудитория была совсем не подготовлена, и лектору пришлось танцевать от печки и объяснять самые элементарные вещи. The audience didn't have a clue about the subject of the talk, and the speaker had to take it from square one, spelling out the basics