About the Waltz

28 bars per minute, 3/4 time. Basic Rhythm is 123 123 (strong accent on 1)

It is also known as Slow Waltz or English Waltz depending on locality.

The waltz provides the origin of modern ballroom dance in that moved it away from a
group sequence of movement to the independent movement of an individual couple,
Originating in southern Germany in the 17th century, the popularity of the Waltz
dance grew with the music of Johann Strauss and exploded to great popularity in the
20th century. It is the “backbone dance” of the ballroom and is the basis for many
dances. A truly romantic dance, the Waltz is comprised of soft, round, flowing
movements.

The Waltz is a smooth dance that travels around the line of dance. Characterized by
its “rise and fall” action, the Waltz includes a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time. Dancers
should move their shoulders smoothly, parallel with the floor instead of up and down.
Dancers must strive to lengthen each step. On the first beat of the music, a step is
taken forward on the heel, then onto the ball of the foot with a gradual rise to the toes,
continuing on to the second and third beats of the music. At the end of the third beat,
the heel is lowered to the floor to the starting position.

History[edit]
 Waltz

There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the
waltz that date from 16th century Europe, including the representations of
the printmaker Hans Sebald Beham. The French philosopher Michel de
Montaigne wrote of a dance he saw in 1580 in Augsburg, where the dancers held each
other so closely that their faces touched. Kunz Haas (of approximately the same
period) wrote, "Now they are dancing the godless Weller or Spinner."[1] "The
vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall,
uses his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the bar, thus
intensifying his personal enjoyment in dancing."[1] The peasants of Bavaria, Tyrol,
and Styria began dancing a dance called Walzer, a dance for couples, around 1750.
The Ländler, also known as the Schleifer, a country dance in 3
4 time, was popular in Bohemia, Austria, and Bavaria, and spread from the
countryside to the suburbs of the city. While the eighteenth century upper classes
continued to dance the minuets (by Mozart Haydn and Handel), bored noblemen
slipped away to the balls of their servants.[2]
In the 1771 German novel Geschichte des Fräuleins von Sternheim by Sophie von La
Roche, a high-minded character complains about the newly introduced waltz among
aristocrats thus: "But when he put his arm around her, pressed her to his breast,
cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent whirling-dance of the Germans and
engaged in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of good breeding—then my silent
misery turned into burning rage."[3]
Describing life in Vienna (dated at either 1776 or 1786[4]), Don Curzio wrote, "The
people were dancing mad ... The ladies of Vienna are particularly celebrated for their
grace and movements of waltzing of which they never tire." There is a waltz in the
second act finale of the 1786 opera Una Cosa Rara by Martin y Soler. Soler's waltz
was marked andante con moto, or "at a walking pace with motion", but the flow of the
dance was sped-up in Vienna leading to the Geschwindwalzer, and
the Galloppwalzer.[5][6]
In the transition from country to town, the hopping of the Ländler, a dance known
as Langaus, became a sliding step, and gliding rotation replaced stamping rotation.[4]
In the 19th century, the word primarily indicated that the dance was a turning one; one
would "waltz" in the polka to indicate rotating rather than going straight forward
without turning.
The Viennese custom is to anticipate slightly the second beat of each bar, making it
sound as if the third is late and creating a certain buoyancy. The younger Strauss
(Johann Strauss II) would sometimes break up the one-two-three of the melody with a
one-two pattern in the accompaniment along with other rhythms, maintaining the 3
4 time while causing the dancers to dance a two-step waltz. The metronome speed for
a full bar varies between 60 and 70, with the waltzes of the first Strauss (Johann
Strauss I) often played faster than those of his sons.[7]
Shocking many when it was first introduced,[8] the waltz became fashionable
in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow.
According to contemporary singer Michael Kelly, it reached England in
1791.[9] During the Napoleonic Wars, infantry soldiers of the King's German
Legion introduced the dance to the people of Bexhill, Sussex from 1804.[10]
It became fashionable in Britain during the Regency period, having been made
respectable by the endorsement of Dorothea Lieven, wife of the Russian
ambassador.[11] Diarist Thomas Raikes later recounted that "No event ever produced
so great a sensation in English society as the introduction of the waltz in 1813."[12] In
the same year, a sardonic tribute to the dance by Lord Byron was anonymously
published (written the previous autumn).[13][14] Influential dance master and author
of instruction manuals, Thomas Wilson published A Description of the Correct
Method of Waltzing in 1816.[15] Almack's, the most exclusive club in London,
permitted the waltz, though the entry in the Oxford English Dictionary shows that it
was considered "riotous and indecent" as late as 1825. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,
by Anne Brontë, in a scene set in 1827, the local vicar Reverend Milward tolerates
quadrilles and country dances but intervenes decisively when a waltz is called for,
declaring "No, no, I don't allow that! Come, it's time to be going home."[16]
The waltz, especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many
other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including
many folk and several ballroom dances.

The Country Western Waltz is mostly progressive, moving counter clock wise
around the dance floor. Both the posture and frame are relaxed, with posture
bordering on a slouch. The exaggerated hand and arm gestures of some ballroom
styles are not part of this style. Couples may frequently dance in the promenade
position, depending on local preferences. Within Country Western waltz, there is the
Spanish Waltz and the more modern (for the late 1930s- early 1950s) Pursuit Waltz.
At one time it was considered ill treatment for a man to make the woman walk
backwards in some locations.[19]
In California the waltz was banned by Mission priests until after 1834 because of the
"closed" dance position.[20] Thereafter a Spanish Waltz was danced. This Spanish
Waltz was a combination of dancing around the room in closed position, and a
"formation" dance of two couples facing each other and performing a sequence of
steps.[20] "Valse a Trois Temps" was the "earliest" waltz step, and the Rye Waltz was
favoured as a couple dance.[21]
 In contemporary ballroom dance, the fast versions of the waltz are
called Viennese Waltz as opposed to the Slow waltz.[22]
 In traditional Irish music, the waltz was taught by travelling dancing masters
to those who could afford their lessons during the 19th century. By the end of that
century, the dance spread to the middle and lower classes of Irish society and
traditional triple-tune tunes and songs were altered to fit the waltz rhythm. During
the 20th century, the waltz found a distinctively Irish playing style in the hands
of Céilidh musicians at dances.[23][24]
 International Standard Waltz has only closed figures; that is, the couple never
breaks the embrace.
 The American Style Waltz, part of the American Smooth ballroom dance
syllabus, in contrast to the International Standard Waltz, involves breaking contact
almost entirely in some figures. For example, the Syncopated Side-by-Side with
Spin includes a free spin for both partners. Open rolls are another good example of
an open dance figure, in which the follower alternates between the lead's left and
right sides, with the lead's left or right arm (alone) providing the lead. Waltzes
were the staple of many American musicals and films, including "Waltz in Swing
Time" sung by Fred Astaire.[citation needed]
 The Scandinavian Waltz, performed as a part of Scandinavian folk dance, can
be fast or slow, but the dancers are always rotating.[citation needed]
 The Peruvian Waltz is called and recognised in Peru as vals criollo.[citation
needed]
 The Mexican Waltz (vals mexicano) follows the same basic rhythmic pattern
as the standard waltz, but the melodies reflect a strong Spanish influence.
Mexico's Juventino Rosas wrote "Sobre las Olas" or "Over the Waves", commonly
known in the U.S. as a circus song played during a trapeze show.[citation needed]
 The Cajun Waltz is danced progressively around the floor, and is characterised
by the subtle swaying of the hips and step very close to ordinary walking. It is
danced entirely in the closed position.[citation needed]
 The Cuban (or Tropical) Waltz follows the pattern of the standard waltz
throughout the song.[citation needed]
 The Venezuelan waltz provided a basis for distinctive regional musical
composition.[citation needed]
 The Contra Waltz (Freeform Waltz), included in most contra dance evenings,
uses both open and closed positions, and incorporates moves from other dances
such as swing, modern jive and salsa. Basically the dancers progress around the
dance floor with a waltz step, but with no constraints on what moves they can
use.[citation needed]
 The Valse Musette, a form of waltz popular in France, started in the late 19th
century.[citation needed]
 The cross-step waltz (French Valse Boston) developed in France in the early
20th century and is popular in social waltz groups today.[citation needed]
 In folk dance from the Alsace region, waltzes in odd metres such as 5
4, 8
4 and 11
 4 are found. In modern bal folk, waltzes in even higher metres are played and
danced.
 Estonian folk dance Labajalavalss (flat of the foot waltz) performed in 3
4 time.[citation needed]
Today both the faster Viennese Waltz, made forever popular by the Strauss family,
and the slower American and International style waltzes are extremely popular with
dancers of all ages.

 Sama'i (also known as usul semai) is a vocal piece of Ottoman Turkish music
composed in 6/8 metres. This form and metre (usul in Turkish) is often confused
with the completely different Saz Semaisi, an instrumental form consisting of
three to four sections, in 10/8 metre, or usul aksak semai (broken semai in
Turkish). Semai is one of the most important forms in Ottoman Turkish Sufi
music.[25][26]
 The Tsamikos (Greek: Τσάμικος, Tsamikos) or Kleftikos (Greek: Κλέφτικος)
is a popular traditional folk dance of Greece, done to music of 3/4 metre.[27]

Music[edit]
International Standard Waltz is a Waltz dance and danced to slow waltz music,
preferably 28-30 bars per minute (84-90 beats per minute).[1] [2] Waltz music is in
3/4 time and the 1st beat of a measure is strongly accented.[3]