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| internet source: waltz from DWTS |
The waltz is a smooth, graceful dance that become popular after two Austrian composers, Franz Lanner and Johann Strauss, created beautiful waltz music in the early 1800s. With songs such as “The Blue Danube', their music set the standard for the
Viennese waltz with its fast tempo that is still popular today. The Viennese waltz alternates multiple left and right turns and requires stamina to keep up with the music. Waltz music (with its unique ¾ time signature) has three beats per measure: one downbeat and two upbeats. With the evolution of a slower version of the Viennese waltz, dancers began to take a longer step to accent the first count of the music. In general, the
waltz is characterized by its stately posture and a wavelike rise-and-fall motion.
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| internet source: Viennese waltz |
For over 300 years, a version of the waltz has been danced. Its early origins were in the 17th century (1600s) when peasants danced a
weller, or turning dance, in Austria and Vienna. The word waltz comes from the old German word walzen, which means to turn, to glide, or to roll. In the 18th century (1700s), the upper class danced primarily open-couple dances such as the slow and stately minuet and other court dances. Napoleon's soldiers helped spread the waltz from Germany to Paris and eventually to England. After the French Revolution, the minuet gradually declined in France and even in England with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, and it was replaced by less complicated dances with more natural movements. The main reasons were that the minuet required practice, complex figures, suitable postures, and proper carriage- all things that had to be taught by a dancing master. Dancing masters were held in high esteem by the upper class for teaching dance technique and manners to adults and children. In Germany and England, the court balls protested the dance and Wilhelm II forbade the waltz until 1812.
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| internet source: slower Viennese Waltz in 1800s |
In the mid-18th century (1750s), another early version of the waltz,
the allemande, became popular in France. It began as one of the figures within the contredanse (dance done in a formation of two facing lines). The allemande was danced with arms on each other's shoulders. It soon became an independent dance with a close hold- the first time that the man placed his R hand around the woman's waist. Women were criticized on moral grounds for dancing and the dance itself was considered vulgar and sinful. By the end of the 18th century, the scandal associated with the waltz only increased its popularity and it was accepted by high society.
In the early 1800s, the waltz was introduced to the US where two more modifications occurred. The first was the
Boston, a slower waltz with long, gliding steps, fewer and slower turns, and more forward and backward movement (compared to the Viennese waltz, in which dancers constantly turned at a fast tempo). The second modification was taking one step to three beats of music, or a hesitation. The use of hesitation steps is popular today, especially with faster tempos.
By the 20th century, all levels of society were dancing the waltz. However, the slow waltz was too
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| internet source: waltz in 1900s |
easy to learn that it had become a threat to professional dance teachers. Then, the waltz had a brief decline in popularity around WWI when a new craze from the US, the foxtrot, spread to Europe and over-shadowed the waltz. In response in 1921, leading dance teachers and masters determined the standard technique as walk, side, close. This unification in teaching along with the shift toward more natural body movement resulted in an entirely new style waltz that is danced widely today. In particular, the previous insistence of turnout of the feet (still useful with the faster Viennese waltz) was replaced with more comfortable foot position as used in walking, more forward-backward movement was included, and the slower-tempo waltz became less stylized; it was friendlier for all to learn and enjoy.
Learn more about the other dance styles? Check
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