Alegria
Waltz

Austria / Germany, late 18th century

WALTZ

Vienna's aristocratic whirlwind

The Waltz was born in the late 18th century in Austria and southern Germany, out of rural Ländler dances. It first scandalized the aristocracy: it was the first closed-couple dance in which partners held each other in an embrace, an unprecedented intimacy in European balls. Despite papal bans and the medical warnings of the era, it conquered Vienna, then all of Europe, carried by the compositions of Johann Strauss (father and son), Chopin, and Weber.

Several forms are distinguished. The Viennese Waltz (60 bars per minute) is the fastest, most whirling, and most iconic. The English Waltz (28-30 bars per minute), codified in London in the 1920s, is slow, gliding, and romantic. The Valse musette, born in Parisian dance halls of the 19th century, is popular, more earthbound, played on accordion. All rest on a ternary 3/4 rhythm.

How it's danced

Technique & figures

The Waltz is danced to a 3/4 rhythm: the first beat is accented, the second and third lighter. The couple moves forward while continuously turning clockwise along the line of dance. The basic step is right-left-right / left-right-left, with a complete half-turn every six beats.

Styles and fundamentals

Two major techniques coexist. The Viennese Waltz (competition and balls) is virtuosic and whirling, with natural and reverse turns alternating. The English Waltz (ballroom slow waltz) is slower, longer, with significant work on "rise and fall" (the body rising and falling over the three beats).

Main figures

  • 01

    Natural turn

    A clockwise turn of the couple, executed over 6 beats. The foundation of the Viennese Waltz.

  • 02

    Reverse turn

    A turn in the opposite direction, more complex because it involves a deliberate imbalance.

  • 03

    Change of step

    A 3-beat transition allowing a shift from a natural turn to a reverse turn.

  • 04

    Rise and fall

    The signature of the English Waltz: the body rises on beats 2 and 3, and lowers on beat 1. A visual undulating effect.

  • 05

    Promenade

    The couple lines up shoulder to shoulder and moves forward in parallel for a few beats before resuming the turn.

Reading the music

Waltzes by Johann Strauss II (The Blue Danube, Emperor Waltz), Tchaikovsky (Waltz of the Flowers), Chopin, Ravel. For Valse musette, one listens to Édith Piaf, Jo Privat, Yvette Horner.

Did you know?

Scandal

N° 01

In the early 19th century, the Waltz was called "obscene" by the Times of London and banned in some European courts because of the close contact between partners.

Vienna

N° 02

The Vienna Opera Ball, held every year, remains one of the most prestigious events in the world. There, the Waltz is danced at 60 turns per minute, almost acrobatic.

Explore the rhythms

Same family

Standards & Latines de Salon

Cross connections

Styles from other families that share a common language with Waltz.