The History of Waltz

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The history ofWaltz

The Waltzis the oldest of the ballroom dances, dating from the middle of the Eighteenth Century.

The German "Lander", a folk dance, is supposed to be the forerunner of the Waltz. During this time

period a dance developed which was called the "Walzer", a word owing its origin to the Latin word

Volvere, which indicates a rotating motion. Napoleon's invading solders spreadthe waltzfromGermany to Paris; then the dance glided across the channel to England and finally made its way to

the United States.

Whenthe Waltzwas first introduced into the ballrooms of the world in the early years of the

Nineteenth Century, it was met with outraged indignation, for it was the first dance where the couple

danced in a modified Closed Position - with the man's hand around the waist of the lady.

Beginning about 1830,the waltzwas given a tremendous boost by two Austrian composers Lanner

and Strauss. They set the standard forthe Viennese Waltz, a very fast version played at about 55 -

60 measures per minute. The fast tempo did indeed present problems. Much of the enjoyment of the

new dance was lost in the continual strain to keep up with the music.

It is not known exactly whenthe waltzwas introduced to the United States. It was probably brought

to New York and Philadelphia at about the same time, and by the middle of the Nineteenth Centurywas firmly established in United States society.

During the later part of the Nineteenth Century, Waltzes were being written to a slower tempo than

the original Viennese rhythm. Around the close of the Nineteenth Century, two modifications ofthe

waltzdeveloped in the United States. The first was the "Boston", a slower waltz with long gliding

steps; there were fewer and slower turns and more forward and backward movement than in

theViennese Waltz. This version eventually stimulated the development of the English or

International Style which continues today. TheAmerican Style Waltzis similar to the International

Style except the American Style has open dance positions and the dancers legs pass instead of

close. The second modification was the "Hesitation Waltz", which involves taking one step to three

beats of the measure. Although the "Hesitation Waltz" is no longer danced, some of it's step patterns

are still in use today.

Today both the fasterViennese Waltz, made forever popular by the Strauss family, and the slower

American and International style waltzes are extremely popular today with dancers of all ages.

Reprinted with p ermission of Ron & Rebecca Kellen & Bog ie of the Mile High B al lroom of

Prescott, AZ

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Waltz

Written byJake Fuller

CopyrightCentralhome.com Company Inc. 1995

Colorful flowing ball gowns! Tails! Weddings! Beautiful music! Strong melodies!

Waltz: from the old German word walzen to roll, turn, or to glide.

Waltz: a ballroom dance in 3/4 time with strong accent on the first beat and a basic patternof step-step-close.

Waltz: to move or glide in a lively or conspicuous manner (to advance easily andsuccessfully).

Waltz: a dance born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the alpine region of Austria. As early as

the seventeenth century, waltzes were played in the ballrooms of the Hapsburg court. Theweller, or turning dances, were danced by peasants in Austria and Bavaria even before thattime. Many of the familiar waltz tunes can be traced back to simple peasant yodeling

melodies.

During the middle of the eighteenth century, the allemande form of the waltz was very

popular in France. Originally danced as one of the figures in the contredanse, with armsintertwining at shoulder level, it soon became an independent dance and the close-hold was

introduced. By the end of the eighteenth century, this old Austrian peasant dance had beenaccepted by high society, and three-quarter rhythm was here to stay.

However popular the waltz, opposition was not lacking. Dancing masters saw the waltz as athreat to the profession. The basic steps of the waltz could be learned in relatively shorttime, whereas, the minuet and other court dances required considerable practice, not onlyto learn the many complex figures, but also to develop suitable postures and deportment.

The waltz was also criticized on moral grounds by those opposed to its closer hold and rapidturning movements. Religious leaders almost unanimously regarded it as vulgar and sinful.

Continental court circles held out obstinately against the waltz. In England, (a land of strictmorals), the waltz was accepted even more slowly.

In July of 1816, the waltz was included in a ball given in London by the Prince Regent. Ablistering editorial in The Times a few days later stated:

"We remarked with pain that the indecent foreign dance called the Waltz was introduced

(we believe for the first time) at the English court on Friday last ... it is quite sufficient to

cast one's eyes on the voluptuous intertwining of the limbs and close compressure on thebodies in their dance, to see that it is indeed far removed from the modest reserve which

has hitherto been considered distinctive of English females. So long as this obscene display

was confined to prostitutes and adulteresses, we did not think it deserving of notice; butnow that it is attempted to be forced on the respectable classes of society by the civilexamples of their superiors, we feel it a duty to warn every parent against exposing hisdaughter to so fatal a contagion." (Source: The Times of London, 16th July 1816)

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Even as late as 1866 an article in the English magazine Belgravia stated:

"We who go forth of nights and see without the slightest discomposure our sister and ourwife seized on by a strange man and subjected to violent embraces and canterings round a

small-sized apartment - the only apparent excuse for such treatment being that is done to

the sound of music - can scarcely realize the horror which greeted the introduction of this

wicked dance."

A lot of the disapproval was voiced by the older generation, but seldom mentioned is thefact the reigning Queen (Victoria) was a keen and expert ballroom dancer with a special

love of the waltz!

But as history repeats itself over and over again, the antagonism only served to increase

the popularity of the waltz. The bourgeoisie took it up enthusiastically immediately after theFrench revolution. Paris alone had nearly seven hundred dance halls! A German traveler to

Paris in 1804 stated, "This love for the waltz and this adoption of the German dance is quitenew and has become one of the vulgar fashions since the war, like smoking."

Reportedly, the first time the waltz was danced in the United States was in Boston in 1834.Lorenzo Papanti, a Boston dancing master, gave an exhibition in Mrs. Otis' Beacon Hillmansion. Social leaders were aghast at what they called "an indecorous exhibition." By themiddle of the nineteenth century, the waltz was firmly established in United States society.

Music plays an important role in dance, and every dance is dependent upon the availability

of the appropriate music. The waltz was given a tremendous boost around 1830 by two

great Austrian composers - Franz Lanner and Johann Strauss. These two composers wereby far the most popular during the nineteenth century: they set the standard for theViennese Waltz, (a very fast version of the waltz). By 1900, a typical dance program was

three quarter waltzes and one quarter all other dances combined.

Around the close of the nineteenth century, two modifications of the waltz were developed.The first was the Boston, a slower waltz with long gliding steps. Although the Bostondisappeared with the first world war, it did stimulate development of the English orInternational style which continues today. The second was the hesitation, which involves

taking one step to three beats of the measure. Hesitation steps are still widely used intoday's waltz.

Fortunately, the violent opposition faded out and the Waltz weathered an exciting andvaried career, emerging today in two accepted forms, both reflecting the main

characteristics of the dance. They are known as the Modern Waltz and the Viennese (Quick)Waltz.

Read more:Waltz

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The History of the WaltzPosted byLAURA BOYLE| Published: JUNE 20, 2011

Here ceased the concert part of the evening, for Miss Woodhouse and Miss Fairfax were the only

young lady performers; but soon (within five minutes) the proposal of dancing originating nobody

exactly knew where was so effectually promoted by Mr and Mrs Cole, that every thing was

rapidly clearing away, to give proper space.

Mrs Weston, capital in her country-dances, was seated, and beginning an irresistible waltz; and

Frank Churchill, coming up with most becoming gallantry to Emma, had secured her hand, and led

her up to the top.

Emma

Few sights are as romantic as that of a couple, absorbed in each other, sweeping across the floor in

a dreamy waltz. It is certainly the highlight of many a fairy tale and even Jane Austen allows her

couples ample time on the dance floor. While the English Country Dance is most associated with

Jane Austens novels, many will be surprised to discover that by the early 1800s the waltz had also

made its way across the channel and was being danced by the more progressive of the Beau

Monde. The fact that it was a couples dance (as opposed to the traditional group dances), and that

the gentleman actually clasped his arm around the ladys waist, gave it a dubious moral status in

the eyes of some.

By 1814, the waltz, originally considered decadent, was finally sanctioned as appropriate behaviour

when it was approved at the ultra fashionable Almacks, though thepatronessesthere still kept a

firm hand on who was allowed permission to dance; no debutante could waltz unless one of the

patronesses had given her permission, something that was only granted to girls whose deportment

was considered impeccable.* By 1815, whenEmma was printed, it was acceptable dancing, even

in the humble home of the Coles, in the small village of Highbury. This detail from frontispiece to

Thomas WilsonsCorrect Method of German and French Waltzing(1816), shows nine positions of

the Waltz, clockwise from the left (the musicians are at far left).

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The history of the waltz actually dates back to the 1500s. There are several references to a sliding

or gliding dance, i.e. a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S.

Beheim. The French philosopher 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 that, Now they are dancing the godless, Weller or Spinner, whatever they callit. The vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall, utilizes

his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the measure, thus intensifying his

personal enjoyment in dancing. The wide, wild steps of the country people became shorter and

more elegant when introduced to higher society. Hans Sachs wrote of the dance in his 1568

Eygentliche Beschreibung aller Stnde(1568).

At the Austrian Court in Vienna in the late 17th century (1698) ladies were conducted around the

room to the tune of a 2 beat measure, which then became the 3/4 of the Nach Tanz (After Dance),

upon which couples got into the position for the Weller and waltzed around the room with gliding

steps as in an engraving of the Wirtschaft (Inn Festival) given for Peter the Great.

The peasants of Bavaria, Tyrol, and Styria began dancing a dance called Walzer, a dance for couples,

around 1750. The Lndler, 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

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the eighteenth century upper classes continued to dance the minuet, bored noblemen slipped away

to the balls of their servants.

Describing life in Vienna (dated at either 1776 or 1786), Don Curzio wrote, The people were

dancing mad [...] The ladies of Vienna are particularly celebrated for their grace and movements ofwaltzing of which they never tire. There is a waltz in the second act finale of the opera Una Cosa

Rara written by Martin y Solar in 1786. Solars 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.

In the transition from country to town, the hopping of the Lndler, a dance known as Langaus,

became a sliding step, and gliding rotation replaced stamping rotation.

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 slightly anticipate the second beat, which conveys a faster, lighter

rhythm, and also breaks of the phrase. The younger Strauss 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 often played

faster than those of his sons.

Shocking many when it was first introduced, the waltz became fashionable in Vienna around the

1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow. It became fashionable in Britain

during the Regency period, though the entry in the Oxford English Dictionary shows that it was

considered riotous and indecent as late as 1825. The waltz, and

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.

Hummel was an early piano virtuoso to compose waltzes, andBeethovens Diabelli Variations were on a simple waltz tune; but

Schubert was the first major composer to produce music

specifically described as waltzes. Webers piano rondo,

Aufforderung zum Tanze (1819), foreshadowed the form later

adopted by major dance composers: a sequence of waltzes with a

formal introduction and a coda referring to themes heard earlier.

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This form was established in the 1830s by Joseph Lanner and the elder Johann Strauss, and from

then the waltz was particularly associated with Vienna, although it was popular throughout Europe.

With Strausss sons, Johann and Josef, during the 1860s the waltz reached its peak as dance form,

musical composition and symbol of a gay, elegant age. With Josefs death in 1870 and Johanns turnto operetta, the two major exponents of the waltz were lost to it. Their place was taken by minor

composers, but some of the best waltzes of the late 19th century are found in the operettas of

Lehr, Offenbach, Supp and Messager. The waltz featured prominently in ballet and in such operas

as Tchaikovskys Eugene Onegin, Puccinis La bohme and, especially, Richard Strausss Der

Rosenkavalier. Stylized waltzes are to be found in instrumental and orchestral works. Some of the

most original are those for piano by Chopin, Brahmss Liebeslieder Walzer for voices and piano

duet, the third movement of Tchaikovskys Fifth Symphony and the Valse triste of Sibelius. The

waltz era is effectively summed up in the Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911) and the

choreographic poem La valse (1918) of Ravel.

Historical information courtesy ofWikipedia. Additional information(*) fromAn Elegant Madness:

High Society in Regency Englandby Venetia Murray.