Let's talk dancing!

Hi there.

So, we thought that we would really like to take a minute and talk to you about different types of dances and their history.

This week we want to tell you about Waltz.

Waltz is considered the mother of present day dances and the history of it began in Southern Germany in seventeenth century. The popularity of the dance grew with the music of Johann Strauss and eventually blossomed in the 20th century. The Waltz was the first dance to use closed dance position for an extended period of time. Indeed, in many areas, the Waltz was banned from public ballrooms for many years.

The basic components of Waltz are forward and side steps. Rise and Fall and Sway are some of the styling characteristics which make the simplest Waltz patterns elegant and beautiful.

In a ballroom world we have different types of waltz. For example:

International Standard Waltz has only closed figures; that is, the couple never breaks the embrace.

The American Smooth Waltz, 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.

We just love Waltz in our studio . It makes you feel so good to dance this dance. If you have not tryed it yet you definitely should!