What Kinds of Waltz Do I Teach?
There are many, many different kinds of waltz, both historical and
modern. Here's a sampling of some of the different styles I teach:
Modern Waltzes:
- Country (Western) Waltz
Great for total beginners! Extremely easy to pick up, focuses on
straight-line travel with less turning and more alternate arm
positions and holds than other waltzes.
It is not restricted
to country-western music! Many moves are shared with cross-step
waltz. Slow to medium tempo.
Note: this is not competition-style country-western waltz!
- Cross-Step Waltz
A beautiful, flowing modern style with hundreds of variations.
Shares many moves with country waltz. Works best at slow speeds.
- Rotary (Folk) Waltz
The constantly-spinning waltz most often found in folk, contra, and
ECD circles. Works with speeds from medium-slow to fast.
- Social Ballroom Waltz
Non-competitive box-step-based waltz with relaxed social style. Wide
tempo range from extremely slow to fast.
- Hyperspeed Waltz
Special tricks for taking ballroom waltz to dizzying speeds. 240 beats
per minute will feel slow!
Historical Waltzes:
- Regency Waltzes
From Thomas Wilson (1816), the slow French Waltz, German waltz,
sauteuse, and quick sauteuse. Wide variety of "attitudes" of the
arms.
Good for War of 1812, Jane Austen, Regency, Napoleonic, etc.
Slow 3/4 time to fast 2/4 and 6/8.
Also, the heel-clicking 1820s
Wiener (Viennese) Walz.
- Mid-Nineteenth Century Waltz (trois temps)
The most important couple dance of the nineteenth century! Good
for Victorian and American Civil War reenactors and Steampunk, and
still useful today in folk, contra, country dance, etc.
- Deux temps
Easy steps, unusual accenting. One of the most popular waltzes of
the nineteenth century and too often neglected today. Good for
Victorian and American Civil War reenacting.
- Five-Step Waltz
Developed in Paris in the 1840s for music in 5/4 time.
- Late Nineteenth Century Waltz
Leaping and gliding versions of the "new" waltz that became the
ancestor of the modern ballroom waltzes. Good for 1880s-1900s
reenactors and Steampunks!
- Ragtime Hesitation Waltz
Techniques and variations for the faster waltzes of the 1880s into
the 1910s. Good for Edwardian, Titanic, and World War I reenactors.
- Half & Half
A specialized hesitation waltz from 1914 designed for 5/4 music.
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