Ballroom Dancing - The Waltz

Well here we are, in the second week of the month dedicated to ballroom dancing. I'm loving it!

Unfortunately, the week started a little slow. I wasn't feeling well on Tuesday or Wednesday so not only did I have to miss my first day back to French class, but I also had to reschedule our dance lesson at Arthur Murray. Sad.

I was feeling better yesterday though so Hubby and I joined the sea of steel coffins inching down the road toward our soon to be new neighborhood to attend our second of four group dance classes at Washington Dance Club. Traffic was horrendous but we eventually made it even if ridiculously late.

Our tardiness didn't seem to be much of a bother though because they spent the first few minutes reviewing what we had learned in class last week. We got there just in time to practice a bit of it before we started our new lesson of the week.

The Waltz

I love the waltz. It's just so romantic. If you want a dance to make you feel like a princess, the waltz is sure to deliver. Even after nearly drowning in the stress and tension of the day and still in my work clothes, I felt whisked away in the arms of my true love. Sort of like Beauty and the Beast, only Hubby is nothing like the Beast. Much less hair.

The waltz is a simple box step set to an 3 even counts. 1, 2, 3, slow, slow, slow.

Step forward on the left foot, step right with the right foot, pull left foot to meet the right, step back with the right foot, step left with the left foot, pull right foot to met the left. Rinse and repeat. See? Simple. All pictures represent the leader's foot steps. The follower gets to just follow them so when the leader steps forward with his left foot, the follower steps back with their right foot, etc

We also learned to do 1/4 turns to the left (leader's left, follower's right). This picture of the quarter turn is for the leader's steps.  

We also learned to travel the waltz so we learned to move it forward and back again. Step forward with the left, right with the right, pull the left foot into the right to step together. Then instead of back with the right foot like we did in the basic box step, we step forward again using the right foot, left with the left foot, and pull the right foot into the left to step together. This moves the dance forward (leader's forward, follower's backward). In order to move it back, you just do the same thing but the leader takes their first step back instead.

Ok then. Got it? No? Personally, I never really understood how people learned to dance by following the graphed foot steps so....how's about a video or two to demonstrate.

The best videos I could find to demonstrate what I learned do not allow me to embed so...you can simply click on each link to be redirected to view them.

How to Waltz - Basic Pattern
How to Waltz - Posture and Framing
How to Waltz - Swing and Sway
How to Waltz - Rise and Fall

Next week, I get to look forward to our next private lesson with Arthur Murray, a group lesson with Arthur Murray, and another group lesson at Washington Dance Club. Fun stuff.

Have a wonderful weekend.