The most romantic images are conjured up in ones mind whenever someone mentions the Waltz. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and countless others offered their renditions of this supremely elegant expression of dance. Today, we refer to that eminent expression of romance as the slow Waltz. Yet in the beginning, this sentimental dance of the heart was roundly condemned as scandalous due to the closed position of the dancers, the rapid pace and the incessant twirling. Women had heretofore been kept at arms length ” literally!
The Viennese Waltz began in the early 1800s, and after an original round of condemnation by other countries, gradually became accepted as royalty and the upper crust of high society embraced it. It was the English that in 1921 gave us the more genteel version known as the Slow Waltz. Influenced in part by the Foxtrot, the Slow Waltz made its way to the United States. With a new basic step, including various turns, under the arm movements and hesitations, it was a graceful as it was romantic. Although still a Waltz, there was very little left of the mad twirling that once characterized the dance of its Viennese roots.
In 1921, the English held a Great Conference, which determined the official rules for various dances. For the Slow Waltz, the closed pose was to be used, with the right and left turns and basic steps established. To distinguish it from the popular Foxtrot, passing changes were forbidden in the Slow Waltz. These changes necessitated a wider area of available dance space for turns, which is one reason why you always see Fred and Ginger moving in unison around a wide, empty floor. Although it seems a bit odd for a popular dance to be codified by a board of dance bureaucrats, no one can argue with the beauty of the results. In 1929, the form of the Slow Waltz was finalized. The original Viennese Waltz was not even under consideration, as it had died out everywhere in the world other than in Austria during World War I (although it would rise again after the end of World War II).
At the time, the English were looked upon as leaders in the world of dance. One of the great English authorities on the Slow Waltz (also called the English Waltz) was Victor Silvester, who taught the Germans how to dance. By the 1930s, all matters pertaining to the Slow Waltz were properly referred to the English masters of the dance for a final decision. The Waltz, albeit in its slower, adapted form, had come a long way in England and in the rest of the world from its original condemnation as a vulgar display.
The Waltz that is referred to as one of the five standard International Style ballroom dances is the Slow Waltz. It has been danced by emperors and kings, presidents and royalty alike. Yet no one can forget the ultimate grace and charm of a tail-coated Fred Astaire polishing the floor with the epitome of beauty and grace, Ginger Rogers.
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