World Open Standard 20121117 Garbuzov Menzinger 9942

Waltz is one of the five dances in the Standard (or Modern) category of the International Style

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

s. It was previously referred to as slow waltz or English waltz. Waltz is usually the first dance in the

dancesport Dancesport is competitive ballroom dance, ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesp ...

competition rounds. It is danced exclusively in the

closed position In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other. Closed positions employ either body contact or body support, that is, holding each other is ...

, unlike its

American Style This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those. This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highly ...

counterpart.

History

The Waltz originated as a folk dance from Austria. Predecessors include the matenick and a variation called the

furiant A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech ...

that were performed during rural festivals in Bohemia. The French dance, "Walt", and the Austrian

Ländler The Ländler () is a folk dance in time which was popular in Austria, Bavaria, German Switzerland, and Slovenia at the end of the 18th century. It is a partner dance which strongly features hopping and stamping. It might be purely instrumen ...

are the most similar to the waltz among its predecessors. The "king of dances" acquired different national traits in different countries. Thus there appeared the English waltz, the Hungarian waltz, and the waltz-

mazurka The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...

. The word "waltz" is derived from the old German word "walzen" meaning "to roll, turn", or "to glide". Waltz has been danced competitively since 1923 or 1924.

Music

International Standard Waltz is a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

dance and danced to slow

waltz music A waltz (German: ''Walzer''; French: ''Valse'', Italian: ''Valzer'', Spanish: ''Vals'', Polish: ''Walc''), probably deriving from German ''Ländler'', is dance music in triple meter, often written in time. A waltz typically sounds one chord ...

, preferably 28 to 30 bars per minute (84 to 90 beats per minute). Waltz music is in 3/4

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

and the first

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

of a

measure Measure may refer to: * Measurement, the assignment of a number to a characteristic of an object or event Law * Ballot measure, proposed legislation in the United States * Church of England Measure, legislation of the Church of England * Mea ...

is strongly accented.

Character

Like all Standard category dances, waltz is a

progressive dance Progressive house is a subgenre of house music. The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s. It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s.Gerard, Morgan; ...

, meaning that dancers travel along a path known as the

line of dance In ballroom dancing (and in some other types of partner dance), directions of progressive movement, in particular directions of steps, can be indicated either in relation to the room or in relation to the body position. Directions of turns, altho ...

, that is counter-clockwise around the floor. It is characterized by pendulum swing movements and incorporates general elements of ballroom technique such as foot parallelism, rise and fall,

contra body movement Contra body movement (CBM, sometimes called contrary body movement) is used in ballroom dances, such as waltz, foxtrot, tango, and quickstep. It comprises turning the body (hips and shoulders) against the movement of the legs: either moving forw ...

and sway. Figures can have one step per beat (three per measure) but also four, five or six steps per measure. The faster pace of the latter, especially when combined with

dance turns In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are ...

, results in fast-paced, dynamic dancing despite the relatively slow music tempo. Slow steps and elegant poses are often used to contrast fast-paced dance segments, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as ''light and shade''.

Syllabus

This is the

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is an international dance teaching and examination board based in London, England. The registered educational charity, which was established on 25 July 1904 as the ''Imperial Society of Dance Te ...

(ISTD)

International Standard international standard is a technical standard developed by one or more international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide. The most prominent such organization is the International Or ...

syllabus.

Pre-Bronze

Note that Pre-Bronze is included as part of the Bronze syllabus. #

Closed change The closed change is a Pre-Bronze, or newcomer waltz figure, performed in closed position.The Ballroom Technique; Moore, Alex (2006). Published by ISTD ASIN: B000PH46KI. Changes may start of the right foot or left foot, moving forward or backward. ...

s #

Natural turn A natural turn is a dance step in which the partners turn around each other clockwise. Its near-mirror counterpart is the reverse turn, which is turning to the counter-clockwise. This terminology is used mainly in the "International Standard" grou ...

Reverse turn A natural turn is a dance step in which the partners turn around each other clockwise. Its near-mirror counterpart is the reverse turn, which is turning to the counter-clockwise. This terminology is used mainly in the "International Standard" grou ...

Natural spin turn The natural spin turn is a ballroom dance step used in the waltz. It is typically used to advance a couple of a turn down line of dance, although an underturned spin turn is also very useful for turning a corner. The natural spin turn is also c ...

Whisk A whisk is a cooking utensil which can be used to blend ingredients smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as '' whisking'' or ''whipping''. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joi ...

Chassé from promenade position The ''chassé'' (, French for 'to chase'; sometimes anglicized to chasse ) is a dance step used in many dances in many variations. All variations are triple-step patterns of gliding character in a "step-together-step" pattern. The word came fro ...

Bronze

Silver

xx. Drag hesitation

Gold

xx.

Fallaway whisk Fall away may refer to * Backsliding, in Christianity * Fall-away (basketball), a type of basketball shot * Fallaway (dance), a dance movement * "Fall Away", a 2009 song by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots * "Fall Away", a 2005 song by the F ...

References

External links

* — championship level waltz. {{Authority control Ballroom dance Waltz Triple time dances