Waltz Steps

In college, I thought my basic waltz steps made me look like Fred Astaire. 1.2.3, 1.2.3. Same box. Over and over again. Around and around.

I was vaguely aware that the waltz could be an elegant dance with beautiful spins and graceful promenades. But those steps were beyond me (way beyond me), especially at the time.

Another thing I didn't know about the waltz, was it's unsavory beginnings.

Bob January of the New York Dance Orchestra wrote

It was, indeed, rural lads and lasses who first found these whirling steps so appealing. And so, the waltz originally was decidedly low-brow and provincial. In those days, there was something unsavory about a woman being gripped in a man’s embrace while whirling in a frenzy around the dance floor.

But from those provincial beginnings, the waltz swept through Germany and then conquered all of Europe.

Today, to know at least some basic waltz steps is something you can carry with you to weddings, formal dances, parties, or dates.

You can read Bob January's full article about the Waltz here: The Waltz.