French Waltz

Also known as the Viennese waltz, the French waltz involves lots of turning and absolutely no 'forwards, side, together'.

Form of the Dance

The waltz timing (1,2,3,1,2,3) is the same as the British Ballroom waltz but the feeling is entirely different. The aim of the dance is to spin until the world goes away and there is only you, your partner and the music left in the world. Again, a firm but comfortable ballroom hold is vital to spinning and to being able to lead or be led by your partner.

Steps

All steps should be as close as possible to your partner to enable you to spin as much as possible. Bending your knees slightly to keep your centre of gravity low and leaning out slightly will help.

Music

Flowing, floaty music or scarily fast Parisian café music. In any case the music should seem to fold over itself with each bar leading into the next. In 3/4 time.

Variations and Improvisation

As with the polka, The leader in the waltz has unlimited options in terms of speeding up, slowing down, dancing on the spot for a while, spinning backwards, etc. The follower also gets to have a say in this and can take the lead for a time.

Copyright

Text and images copyright (2004) Graham Knapp/Les Panards Dansants. Please contact graham@frenchdanceleeds.co.uk to arrange permission for copying and reproduction of any kind. Many thanks.