View source for Waltz

{{short description|Ballroom and folk dance}}
{{redirect|Valzer|the 2007 Italian film|Valzer (film){{!}}''Valzer'' (film)}}
{{redirect|Waltzing|the Luxembourgian trumpeter and composer|Gast Waltzing}}
{{for-multi|the music made to accompany the waltz|Waltz (music)|other uses|Waltz (disambiguation)}}
{{Technical reasons|Waltz #2 (XO)|the song|Waltz 2 (XO)}}
{{Infobox dance
|title        = Waltz
|image        = Phenakistoscope 3g07690d.gif
|alt          =
|year         = [[17th century]] 
|caption      = A [[phenakistoscope]] animation by [[Eadweard Muybridge]] demonstrating the waltz
|genre        = [[Ballroom dance]]
|signature    = {{music|time|3|4}}
}}
[[Image:Waltz1816 72.jpg|thumb|Detail from [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] to Thomas Wilson Correct Method of German and French Waltzing (1816), showing nine positions of the waltz, clockwise from the left (the musicians are at far left). At that time, the waltz was a relatively new dance in England, and the fact that it was a couples dance (as opposed to the traditional group dances), and that the gentleman clasped his arm around the lady's waist, gave it a dubious moral status.]]

The '''waltz''' ({{ety|de|Walzer}} {{IPA|de|ˈvaltsɐ||de-Walzer.ogg}}, meaning "to roll or revolve")<ref>https://www.etymonline.com/word/waltz Etymology Online</ref> is a [[ballroom dance|ballroom]] and [[folk dance]], in triple ([[Triple metre|{{spaces|1|thin}}{{music|time|3|4}}{{spaces|1|thin}}]]) time, performed primarily in [[closed position]]. Along with the [[ländler]] and [[allemande]], the waltz was sometimes referred to by the generic term [[German Dance]] in publications during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.<ref name="Grove">{{Cite encyclopedia|date=2001|author=Cliff Eisen|entry=German Dance (Ger. Deutsche, Deutscher Tanz, Teutsche; Fr. allemande; It. tedesco)|encyclopedia=Grove Music Online|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.10937}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Waltz.oggtheora.ogv|thumb|Waltz]]

There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance, including the ''[[Volta (dance)|volta]]'', that would evolve into the waltz that date from 16th-century Europe, including the representations of the [[Printmaking|printmaker]] [[Sebald Beham|Hans Sebald Beham]]. The French philosopher [[Michel de Montaigne]] wrote of a dance he saw in 1580 in [[Augsburg]], where the dancers held each other so closely that their faces touched. Kunz Haas (of approximately the same period) wrote, "Now they are dancing the godless ''Weller'' or ''Spinner''."<ref name="Nettl, Paul page 211">Nettl, Paul. "Birth of the Waltz." In ''Dance Index'' vol 5, no. 9. 1946 New York: Dance Index-Ballet Caravan, Inc. pages 208, 211</ref> "The vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall, uses his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the bar, thus intensifying his personal enjoyment in dancing."<ref name="Nettl, Paul page 211"/> Around 1750, the lower classes in the regions of [[Bavaria]], [[Tyrol]], and [[Styria]] began dancing a couples dance called ''Walzer''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wechsberg|first=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ci8IAQAAMAAJ&q=%22peasants+of%22|title=The Waltz Emperors: The Life and Times and Music of the Strauss Family|date=1973|publisher=Putnam|isbn=978-0-399-11167-9|pages=49|language=en}}</ref> The ''[[Ländler]]'', also known as the ''Schleifer'', a country dance in {{music|time|3|4}} time, was popular in [[Bohemia]], [[Austria]], and Bavaria, and spread from the countryside to the suburbs of the city. While the eighteenth-century upper classes continued to dance the [[minuets]] (such as those by [[Mozart]], [[Haydn]] and [[Handel]]), bored noblemen slipped away to the balls of their servants.<ref>Sir George Grove, John Alexander Fuller-Maitland, Adela Harriet Sophia (Bagot) Wodehouse. ''A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (A.D. 1450–1880)'' Published 1889. Macmillan</ref>

In the 1771 German novel ''Geschichte des Fräuleins von Sternheim'' by [[Sophie von La Roche]], a high-minded character complains about the newly introduced waltz among aristocrats thus: "But when he put his arm around her, pressed her to his breast, cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent whirling-dance of the Germans and engaged in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of good breeding—then my silent misery turned into burning rage."<ref>''The History of Lady Sophia Sternheim'', trans. Christa Baguss Britt (State University of New York Press, 1991), p. 160.</ref>

Describing life in [[Vienna]] (dated at either 1776 or 1786<ref name=jacob>{{cite book|last1=Jacob|first1=H.E.|title=Johann Strauss: Father and Son a Century of Light Music|date=2005|isbn=1-4179-9311-1|pages=24–25 |publisher=Kessinger }}</ref>), Don Curzio wrote, "The people were dancing mad&nbsp;... The ladies of Vienna are particularly celebrated for their grace and movements of waltzing of which they never tire." There is a waltz in the second act finale of the 1786 opera ''Una Cosa Rara'' by [[Martin y Soler]]. Soler's waltz was marked ''andante con moto'', or "at a walking pace with motion", but the flow of the dance was sped-up in Vienna leading to the ''Geschwindwalzer'', and the ''Galloppwalzer''.<ref>Wechsberg. ''The Waltz Emperors.'' 1973. C. Tinling & Company. page 49, 50)</ref><ref>''Grove's Dictionary'', page 385</ref>

In the 19th century, the word primarily indicated that the dance was a turning one; one would "waltz" in the [[polka]] to indicate rotating rather than going straight forward without turning.

Shocking many when it was first introduced,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gutman|first1=Robert W.|title=Mozart: A Cultural Biography|date=1999|publisher=Harcourt|pages=44–45}}</ref> the waltz became fashionable in [[Vienna]] around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow. According to contemporary singer Michael Kelly, it reached England in 1791.<ref>Scholes, Percy. ''The Oxford Companion to Music.'' 10th edition, 1991. page 1110</ref> During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], infantry soldiers of the [[King's German Legion]] introduced the dance to the people of Bexhill, Sussex, from 1804.<ref>Sussex ''Weekly Advertiser'', 21 January 1805</ref>

It became fashionable in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] during the [[British Regency|Regency period]], having been made respectable by the endorsement of [[Dorothea Lieven]], wife of the Russian ambassador.<ref name=hilton>{{cite book|last1=Hilton|first1=Boyd|title=A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783–1846|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Diarist [[Thomas Raikes (dandy)|Thomas Raikes]] later recounted that "No event ever produced so great a sensation in English society as the introduction of the waltz in 1813."<ref name=raikes>{{cite book|last1=Raikes|first1=Thomas|title=A Portion of the Journal Kept by Thomas Raikes from 1831 to 1847: Comprising Reminiscences of Social and Political Life in London and Paris During that Period|date=1856|pages=240–243|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4JBAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA240 |access-date=20 September 2015|author-link1=Thomas Raikes (dandy)}}</ref> In the same year, a sardonic tribute to the dance by Lord Byron was anonymously published (written the previous autumn).<ref name=readbookonline>{{cite web|title=Introduction to 'The Waltz'|url=https://www.readbookonline.org/read/3146/12629/|website=Readbookonline.org }}</ref><ref name=childers>{{cite journal|last1=Childers|first1=William|title=Byron's "Waltz": The Germans and Their Georges|journal=Keats-Shelley Journal|date=1969|volume=18|pages=81–95|jstor=30212687|publisher=Keats-Shelley Association of America, Inc.}}</ref> Influential dance master and author of instruction manuals, Thomas Wilson published ''A Description of the Correct Method of Waltzing'' in 1816.<ref name=Fullerton>{{cite book|last=Fullerton|first=Susannah|title=A dance with Jane Austen: how a novelist and her characters went to the ball|date=2012|publisher=Frances Lincoln Ltd.|location=London, England|pages=110–111|isbn=978-0-7112-3245-7|edition=1st Frances Lincoln}}</ref> [[Almack's]], the most exclusive club in London, permitted the waltz, though the entry in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' shows that it was considered "riotous and indecent" as late as 1825. In ''[[The Tenant of Wildfell Hall]]'', by [[Anne Brontë]], in a scene set in 1827, the local vicar Reverend Milward tolerates quadrilles and country dances but intervenes decisively when a waltz is called for, declaring "No, no, I don't allow that! Come, it's time to be going home."<ref>Penguin edition 1964, page 42</ref>

The waltz, especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including many folk and several ballroom dances.

== Variants ==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2019}}
[[Image:Waltz dance pattern.png|thumb|right|250px|Waltz rhythm<ref name="Blatter">{{cite book|last1=Blatter|first1=Alfred|title=Revisiting music theory: a guide to the practice|url=https://archive.org/details/revisitingmusict00blat|url-access=limited|date=2007|isbn=978-0-415-97440-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/revisitingmusict00blat/page/n42 28]|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref>]]
[[Image:Jazz waltz dance pattern.png|thumb|right|250px|[[Jazz waltz]] rhythm<ref name="Blatter"/>]]
[[File:La Valse.jpg|thumb|''[[The Waltz (Claudel)|The Waltz]]'', by [[Camille Claudel]] (cast in 1905)]]
[[File:Waltz at Beantown Stomp 2025.webm|thumb|A waltz following a [[contra dance]] in Massachusetts, U.S.]]
In the 19th and early 20th century, numerous different waltz forms existed, including versions performed in {{music|time|3|4}}, {{music|time|3|8}} or {{music|time|6|8}} (sauteuse), and {{music|time|5|4}} time ({{music|time|5|4}} waltz, half and half).

In the 1910s, a form called the Hesitation Waltz was introduced by [[Vernon and Irene Castle]].<ref name="hes_waltz">{{cite web|url=http://www.danceintime.com/historyAmerica.htm|title=The History of Ballroom Dance in America|access-date=2010-12-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110306113620/http://www.danceintime.com/historyAmerica.htm|archive-date=2011-03-06}}</ref> It incorporated "hesitations" and was danced to fast music. A hesitation is basically a halt on the standing foot during the full waltz bar, with the moving foot suspended in the air or slowly dragged. Similar figures ([[Hesitation Change]], [[Drag Hesitation]], and [[Cross Hesitation]]) are incorporated in the [[International Standard (dance)|International Standard]] Waltz Syllabus.

The Country Western Waltz is mostly progressive, moving counter clock wise around the dance floor. Both the posture and frame are relaxed, with posture bordering on a slouch. The exaggerated hand and arm gestures of some ballroom styles are not part of this style. Couples may frequently dance in the [[promenade position]], depending on local preferences. Within Country Western waltz, there is the Spanish Waltz and the more modern (for the late 1930s- early 1950s) Pursuit Waltz. At one time it was considered ill treatment for a man to make the woman walk backwards in some locations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shaw|first1=Lloyd|title=Cowboy Dances|date=1939|publisher=The Caxton Printers|pages=101–103}}</ref>

In California, the waltz was banned by Mission priests until 1834 because of the "closed" dance position.<ref name="Early California Days 1950. page 44">{{cite book|last1=Czarnoski|first1=Lucile K|title=Dances of Early California Days|date=1950|publisher=Pacific Books|page=44}}</ref> Thereafter a Spanish Waltz was danced. This Spanish Waltz was a combination of dancing around the room in closed position, and a "formation" dance of two couples facing each other and performing a sequence of steps.<ref name="Early California Days 1950. page 44" /> "Valse a Trois Temps" was the "earliest" waltz step, and the Rye Waltz was preferred as a couple dance.<ref name=czarnoski121>{{cite book|last1=Czarnoski|first1=Lucile K|title=Dances of Early California Days|date=1950|publisher=Pacific Books|page=121}}</ref>
* In contemporary [[ballroom dance]], the fast versions of the waltz are called [[Viennese waltz]] as opposed to the [[Slow waltz]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dancetime.com/waltz-dance-styles-1835/|title=Information on Styles of Waltz include American, International, C&W, Viennese Waltz and others!|date=2012-09-09|work=Dancetime.com|access-date=2017-10-02|language=en-US}}</ref>
* In [[traditional Irish music]], the waltz was taught by travelling dancing masters to those who could afford their lessons during the 19th century. By the end of that century, the dance spread to the middle and lower classes of Irish society and traditional triple-tune tunes and songs were altered to fit the waltz rhythm. During the 20th century, the waltz found a distinctively Irish playing style in the hands of [[Céilidh]] musicians at [[Ceili dance|dances]].<ref name=vallely>{{cite book|last1=Vallely|first1=F.|title=The Companion to Traditional Irish Music|date=1999|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|pages=431–433}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishtune.info/rhythm/ |title=Rhythm Definitions - Irish Traditional Music Tune Index |publisher=Irishtune.info |date=2012-07-11 |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Waltz (International Standard)|International Standard Waltz]] has only closed figures; that is, the couple never breaks the embrace.
* The [[American Style Waltz]], part of the [[American Smooth]] ballroom dance syllabus, in contrast to the [[International Standard (dance)|International Standard]] Waltz, involves breaking contact almost entirely in some figures. For example, the Syncopated Side-by-Side with Spin includes a free spin for both partners. Open rolls are another good example of an [[Ballroom glossary#Open dance figure|open dance figure]], in which the follower alternates between the lead's left and right sides, with the lead's left or right arm (alone) providing the lead. Waltzes were the staple of many American musicals and films, including "Waltz in Swing Time" sung by [[Fred Astaire]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* The [[Bal-musette|Valse Musette]], a form of waltz popular in France, started in the late 19th century.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* The [[cross-step waltz]] (French Valse Boston) developed in France in the early 20th century and is popular in social waltz groups today.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* In folk dance from the [[Alsace]] region, waltzes in odd metres such as {{music|time|5|4}}, {{music|time|8|4}} and {{music|time|11|4}} are found. In modern [[bal folk]], waltzes in even higher metres are played and danced.
* [[Estonia]]n folk dance [[Labajalavalss]] (flat of the foot waltz) performed in {{music|time|3|4}} time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Estonian|url=https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/estonian.html|website=Common Ground on the Hill|language=en|access-date=2020-05-17|archive-date=2021-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119054220/https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/estonian.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Sama'i]] (also known as usul semai) is a vocal piece of Ottoman Turkish music composed in {{music|time|6|8}} metres. This form and metre (usul in Turkish) is often confused with the completely different Saz Semaisi, an instrumental form consisting of three to four sections, in 10/8 metre, or usul aksak semai (broken semai in Turkish). Semai is one of the most important forms in Ottoman Turkish Sufi music.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Whirling Dervishes|isbn = 9780791411551|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zz2Qy3BjdVgC&q=semai+waltz&pg=PA135|access-date=30 December 2016|last1 = Friedlander|first1 = Shems|last2 = Uzel|first2 = Nezih|date = January 1992| publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=AllMusic Review by James Manheim|website=[[AllMusic]]|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-waltz-ecstasy-and-mysticism-mw0000207818|access-date=30 December 2016}}</ref>
*The '''Tsamikos''' ({{langx|el|Τσάμικος}}, ''Tsamikos'') or  '''Kleftikos''' ({{langx|el|Κλέφτικος}}) is a popular traditional  [[folk dance]] of [[Greece]], done to music of [[Triple metre|{{music|time|3|4}}]] metre.<ref>{{cite web|title=yamahamusicsoft|url=https://www.yamahamusicsoft.com/sound-and-expansion-libraries/tsamikos-1|access-date=1 January 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101163816/https://www.yamahamusicsoft.com/sound-and-expansion-libraries/tsamikos-1|archive-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>

==References==
[[File:Man and woman dancing a waltz (1887).gif|thumb|Man and woman dancing a waltz by [[Eadweard Muybridge]], 1887]]
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.dancing4beginners.com/waltz/ Waltz basic steps]
* [https://www.waltzinvienna.com/blog/viennese-ball-season-2026/ Vienna Ball Season 2026]
* [http://mtcn.free.fr/mtcn-traditional-music-midi-dance-couple.php#valse Music regarding: Waltz within traditional dances of the County of Nice (France)]
* [http://imslp.org/wiki/User:Clark_Kimberling/Historical_Notes_1 Scroll to "Five Step Waltz" for notes about probable 1847 origin and associated music published the same year.]
* [http://www.walternelson.com/dr/regency-waltz Thomas Wilson's 1816 Waltz Manual]
{{Gutenberg|no=47427|name=The Dance of Death}} (1877 Book critical of the Waltz)
* [http://regencydances.org/paper013.php The Regency Waltz]
* [http://ballibre.org?ld=valse Waltzes under CreativeCommons licence on BalLibre.org]
* [https://www.cocktailband.es/curiosidades/el-vals-waltz/ Wedding Waltz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025110308/https://www.cocktailband.es/curiosidades/el-vals-waltz/ |date=2020-10-25 }}

{{Dance}}
{{Music of Ireland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Waltz| ]]
[[Category:Austrian folk dances]]
[[Category:German folk dances]]
[[Category:Triple time dances]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Forms of Ottoman classical music]]
[[Category:Greek folk music]]
[[Category:Greek dances]]
[[Category:Dance forms in classical music]]