Ballroom Dancing - The Viennese Waltz and the Quick Step



This article explains a few things about ballroom dancing, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.

The Viennese Waltz which was derived from the Austrian Landler is an elegant fast paced, whirling dance where the partners hold each other as if in a romantic embrace. This raised more than a few eyebrows of "polite" society. The rise in popularity of the Viennese Waltz, like the standard waltz, can at least in part be contributed to the music of Johann Strauss and toVienna's famous ballrooms. As with the standard waltz the music can be either vocal or instrumental and can be classical, country, or even rock.

The Viennese Waltz is a faster paced dance than the standard waltz which also makes it somewhat more challenging to do. Like the standard waltz the Viennese Waltz incorporates a simple, elegant rotation and swinging movements, though there should be no foot rise on the inner turns. The Viennese Waltz also requires a good deal of stamina, the equivalent, actually of the amount of energy that would be needed to dance a polka.

The Viennese Waltz uses a right turn (natural turn), a left turn (reverse turn) and two change steps that link the moves between the turns. Dancing the line of dance (direction of traffic - turning left at the corners of the dance floor) and rotating in a clockwise direction is the Natural Turn. Following the line of dance and rotating in a counter-clockwise direction is the Reverse Turn. The step links (change steps) allow you to change directions while still following the line of dance.

Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there's more to ballroom dancing than you may have first thought.

The step links are simply two normal steps down the line of dance followed by a third step sliding the moving foot to the standing foot. By performing a string of change figures you can work your way through the tight spots on a crowded dance floor then resume the rotation. The "sway" is simply leaning slightly in the opposite direction of the line of dance movement
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Ballroom Dancing - The Quick Step

The Quick Step: The Charleston, the Black Bottom, the Shimmy and probably a couple other dances all melded into a faster version of the Fox Trot, which in 1923 became known as the Quick Step. The evolution of the Quick Step ended with a dance that utilizes a lot of movement, hops, runs, Quick Steps and rotation. It is a very brisk, energetic dance that was developed with very fast paced jazz music from the ragtime era.

The Quick Step is a fast, happy, lighthearted dance, the footwork can be a little complex using a slow, quick, quick, slow, quick, quick tempo. Like other dances the slow steps on the heel, Quick Steps on the toes.

The Quick Step utilizes a fast paced up and down swing motion. It's important to look light on your feet even though the movements are powerful. Due to the quickness of the dance keeping in sync with your partner and trying to keep similar tension in the legs is a necessity. More so than the other dances facial expression is vital to express the fun aspect of the dance.

Of course, it's impossible to put everything about ballroom dancing into just one article. But you can't deny that you've just added to your understanding about ballroom dancing, and that's time well spent.







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History Of Ballroom Dance
Ballroom Dance Clothing And Shoes
Ballroom Dance Competitions
Ballroom Dancing - Ballrooms
Ballroom Dancing - Dancers, & Judges
Ballroom Dancing - Judging Criteria
Ballroom Dancing - Slow Fox Trot
Ballroom Dancing - The Handicapped And The Disabled
Ballroom Dancing - The Jive
Ballroom Dancing - The Paso Doble
Ballroom Dancing - The Rumba
Ballroom Dancing - The Tango
Ballroom Dancing - The Viennese Waltz And The Quick Step
Ballroom Dancing And Television
Ballroom Dancing And The Movies
Choosing A Ballroom Dance For Your Wedding
Dresses For Ballroom Dancing
Get In Shape With Ballroom Dancing
History Of Ballroom Dancing
Media Coverage Of Ballroom Dancing
Modern Ballroom Dancing - Standard Waltz
Music For Ballroom Dancing
Types Of Ballroom Dancing
United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, Inc.
Where To Learn Ballroom Dancing








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