The Waltz first became popular in Vienna in the 1780's. It's interesting to note that the position of the Waltz; each partner holding the other in close contact, was considered vulgar, and even sinful, by parents and religious leaders of the day. In a time when the most common formal dances were those such as the Minuet, a choreographed dance where the only contact was occasional hand-holding, the Waltz was utterly shocking. Even as late as the mid-1800's, some newspapers printed opinion pieces warning parents of the Waltz being observed in their city. Of course, this controversy only served to increase the Waltz's popularity among young people in love.
Today, of course, the Waltz is a dance that is cherished for its loveliness. It's a dance that is easily modified to be a formal or casual dance. The Waltz is equally appropriate between two people madly in love on a moonlit night as it is between a father and daughter or a grandmother and grandson at a family gathering.
The Waltz is a dance you will use for the rest of your life. The Waltz will never go out of style, out of season or out of fashion. It is a dance that is equally as useful when you are 20 as when you are 80. Being a tempo-friendly dance, once you know the basic steps, the Waltz is easy to modify to whatever music is playing.
When learning to Waltz, one of the first things both the man and the woman need to get used to is to lead and to follow. In the modern world, men aren't used to being in charge of directing a woman's movements, and women aren't used to being directed. We live in a society of cooperation between the genders, without one having more control over the other. Giving and giving up control can be a sticking point at first while we find our places. To make this quicker to overcome for both the man and the woman, it's easier to think of the Waltz as a dance of cooperation rather than control. When a man indicates to his partner that they are moving in a certain direction, anything other than cooperation will end up as a mess. Cooperation, however, will bring out the beauty and grace of both partners.
Whether you want to learn to Waltz for a specific event such as a wedding or anniversary, or you've just always wanted to learn the Waltz, you can learn it much more quickly than you may think. In just a few lessons, you and your partner can be spinning around the dance floor like you've been dancing the Waltz together for years.
