Dancing Without an Instructor

by Professor Wilkinson

The Waltz.

In the waltz the partners stand facing each other, the gentleman a little to the right, encircling the lady’s waist with his right arm, supporting her firmly, yet gently, and holding her right hand with his left, extending it nearly to the height of his waist, the left arm being only slightly bent at the elbow.

The lady’s left hand should rest lightly upon her partner’s right shoulder, while the right arm should be extended nearly straight, with the palm of her hand turned downward. The gentleman then places the inner side of the fingers of his left hand against the inner side of the fingers of the lady’s right hand. It is the duty of the gentleman to guide his partner in the dance, and he should hold her with sufficient firmness to make this guidance unmistakable, but by no means so closely as to interfere with absolute freedom of movement. The lady should yield entirely to her partner’s guidance. Unnecessarily close personal contact should be, strictly avoided, both because it is unrefined and because it leads, inevitably, to awkwardness in posture and movement. The lady should not lean upon her partner. He is not supposed to sustain any portion of her weight. The gentleman should adapt his step to that of the lady, and especially guard against taking too long steps.

In all the round dances, the lady commences with the right foot and the gentleman with the left. Both dancers should look to the front, over one another’s shoulders.

In the modern style of waltzing, four bars or twelve beats may be occupied in completing one entire turn. This renders it equally easy to turn forward or reverse, or, in fact, in any direction that the fancy may suggest or circumstances—a crowded room, for instance—may demand.

The main distinction between the old and new style may be concisely summed up as follows: In the old style, the slide of the left foot in beat one, and the right in beat four, is sideways and partially turning at the same time; in the new style, the glide of the left foot in beat one is exactly backward, and that of the right in beat four is exactly forward in a straight line, without a “shadow of turning,” the turn being confined solely to beats two, three, and five, six.

Waltz music contains three beats in a measure, the first of the three being accented. The waltz step consists of six movements, one to each beat of the music, thus occupying two measures. The rhythm of the step corresponds to the rhythm of the music. Thus the first and fourth movements are accented.

The following are the various steps for the gentlemen, but the ladies have the same steps, though they begin with the fourth step and right foot, and continue with the fifth and sixth, and go on to the first without changing; thus the gentleman is executing one, two, three, while the lady executes four, five, six; this continues without variation throughout the waltz.