Dance Style: Waltz

by Deborah Joy Block, National Wedding Dance Expert

The German "Landler", a folk dance, is supposed to be the forerunner of the Waltz. During the 18th Century, a dance developed, which was called the walzen, German for to roll, turn or glide. The Walzen was met with outraged indignation by the older generation when first introduced into the ballrooms of the world in the early 19th century because it was the first dance where the couple danced in a modified closed position-with the man's hand around the waist of the girl. Regardless, the Waltz became popular through many parts of Germany and Austria. The Waltz was given a tremendous boost around 1830 by two great Austrian composers - Franz Lanner and Johann Strauss: they set the standard for the Viennese waltz (a very fast version of the Waltz).

The first time the waltz was danced in the United States was in Boston in 1834 by Lorenzo Papanti. The Boston, a more sedate form of the fast Viennese Waltz, danced at a leisurely 90 beats per minute. It evolved in America around 1870 and by the 1920s had slowed down even more to ¾ time with strong accent on the first beat and a basic pattern of step-step-close. This slower version of the Waltz retained the characteristic traveling and turning figures while allowing for more figures and a dip. It is popularly know n as the "traditional American wedding dance" and is often used for Father/Daughter and Mother/So n dances. Its characteristic lilt using undulating rise and fall technique and shoulder sways gives the dance an oceanic or floating quality.

Song examples of Waltzes:

"Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog
"Fascination" by Nat King Cole
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" Simply Red
"Play Me" by Neil Diamond
"Moon River" Breakfast at Tiffany's Soundtrack
"Open Arms" by Journey
"Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof"
"Come Away With Me" Norah Jones

Waltz Song Suggestion List 

Waltz Video 

Getting Personal with Deborah Joy, Owner of TWDS

by Amy Jean Fry, author of RelentlessBride.com blog

I really enjoyed working with Deborah from The Wedding Dance Specialists... and I thought it would be fun to do an interview with her to show you why I think she's just so talented and so much fun to hang out with... It's such a blessing when you find a vendor during your planning that you really enjoy, so you gotta flaunt it when you do! :)

Relentless Bride: How did you get into the wedding industry?
Deborah: My husband and I started The Wedding Dance Specialists when we got engaged. While preparing for our First Dance, we sampled many teachers and studios and realized with our dance, business and wedding planning background we could provide superior customer service and insight into the unique needs, budget and timetable of engaged couples.

Relentless Bride: What is your biggest piece of advice for a bride?
Deborah: Be sure to ask for help so you don’t feel too overwhelmed.

Relentless Bride: For a groom?
Deborah: This is a team project. The amount of energy, creativity, forethought and consideration you put into the planning process is similar to the way you will react to joint decisions, commitments, and adventures you will have during your marriage.

Relentless Bride:  for the wedding planning?
Deborah: A weddings requires A LOT of time, energy and organization. That is why the event planning industry exists. Whoever is playing a role in paying for and planning the wedding might benefit from a meeting with an event planner to answer questions, strategize, manage expectations, and save you time by providing pre-screened resources.

Relentless Bride: for the wedding itself?
Deborah: Hire a day of planner

Relentless Bride:  for the marriage?
Deborah: Marriage should feel like each person is helping the other grow and learn. Unexpected hurdles will come your way but as a team you will have the strength to navigate them.

Relentless Bride: What do you love best about working with couple who are in this time of their life, high excitement. high stress high chaos?
Deborah: I know I am preparing them for a stronger marriage and a big sense of accomplishment. Plus a couple that dances together, romances together!


Relentless Bride:  What dance describes you and your personality?
Deborah: Salsa. It’s how I discovered and fell in love with partner dancing in the first place. Just dancing in the DC Latin Clubs.

Relentless Bride: What dance would you say describes your husband?
Deborah: Argentine Tango

Relentless Bride: What dance describes you as a couple and why?
Deborah: Argentine Tango – It was our First Dance. It’s so incredibly exotic and sensual yet elegant.

Relentless Bride:  What was the hardest thing for you learning to dance with your husband?
Deborah: Argentine Tango was brand new to both of us and it is a very close contact dance so the chance for injury and discomfort is higher. Practicing without an instructor as a “mediator” was a challenge so we came up with several coping strategies that we now share with all of our students.

Relentless Bride: What was your first dance and why did you pick that?
Deborah: Brian surprised me with a romantic trip to see “Forever Tango” on Broadway. That was our first introduction to such an amazing dance. In honor of that romantic date, Brian suggested we choose this dance style and since I didn’t teach it at the time, we went in search of lessons.

Relentless Bride: As an instructor, what is the most difficult thing to face in a student?
Deborah: Someone who cannot acknowledge their positive accomplishments, someone who is very critical and controlling of their spouse, someone who wastes their precious class time.

Relentless Bride:  As an instructor, what is the best quality a student can have?
Deborah: Excitement to learn, trust in my expertise, patience with themselves, respect and humility toward their partner

Relentless Bride:  As a married person, what quality do you think is the best to have to make a happy and satisfied marriage in the long run?
Deborah: Respect, Appreciation and encouragement of your partner.

Relentless Bride:  Looking back on your wedding day, what is your biggest regret?
Deborah: Ironically, after a year of preparation for our First Dance, our DJ (who had a lot of prior experience working with professional dance exhibitions) did not ask our guests to clear the dance floor so our performance conditions were not ideal. It was difficult for the whole crowd to see and for the videographer to get ideal full length footage.

Relentless Bride: What is the one thing you spent a lot of energy on and you feel was well worth it?
Deborah: We had many fun twists like live doves, ice sculpture, hand made ceremony programs, handmade ice breaker conversation place settings and personalized love song CD favors. I still have to say our First Dance and my Daddy/Daughter Waltz were the highlights of the reception. We’ve been dancing that dance for years ever since….

Relentless Bride: Chocolates, candy, cupcakes, cake or pies? What is your favorite and why?
Deborah: Definitely chocolate! With all it’s aphrodisiac qualities and healthy antioxidants, it’s the next best thing to dancing!

If you want a fun and adorable dance instructor who knows her stuff, not just about dance but about marriage, life and dancing with a partner... definitely make sure you have your First Wedding Dance Lessons taught by Deborah... She is phenomenal. Stay tuned for our He Said She Said Wedding Dance Finale Post :)

The First Dance Lesson : Groom's Perspective

Lesson number 1 was much better than i anticipated. Our instructor Deborah Joy, from The Wedding Dance Specialist was great. She explained the basic fundamentals in a way that made it easy for someone as novice as me to understand quickly. Deborah explained how everything can be very black and white, and very structured, which makes it much easier for a man to comprehend. Trust me, this is true.

I think our biggest obstacle that we need to overcome going forward is Amy's fear of letting me be in control. I have faith that she will overcome this hopefully as easily as i have overcome my fear of dancing. maybe explain "and by fear, i mean my fear of thinking i'd be able to do this... don't get me wrong, I am still worried about the public performance - but, Deborah has made me feel that I really have a good shot at doing this, and even doing it "well." When Amy was practicing with Deborah, she had no problem letting Deborah lead, but when she was practicing with me, she kept trying to anticipate what i would do instead of just following my lead. I'm certain that with practice (hint hint) Amy will come to trust me and let me be the "pilot" who takes her, the "princess" on a wonderful journey, as Deborah explained to me that this should be my attitude towards dancing.

Deborah began by teaching us how to find proper balance, shifting our weight to the proper points which allows Amy to feel where i am trying to lead her to. Her first question to me was "You always start with your left foot, Why?" and I responded "Because my right foot is my planting foot!" and she quickly said "No! Because as you said, you have two left feet." This little joke quickly broke the ice as we tried to learn posture and positioning. We also worked on walking forward in a straight line without having to look at our feet. We then worked on doing it backwards, which is a bit more difficult, but we got the hang of it without out too much trouble. Then we dealt with turning. This was not so easy and will require some more practice lol.

Click on the link below to continue reading this article:

http://www.relentlessbride.com/2010/02/wedding-dance-he-said-lesson-1.html

Dance Tip: The Warm Up Dance

Regardless of how prepared you are, we always recommend a warm-up dance on the big day. The best way to calm pre-dance jitters is to review the entire dance once, in your wedding finery. This five-minute exercise gets you mentally focused in the “dance zone” amidst all the excitement of the big day. A current trend is posing for formal pictures before the wedding to maximize time enjoyed at the reception. This pre-ceremony photo session also allows you more time during the cocktail hour to sneak off and warm-up together. If you plan a more traditional approach where you will not be seeing each other before the nuptials, then immediately after the ceremony will serve as the best time. If you are not doing a receiving line, you can sneak off into a vestibule somewhere or the bridal chamber which has the added benefit of encouraging your guests to make a swift bee-line for the reception hall.

Dance Tip: Dancing in the Wedding Gown

The Bride should check to see if she can step backwards in her dress without stepping on the hem. If it pools at your feet, your new husband and your guests may step on it while dancing with you or hugging you. During your dress fitting, take a couple of large steps in every direction and raise your arms over your head. Make sure the dress fits so that you have some freedom of movement. If your dress is too long and has a crinoline, discuss the option of trimming the crinoline with your seamstress. Bring your wedding shoes or a pair with the same heel height during the fitting. We suggest that the gown's hem is not all the way to the floor, especially in the front. Trains can and should be bustled during the reception. This will be the best party of your life and you want to be able to move around, dance and hug people with wild abandon! .A few lessons before the wedding, a dress rehearsal with petticoat, shoes and veil is a good idea. This helps to eliminate surprises and possible distractions on the big day.

Dance Tip: Dancing With The Bouquet

Despite the images in magazines of a wedding couple dancing together with a bouquet in the bride's hand, don't do it! These models are not really dancing. They are staged poses. The first dance is a moment dedicated to showing the wedding couple moving together as one, a symbol and celebration of how the newly married will dance through the rest of their lives as a married couple. Holding a bouquet in your hand complicates things and may interfere or block the photographer from getting a good shot.

Dance Tip: Our Roles in Partnership

The Groom, The Leader

Gentlemen, you are in control on the dance floor! You are like the President, the pilot, the one with the power and responsibility to guide your partner through the dance. Your job is to initiate and anticipate everything and warn your partner of your intentions. When leading, it is better to be decisive than to be right. In other words, you are always technically right as long as you clearly tell your partner what you want her to do. You can dance offbeat, go the wrong direction or make up a new step and as long as your partner is adequately prepared, she can accommodate you and make you look good in front of the crowd. After all, your guests don’t know your intentions or your repertoire! If you are hesitant the woman will stumble. Leading and following evolved from the Victorian era. During this era, women were thought of as precious, yet fragile and likely to fall down at any time (corsets had many women fainting from lack of oxygen)

The Bride, The Follower

Ladies, your job is to smile and avoid getting stepped on. The more thinking and analyzing the follower does, the more difficulty she causes her Leader. Empower your Groom with the permission to lead. Often women will try to be helpful by “back-leading.” Back-leading is giving the leader hints or suggestions, moving him around the floor or setting his tempo. Any Leader will lead poorly when they are insecure or distracted by outside pressure or too much input and stimulation. Leaders are inclined to allow back leading because of their deep love and respect for their partner. It is the Follower’s job to be the “wind beneath the wings” of your leader and let him do his job. A Follower does herself and her Leader a disservice by back-leading as she compromise the unified look of the couple and her partner will not have fun. The end result of back-leading risks frustration and dampens enthusiasm for dancing together at future social events. If you are tempted to back-lead, try closing your eyes and taking some deep breaths as you dance. This will relax you and force you to rely more on the energy transmitted from your partner rather than visual crutches. Whenever discussing dance, it’s best to focus on the positive and couch criticism with constructive feedback. Or better yet, relax, let the dance teacher handle the mistakes and simply enjoy the ride!

Dance Style: Polka

The Polka was originally a Czech peasant dance, developed in Eastern Bohemia (now part of Czechoslovakia). Bohemian historians believe that the polka was invented by a peasant girl named Anna Slezak in 1834 one Sunday for her amusement. It was composed to a folk song "Uncle Nimra brought a white horse." Anna called the step "Madera" because of its quickness and liveliness. The dance was first introduced into the ballrooms of Prague in 1835. The music is played in 2/4 time (1 & 2) and sounds happy and playful. The name of the dance (pulka) is Czech for “half-step”, referring to the rapid shift from one foot to the other.

Polka is danced around the room in a series of small and fast chasses (side steps) with a distinctive hop, turning about 360 degrees every 4 beats. In 1840, Raab, a dancing teacher of Prague, danced the polka at the Odéon Theatre in Paris where it was a tremendous success. French dance instructors seized upon it and Polkamania ensued. Dance academies were swamped and in desperation recruited ballet girls from the Paris Opéra as dancing partners to help teach the polka. This naturally attracted many young men who were interested in things other than dancing. Consequently, manners and morals in the dance pavilions were suspect so many parents forbade their daughters from dancing with anyone but close friends of the family.

The polka was introduced in England in the mid 1800s. When it came to the USA it was taken up by the country western set and is still danced in Country Competitions today. The western style Polka is danced with less turning, with very little hopping and somewhat resembles the two-step in its execution with a lot of turns for the woman. After WW2, American/Polish immigrants adopted the more European variant as their “cultural” dance and it is not uncommon to see it danced by young and old at Polish weddings today. The Polka was standard fare on the Lawrence Welk Show. Most people will remember it as the dance Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner did swirling around the ballroom in "The King and I".

Polkas:

"The Beer Barrel Polka" by Lawerence Welk
"Shall We Dance?" from "The King and I" soundtrack
"Back In The Saddle Again" by Gene Autry

Choosing A Song for your First Dance Debut

Pick a song that is meaningful to both of you. Did you share a romantic moment to a special song? What love song was playing in the background on your first date? What song brings tears to your eyes or gives you butterflies? What song inspires thoughts of the one you love? The music you choose will determine the type of dance that is appropriate. If you are undecided, your instructor can demonstrate a variety of dance styles and provide a list and samples to listen to in class. Knowing which styles of dance you prefer can help you decide on the song. If you are unfamiliar with dance styles you may simply want to imagine the mood you want to feel and project as you are dancing. Do you want your dance to look simple and elegant? Classic and traditional? Peppy and cheerful? Sensual and romantic? Elaborate and Showy? Share your vision with your instructor.

Remember: It's your dance, have it your way! Never let anyone tell you not to dance to a specific song. You pay dance instructors to teach you how to dance. They can tell you if the song in question is easy or hard to dance to, that is part of our job. It's Your Wedding!

Need assistance choosing a song, visit the Song Suggestion List on our website
http://www.theweddingdancespecialists.com/wedding-dance-songs.php#Song

Upcoming Charity Gala

Practice your dance moves while getting a break from wedding planning and supporting a worthy cause -- all at the same time!

September 11, 2009

Unique Foundation, Inc presents
Dancing for The Cure Fundraiser with The Johnny Artis Band. 
High energy R&B, Classic Rock&Roll, Soul, and Swing! 
To benefit Breast Cancer Research! 
Silent Auction and Dance Show! 
8:30pm to 12:30am
J...W & Friends Restaurant
6531 Backlick Rd, Springfield, VA 22150
(703) 451-4556