Vol 3 No 11, November 18, 2009
© 2009, Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
"Oh! There is an organ playing in the street — a waltz too! I must leave off to listen."
Lord Byron
Greetings Waltzers,
San Francisco Waltzing Society held its annual Fall Viennese Ball, Nov. 14, at the Claremont Country Club in Oakland,
Calif., adjacent to the city of Berkeley.
Dress was white tie or period costume, and approximately 150 waltzers attended. The opening Grand March
commenced at 8 p.m., and the evening's music was provided by the very talented and capable Saratoga Symphony
Orchestra, conducted by Jason Klein. Beside Viennese Waltz, polkas, plus a very fun reel which included a brief lesson,
were also danced. After last year's ball, I never wanted to attempt a reel again, but this year it finally came together.
Typical of the San Francisco Ball were several "mix and match" dances where women on the inside circle, and men on
the outside circle, promenade around each other until the orchestra stops playing. The person oppposite you at that
point becomes your partner, the orchestra begins again, and you waltz the remainder of the piece with your new partner.
Perhaps the best part of a Viennese Ball for an observer is the variety of ball gowns. Men tend toward a "penguin" look
with their white ties and tails although we did see at least one period costume. The women are the highlights, however,
with their colorful, often opulent dress. We even saw pantaloons peeking out beneath one gown. See www.slviennawaltz.
org for photographs of the ball.
Observe the Bay Area dancers, and one quickly notices these seasoned waltzers are having fun. To them Viennese
Waltz isn't so much an athletic endeavour as it is a joy to dance. During one waltz, dancers broke into song to the
orchestra's music as they danced. Looking at the photographs Lucy took, one sees only exuberant and blissful smiles
upon the faces of the dancers as they circle the floor.
If I may register one criticism with this year's San Francisco ball, it was the restrictive size of the dance floor. Considering
the number of dancers, the floor in front of the Saratoga Symphony was difficult to waltz freely. We danced a lot of
hesitations on that section, attempting to avoid slower or even "stationary" waltzers.
The floor opened up once we navigated past the orchestra and the no-host bar, and we were able to ramp up our
speed to the far corner. However, once we change-stepped or hesitationed into a natural turn to the opposite far corner,
we were met by a quickly-approaching wall (and often a photographer) which tended to interrupt our turns back up the
return line to the orchestra.
This wouldn't be a problem at the San Diego Young Artists' Ball, or at Salt Lake Symphony's Vienna Ball, where one
expects a lot of novices.
However, San Francisco dancers, for the most part, tend to be very experienced waltzers. Granted, our first year at the
San Francisco ball, we merely box stepped in the middle of the floor, and the San Franciscans graciously excused our
ineptitude. This year, a larger floor would have helped all of us, beginners and very seasoned dancers both.
I didn't discuss the reason for the Oakland location with organizers Gail Enright or Lizzie Bechtold this year, but another
regular attendee told me that economics may have been the cause. Economically, California is in dire straits, and
downtown San Francisco dance hall rental prices may be cost-prohibitive.
Lucy and I love The City, and particularly, we love to dance there. But we suspect a majority of the San Francisco
Waltzing Society's members are East Bay residents. Having the ball at the Berkeley-Oakland border probably cuts 45
minutes to an hour off of the commute of most of the ball's East Bay attendees. After four hours of Viennese Waltz, an
hour or more commute home is not welcome.
We wish to thank directors Gail Enright and Lizzie Bechtold for another one of their consistently outstanding balls. We
will see you next year!
Looking for a waltz history book? An interesting read is From the Ballroom to Hell, Grace and Folly in Nineteenth-
Century Dance, by Elizabeth Aldrich, 1991, Northwestern University Press. Thanks to Michael Silpa of the San Francisco
Waltzing Society for the recommendation. The book lists for $24.95, and is available at Amazon.com for $18.96. It's free
at Salt Lake City's main library.
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