Vol 3 No 4, April 03, 2009
© 2009, Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
Greetings Waltzers,
The Civil War Ball held at Fort Douglas March 6 was an interesting divergence from the Viennese Balls we've attended. Of course, waltzes
and polkas were featured; but Virginia Reels, square dances, and hat dances also filled the agenda.
You may envision a hat dance as something you'd see at a Mexican fiesta, but the Nineteenth Century version is nothing similar. Three
chairs are placed side-by-side, and a woman is seated in the middle chair with a hat in her hand. Two men sit in the adjacent chairs and
each proceeds to convince the woman she should dance with him. The woman makes her choice; the loser gets the hat, and the woman
dances off with the man she chooses. Then the man with the hat moves to the middle chair, two women proceed to sit in the adjacent
chairs, and the process repeats. This goes on and on until everyone in line for the chairs has had an opportunity to dance.
My first time up in the side seat, I convinced the woman that I could teach her how to waltz and won a dance. I was handed the hat my
second time, and when it was my turn to choose, the winner promised to take me to Southern California. That's my home, so she won
easily. Unfortunately, she still hasn't fulfilled her promise, but Lucy would object anyway, so I'm not waiting with baited breath.
The ball had a younger crowd. And it seemed to be a showcase for women who design and sew their own antebellum gowns. Not too
many men wore period costume — I was a Confederate captain — but Abraham Lincoln, and a few Union officers and NCOs were also
there. The women's gowns were gorgeous and plentiful, however. Click on, or copy to your browser, the following PhotoBucket links to see
some of the gowns.
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/saltare/?action=view¤t=IMG_1381a4.jpg
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/saltare/?action=view¤t=IMG_1383a4a.jpg
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/saltare/?action=view¤t=IMG_1375a4.jpg
Ball hostess Kim Fransen sews period gowns — she wore a beautiful one — and also rents them to women in need of costume. You can
contact her at 435-851-6646. Hale Center Theatre in West Valley City, 801-415-2307, also rents gowns and men's costumes.
A great thing about a ball is that one seems to always meet an instructor there. We met an instructor couple at this Civil War Ball, and it
makes one a better dancer simply to watch professionals on the floor, especially considering most of the dancers at this ball were pretty
haphazard. Polkas danced with an untrained crowd can be quite challenging.
Also, we learned to check the dance floor before a ball! The Fort Douglas floor was covered in an astroturf-like carpet that played havoc with
our suede-soled dance shoes. We spent a couple of hours the next day re-glueing shoe soles.
It's time to start planning if you're thinking of traveling to Vienna for a ball next year. The season runs from early November through February.
You can find a schedule of Vienna balls at www.vienneseball.org/calendar.php. Currently, the calendar only runs through 2009, but keep
checking as it is updated frequently. You can search back through the 2008-2009 balls to see the large nujmber of events held each year.
And if mid-Winter in Vienna sounds daunting, there is also the Concordia Ball which takes place in early June at the Vienna Rathaus (city
hall). This year's Concordia Ball takes place June 5. See www.concordiaball.at/en/ for additional information.
Finally, a fellow waltzer recommends another waltz film, “The Great Waltz,” 1938, Directed by Julien Duvivier, and starring Luise Rainer &
Fernand Gravet. As the film's credits explain, it is “loosely” based on the life of Johann Strauss II, and opens with Strauss, played by Gravet,
getting fired from his regular day job. So what's a Nineteenth Century unemployed dandy to do? Why, start writing waltzes of course. Soon,
Strauss is torn between two women — Miliza Korjus as fictional opera singer Carla Doner, and Strauss's wife, played by two-time Oscar
winner Rainer.
As expected, the plot thickens to the point where one soon hopes to forget about Strauss's romantic entanglements, and concentrate
instead on the gorgeous music and beautiful scenery. Yes, the film also has improbable sets such as a beer garden with an all-female
orchestra — did Andre Rieu get his inspiration from this picture? — but taken with a heavy grain of salt, considering the melodramatic era
of its production, it's an entertaining movie to watch on a chilly March evening. Instead of renting it — or buying it from Amazon.com for about
$38 — I suggest you borrow it from the Salt Lake City main library on 400 South for free.
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