Vol 3 No 8, August 22, 2009
© 2009, Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
Greetings Waltzers,
Vienna Waltz is definitely aerobic. It's perhaps the only pursuit where you can rapidly boost oxygen supply to your red blood cells, increase
cardiovascular strength, and strengthen physical stamina while wearing a heavy floor length circle skirt or a three-piece tailcoat with
bowtie. If it weren't for light-weight dance shoes, running a marathon might be easier.
Okay, I may be exaggerating somewhat, but Viennese Waltzers will agree that dancing can be hard, sweaty work. At our session with our
Viennese coach this week, we met a couple whose lesson followed ours shortly before our session ended. They were there for a salsa
lesson, and remarked how salsa was nowhere near as difficult as the Viennese they'd just watched us dance. Thank you!
You waltzers who, like us, watch programs such as "Dancing With The Stars" can see how those 90-second televised depictions of a two-
or three-figure Waltz seem almost somnambulant compared to the Quick Steps and Swings the programs popularize. We — and national
audiences — never get to see the "turn-and-turn-and-shadow-and-change-and-hesitation-and-promenade-and turn-and-turn, huff, huff"
for the full eight to ten minutes of a standard Strauss waltz.
Okay, so no one may care except for other Viennese Waltzers, but you can always take it up to another level.
We did last weekend at Deer Valley attending the outdoor Utah Symphony concert with special guest Elvis Costello. Utah Symphony's
concerts take place just beyond Snow Park Lodge, with audience seating on the "green" Wide West back-to-the-lift ski run.
This was the cool — in Salt Lake City — weekend of Aug.15, and after sunset, it turned bloody cold at the outdoor venue of Deer Valley.
Costello and the Symphony played beautifully, but by intermission, their music wasn't enough to keep us warm. So, upon the orchestra's
return for its second set, we decided to dance to Costello's enchanting baritone.
Turns out, Costello's music lends itself to swing and foxtrot. They're easy enough to dance to on a low-angle ski slope. Swing, although
fast-paced and energetic, pretty much dances in place. Foxtrot, a dance in motion with a steady 4-4 time, while constantly moving, is
steady and relaxed, especially when one dances across the angle of the ski slope.
But soon, Costello and The Symphony switched to a 3/4-time piece, and our instincts told us to waltz. Step-step-turn-step-step-turn —
that's easy enough, isn’t it? Unless you’re dancing on a ski slope, a “green” novice slope aside! It was those nasty uphill turns that did us
in. Although we laughed — and groaned — while our toes dug into the ski slope, it took us a while to understand that instead of allowing
our shoes to glide us across the earthen “floor,” that particular "beginner" slope reminded us that basic Viennese Waltz begs for a level
hardwood floor.
We’ve learned that while anyone can Viennese Waltz with a little practice, we now know a true master is one that can waltz up a ski slope. I
hope you can, and I hope we’re not too far behind.
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