Vol 4 No 4, April 2010
©2010 Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
"I have passed whole nights watching thousands of incomparable waltzers whirling about . . ."
Hector Berlioz
This month’s newsletter is addressed to mid-level beginner and early to mid-level intermediate (Bronze and entry-
level Silver) Viennese Waltzers. But for you more advanced practitioners it might be helpful also.
You always dance better than you think you do! Honestly, you do.
We found that out at last February’s Salt Lake Symphony Vienna Ball. Most of the evening, while keeping smiles on
our faces as we traversed the floor, we kept noticing slight missteps, botched turns, mixed signals about which step
to segue into, and, at least on my part, memory loss of floorcraft. I wasn’t paying any attention to other dancers
except when a couple would block our run, concentrating only on what I was doing wrong.
Later in the evening, Lucy gave her tiny pocket camera to one of our dinner partners and asked her to film us. The
resulting video showed that we danced a lot better than we’d thought. We unconsciously covered many of our
mistakes; our segues looked planned, our turns fluid; plus, we navigated around stationary dancers effortlessly.
And being able to finally relax and take a look at the other dancers showed most of them simply box-stepped in
place. Perhaps they’d watched too many 1930s-era movies. They made my floorcraft too easy. Maybe that's why I
didn’t think of it.
So, get a small camera that also takes video ─ you can get them for about $65 now ─ and have someone film you
waltzing. You’ll be surprised at how much better you are than you think. Best, it will encourage you to run the outside
of that large ballroom floor in formal attire (and suede soles) at full tilt, and show the inner-floor box-steppers a hint
of Fred and Ginger.
Yes, your coach can and should tell you how you’re progressing, but for those times when you’re dancing without
your coach’s presence, that video is a great substitute.
And if you’re still a klutz, at least you’ll have a record of what you need to correct. Don’t be discouraged. Just keep
dancing!
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