Waltz Research Paper

Name
of
Activity:

Basic
Waltz
steps
 Purpose
of
Activity:

Students
will
learn
5
basic
waltz
steps,
the
history
of
the
waltz,
geography
and
 climate
of
the
countries
of
Germany
and
Austria.
 Suggested
Grade
Level:
6‐12
 Materials
Needed:
CD
player
and
appropriate
waltz
music
 Music:
The
following
are
suggestions
from
several
different
genres
of
music:
Could
I
Have
This
Dance
 (For
the
Rest
of
My
Life)
by
Anne
Murray;
You
Look
So
Good
in
Love
by
George
Strait;
You
Light
Up
My
 Life
by
LeAnn
Rimes
or
Whitney
Houston;
Piano
Man
by
Billy
Joel;
Try
to
Remember
from
the
 Fantasticks;
Edelweiss
from
The
Sound
of
Music.

If
you
are
from
Missouri
or
Tennessee
you
have
your
 own
state
waltz
–
The
Missouri
Waltz
or
The
Tennessee
Waltz!
 Classroom
Organization:
The
class
will
be
in
one
large
circle.

All
of
the
leads
(usually
men)
should
stand
with
the
R
shoulder
toward
the
center
of
the
circle.
The
follows,
their
partners,
should
face
the
leads
 with
the
L
shoulder
toward
the
center
of
the
circle.

Dancers
may
practice
the
steps
facing
one
another
 without
actually
touching.

After
the
steps
are
learned
the
dancers
should
perform
the
steps
in
ballroom
 dance
position.
(See
description
below)
 Anticipatory
Set:

The
waltz
is
a
romantic
dance
done
in
triple
time.

It
is
considered
the
mother
of
 present
day
dances
and
began
in
southern
Germany
in
the
17th
century.
The
ballrooms
of
Vienna
 popularized
a
faster
version
of
the
waltz
that
became
known
as
the
Viennese
Waltz.
The
fast
whirling
of
 partners
that
appeared
to
be
in
an
embrace
shocked
polite
society.
Religious
leaders
of
the
times
 viewed
it
as
vulgar
and
sinful.
More
recent
studies
have
shown
that
waltzing
can
be
beneficial
for
cardio‐ respiratory
function.
(More
information
can
be
found
at
the
web
sites
listed
below.)
 http://www.castleschoolofdancing.com/standard.htm
 http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/waltz.htm
 Climate
and
Geography
of
German
and
Austria:
Germany
is
a
country
in
Central
Europe.
It
is
Europe’s
 most
populated
nation.
In
1949
two
German
states
were
formed,
Germany
and
East
Germany.

The
 Berlin
Wall,
which
divided
the
country,
came
down
in
1989,
and
democracy
came
to
all
Germans.
 Austria
lies
to
the
south
of
Germany.

It
is
totally
land
locked
and
is
very
mountainous.

The
mountain
 ranges
are
known
as
the
Austrian
Alps.
The
musical,
The
Sound
of
Music,
took
place
in
the
country
of
 Austria.
Today,
Austria
is
known
as
the
walking
and
hiking
capital
of
Europe.

The
climate
of
both
 countries
is
much
like
some
parts
of
the
US.

The
winter
lows
are
in
January
and
February
when
the
 temperature
maybe
as
low
as
0.

In
July
and
August,
when
it
is
very
hot,
the
temperature
may
reach
100
 degrees.



 http://www.find‐croatia.com/maps‐croatia/maps/central‐europe‐croatia1.gif
 
 German
is
the
official
language
of
both
Germany
and
Austria.
Want
to
learn
some
German
word?
 Hello
in
German
is
“Hallo”;
Good
morning
is
“Guten
Morgen”;
Goodbye
is
“Auf
Wiedersehen”
(w
sounds
 like
a
V);
Please
is
“Bitte”;
“Bitte”
also
means
you’re
welcome!

 Try
counting
the
waltz
steps
in
German:
 1. Eins
 2. Zwei
 3. Drei
 4. Veir
 5. Funf
 6. Sechs
 Description
of
Ballroom
Dance
Position
 Partners
should
be
about
six
inches
apart.
They
should
stand
upright
with
the
head
up
and
shoulders
relaxed.



Lead’s
Position:
The
lead’s
R
arm
should
be
placed
firmly,
with
fingers
and
thumb
held
together,
slightly
 below
the
follow’s
L
shoulder
blade.
Gentle
pressure
on
the
back
of
the
follow
can
be
used
to
“lead”
the
 partner
in
various
steps
of
the
dance.

The
lead’s
R
arm
should
be
kept
firm
and
lifted
at
a
90
degree
 angle
to
his
body
making
full
contact
with
the
woman’s
left
arm.


 The
follow’s
L
arm
should
rest
gently
on
the
lead’s
upper
arm
with
fingers
on
the
lead’s
R
shoulder.


The
 follow’s
R
hand
should
rest
in
the
palm
of
the
lead’s
L
hand.

These
joined
hands
should
be
raised
to
eye
 level
of
the
shorter
person.

 Each
dancer’s
eyes
should
be
focused
over
his/her
partner’s
R
shoulder.

Partners
should
not
dance
toe
 to
toe.

Students
should
be
instructed
to
move
slight
to
their
own
L,
thus
putting
the
R
foot
between
the
 partner’s
feet.
 5
Basic
Waltz
Steps:


 1. Box
Step:
This
pattern
resembles
a
box.

The
partners
perform
opposite
movements.

When
the
 lead
moves
forward
the
follow
moves
backward.


Count Lead's Part Lead Follow's Part 1 Left foot forward Closed Position Right foot back 2 3 4 5 6 Right foot side Closed Position Left foot side Left foot close Closed Position Right foot close Right foot back Closed Position Left foot forward Left foot side Closed Position Right foot side Right foot close Closed Position Left foot close

http://www.dancetv.com/tutorial/waltz/waltz1.html
 2. Under
Arm
Turn:
To
initiate
this
turn,
the
lead
raises
his
left
hand
in
the
air,
which
is
a
cue
for
 the
follow
to
turn
underneath.
The
follow
will
take
six
walking
steps
forward
in
a
small
circle,
 returning
to
her
original
place
by
the
sixth
step.
 3. Waltz
Left
Box
or
Right
Box
Step:
One
box
step
is
done
with
a
¼
turn
to
the
lead’s
L.
The
pivot
is
 done
as
the
lead
steps
forward
and
the
“side
step
close”
is
done
facing
the
wall
to
the
L
of
the
 lead.

On
the
next
step
the
lead
steps
back
R
and
the
follow
steps
forward
L
again
completing
a
 ¼
turn.
This
sequence
is
repeated
2x
and
the
dancers
end
up
in
the
original
position.

The
Right
 Box
Step
is
also
done
with
the
lead
stepping
forward
as
follow
steps
back
and
pivots
¼
turn
to
 the
R.

A
nice
video
of
this
can
be
seen
at
the
web
site
listed
below.
 http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Dances/media.asp?Dance=AWA&StepNum=107
 4. Hesitation
Step
–
Lead
steps
forward
L
and
together
in
place
RL.
Follow
performs
the
opposite
 movement.

The
dancers
can
reverse
the
movement
on
the
2nd
hesitation
step
with
lead
 stepping
back
R
and,
together
LR
and
follow
performing
the
opposite
movement.


5. Progressive
Waltz
Step
–
The
lead
goes
forward
on
counts
1
and
4
performing
the
box
step
in
 place
after
each
forward
step.

The
cue
for
the
lead
is:
forward
L(1)
side
R(2)
close
L(3)
forward
R
 (4)
side
L(5)
close
R(6).

The
follow
performs
the
opposite
movement.