Cha Cha Cha Dance Academy

International Ballroom > Standard

Waltz is one of the five dances of the “Standard” category of the International Style ballroom dances. It was previously referred to as Slow Waltz. In many languages it is referred to as English Waltz.

It is a waltz dance and danced to slow waltz music is in 3/4 time.

Most of the basic figures have 1 step per 1 beat, i.e., 3 steps per measure. Advanced figures may have 4-6 steps per measure, and this, coupled with various turns, makes the dance very dynamic despite the relatively slow tempo. At the same time, advanced dancers often use slow steps and elegant poses to create contrast (sometimes referred to as “light and shade”).

Waltz is usually the first dance in the Dancesport competitions in the “Standard” category.

The dance is danced exclusively in the closed position, unlike its American Style counterpart.

Like all dances of Standard category, it is a progressive (traveling) dance.

Waltz is characterized by the pendulum swing body action. Other general elements of ballroom technique important for Waltz are foot parallelism, rise and fall, contra body movement and sway.