Even though there aren't any hot new Waltz nightclubs on the social dancing scene, and you may not have the bloodline to attend a royal ball anytime soon - Waltz is still an incredibly important dance to learn... even if it's not your favorite.
Here's why.
The music alone sounds nothing short of what you'd expect to hear while getting a massage.
Think of the Waltz as a tuxedo or ballgown. It's definitely not the kind of outfit you'd wear to do yard work or hit the grocery store - but when the mood is right, something elegant is a sure fire showstopper.
Waltz has a timing all its own: 3/4, or three beats per measure of music. Once your teacher has helped you crack the code, you'll be able to detect Waltz music on the radio, in movies, or at your studio practice parties.
Unless you've hired a full time posture coach, aka "your grandmother", you may find yourself on the fast track to the chiropractor. This is where Waltz displays it's physiological magic. One of the primary ingredients of a great Waltz is great balance. This is achieved by, you guessed it, great posture. Imagine how important the posture of a waiter carrying a tray full of drinks; if he slouches, the drinks fall. The same skill is used to create a smooth and graceful Waltz.
Posture and Balance are the Ying and Yang of great Waltzing. Enhancing one benefits the other. It is truly dance symbiosis. This dance consistently challenges the balance through patterns that become increasingly more challenging, and technique like Rise and Fall which helps to create that undulating movement that gives the dance that look of floating.
When you combine Timing, Posture, and Balance you look elegant and poised. This is not a characteristic that is exclusive to the Waltz - which is the beauty of it. Having great poise means that even while your lower body is working hard, your upper body won't give that away. Applying this principle to your latin dances, for example, adds a calm upper body, even if your lower body is working overtime. This gives you the look of a seasoned and experienced dancer, and you can thank your secret elegant ballroom dance for that.
If you were an actor, and every dance you worked on was like a movie role, would you be typecast for doing too much of the same thing? As an actor, you'd want to be considered as versatile as possible, and the same should apply to your social program or competitive dancing. Being fully capable of playing the elegant role with this dance will help you avoid being predictable with your dance routines, and stay on the social dance floor longer.
If you read our stuff, you'll know we talk a lot about how learning to dance is as much about the information as it is about developing the confidence in the execution. Since we know that, as humans, we are hard wired for Fight or Flight when it comes to moments outside of our comfort zone, why not go all in on the Flight?
Now, we aren't suggesting a rapid getaway from the next dance opportunity. In fact, it's just the opposite. Waltz is the dance that makes you feel like floating. So don't fight the flight. That feeling is going to be there either way, but doing something as graceful as a Waltz has a way of presenting a convincing argument that you actually enjoy being there - even if you're fighting it on the inside.
This isn't your great grandmother's dance, and learning how to Waltz won't make you age more rapidly. In fact, Waltz is the most classic and sophisticated social dance around, and sophistication is ageless.
Learning to Waltz doesn't have to be your lifelong ambition for it to be important. In fact, most new dancers don't enter a dance studio with an extensive knowledge of every dance, or where they may use it. A great social dancer has a toolbox of dances ready for any dance environment or music.
This tool just happens to be your really fancy one.