The Waltz
Watching costume films, old photos, postcards, and even contemporary reports from competitions and social events, it is impossible to suppress the delight of dancing couples. Moving counterclockwise, always upright, permanently close together, spinning with a longer stride at a time. It is undoubtedly a waltz, which turned from a "forbidden dance" into a royal dance. Finally, it has become a synonym of elegance and good taste in our time.
Before the Waltz, people danced around each other with little or no contact. As the dance began to gain popularity, it was criticised on moral grounds for its cramped posture and fast rotational movements. Religious leaders considered it vulgar and sinful. They went so far as to say that people were in danger of dying from this dance. The French philosopher Montaigne described a dance he saw in Augsburg in 1580, where dancers stayed so close that their faces touched. At about the same time, Kunz Haas noted: Now they are dancing the godless "Weller" or "Spinner", whatever they call it. An energetic peasant dancer, guided by an intuitive knowledge of the centre of gravity, uses the surplus energy to apply force to the appropriate measure, thus intensifying his personal joy of dancing.
The form as we know it today was born in the suburbs of Vienna and the mountainous regions of Austria. In the 17th century, it was played and danced in the ballrooms of the Habsburg court. Finally, at the end of the 18th century, the high class accepted this once-Austrian peasant dance. It started when its representatives sneaked out of their logs to join the games organised by the lower classes – often their servants. But already dated 1776 or 1786, the opus of life in Vienna by Don Curzio contains an enthusiastic note: People danced like crazy [...] Viennese ladies are especially famous for their grace and waltzing movements, which they never tire of.
Despite its popularity, dance has not been entirely accepted nationwide. The waltz was considered a threat to the profession by many masters of the dance. Unlike other court dances, such as the minuet, which took a long time to learn and master, waltz's basic steps could be learned in the blink of an eye.
The waltz gained full recognition during the Congress of Vienna in 1812, when, thanks to numerous balls and banquets, the entire European elite danced, establishing a new order in Europe. However, thanks to the Strauss family and Josef, the waltz reached its peak in the 1860s as a dance form, a musical composition, and a symbol of a happy, elegant century. In 1867 the most famous waltz in the world was created, "Over the beautiful blue Danube", which immediately became the unofficial national anthem of Austria.
In the next generation, the musical history of this dance touched even Szczecin. Karl Adolf Lorenz, the successor of Carl Loewe as, among others, city music director, composed quite famous waltzes. It is also worth mentioning that Lorenz was the initiator and ardent advocate of the Szczecin Konzerthaus uprising, which was built not only as a concert venue but also as all kinds of meetings, parties and balls. Undoubtedly, the waltz could be heard there several times a week. Through the enormous, elegant windows, the dancing sounds must have travelled far and wide throughout the city.
Although the waltz was considered the root of all evil in the 17th and 18th centuries, it found its way into the elite and is now the most popular of all ballroom dances. Maybe it is a pity that we do not dance it on a mass scale in Szczecin today. Still, perhaps this evening of waltzing at the Lentz Villa will be an opportunity to revive this wonderful tradition, at least to a small extent!
Jakub Stefek
The form as we know it today was born in the suburbs of Vienna and the mountainous regions of Austria. In the 17th century, it was played and danced in the ballrooms of the Habsburg court. Finally, at the end of the 18th century, the high class accepted this once-Austrian peasant dance. It started when its representatives sneaked out of their logs to join the games organised by the lower classes – often their servants. But already dated 1776 or 1786, the opus of life in Vienna by Don Curzio contains an enthusiastic note: People danced like crazy [...] Viennese ladies are especially famous for their grace and waltzing movements, which they never tire of.
Despite its popularity, dance has not been entirely accepted nationwide. The waltz was considered a threat to the profession by many masters of the dance. Unlike other court dances, such as the minuet, which took a long time to learn and master, waltz's basic steps could be learned in the blink of an eye.
The waltz gained full recognition during the Congress of Vienna in 1812, when, thanks to numerous balls and banquets, the entire European elite danced, establishing a new order in Europe. However, thanks to the Strauss family and Josef, the waltz reached its peak in the 1860s as a dance form, a musical composition, and a symbol of a happy, elegant century. In 1867 the most famous waltz in the world was created, "Over the beautiful blue Danube", which immediately became the unofficial national anthem of Austria.
In the next generation, the musical history of this dance touched even Szczecin. Karl Adolf Lorenz, the successor of Carl Loewe as, among others, city music director, composed quite famous waltzes. It is also worth mentioning that Lorenz was the initiator and ardent advocate of the Szczecin Konzerthaus uprising, which was built not only as a concert venue but also as all kinds of meetings, parties and balls. Undoubtedly, the waltz could be heard there several times a week. Through the enormous, elegant windows, the dancing sounds must have travelled far and wide throughout the city.
Although the waltz was considered the root of all evil in the 17th and 18th centuries, it found its way into the elite and is now the most popular of all ballroom dances. Maybe it is a pity that we do not dance it on a mass scale in Szczecin today. Still, perhaps this evening of waltzing at the Lentz Villa will be an opportunity to revive this wonderful tradition, at least to a small extent!
Jakub Stefek
