Spent some focused time waltzing last night in preparation for an upcoming seekrit projeckt. Some notes to myself.
Turning your box happens on side-together (2-3 and 5-6), not the forward/back steps (1 and 3). I have a tendency to curve my backstep in particular. I don't even think about it, now I have to. Which resulted in some confused leads yesterday evening.
Leading on twinkle is a lot about rise and fall and planting us both on the landing on count 3, creating an opportunity for my partner to change weight and be on the proper foot. My partner kept ending up on the wrong foot, and having a hard time distinguishing between my leads for twinkle and for promenade hesitation. You'll say (and I was tempted to) "well, can't she count, can't she pay attention to what half of the box she is in" and the answer is yes she can, and maybe she should. But If I'm going to become the dancer I want to be, my leads must be definitive and unmistakeable, and I have to know at all times what beat we're on and where in the box we are, and tell her all of that with my body. Being indecisive and unclear is not acceptable.
Leading promenade is about right turning action with my right arm, and possibly about a little positive pressure with my left to snuggle her in as my right arm rotates. Plus, I really, really need to consistently lead or signal with my head. Not only does it help my partner, but it looks fabulous. And we want to look fabulous.
And I'm still working on automating rise and fall.
I'm listening deliberately and consciously to a lot of waltzes these days. Thank god for amazon mp3 sales/downloads and for YouTube. There are just so many waltzes I love, and so much of the music I love, and react most emotionally to, is waltz music. I'm starting to really wonder how much the song, the lyrics, the instrumentation even matters - whether it's just the waltz rhythm and the feeling of motion and flow and romance it inspires in me. In other words, I thought I liked, and was moved by particular songs, but now that I notice they're all waltzes, maybe it's not the individual song I like, maybe it's the category "waltz music". To wit, some of my favorite waltzes include:
Saturday Sun - Nick Drake - Most of Nick Drake's stuff is pleasantly depressive and morose, but this piece is wistful and romantic and hopeful. Turns out it's a waltz.
Sweet Baby James - This seemingly simple song is surprisingly moving, and turns out it's a waltz.
Play me - Neil Diamond - There are about 4 or 5 Neil Diamond songs that I like moderately well. This one is by far the most moving. It's a waltz.
Valz after Jan-Olof Olsson - JPP JPP are a Finnish folk group that I ran into at a folk music festival I attended with a friend. There are a bunch of fiddlers, a bassist, and they often use a nyckelharpa, which is like a keyed fiddle with drone strings (I swear it's true - google it) that make it sound a lot like a set of bagpipes. Plus, it looks like a bear to tune. Anyway, these guys were fiddling along and I was enjoying it moderately well, but nothing particular was standing out. Then they started this tune that began with a lone nyckelharpa singing out wistfully, and when the other fiddlers and bassist joined in, it was like blown-away man. The sound and emotion hit me in the chest and woke me up and I was suddenly and very emotionally engaged. Turns out the Finnish word is "Valz"...
Take it to the Limit - Eagles - I'm a big Eagles fan, this is one of my favorites. Waltz.
Blue Spanish Sky - Chris Isaak I'm a Chris Isaak fan too, but favorites... Waltz.
If you Don't Know Me By Now - Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, or
Simply Red, or Seal, or many others. Let's just say I don't even know
any other songs by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (I don't think...),
but... Waltz.
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica Far and away my favorite Metallica tune. Waltz
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot. I didn't know I cared so deeply about the Great Lakes maritime tradition, and the risks that merchant mariners take in the name of commerce. Maybe it's just the fact that it's a waltz. Actually, it's a *Viennese* waltz which is like the triple espresso of waltzes (so are a bunch of the above....)
The Rainbow Connection - Kermit the frog. Seriously? I'm getting a little emotional over a song by a muppet??? I blame the waltz.
Natural Woman - Aretha Franklin
Come Away with Me - Norah Jones
Moon River - Andy Williams
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
(I can't help) Falling in Love with You - Elvis
Eidelweiss and My Favorite Things - The Sound of Music (Viennese, naturally)
Lara's Theme - Dr Zhivago
Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce
Kiss From a Rose - Seal
Que Sera, Sera - Doris Day (Viennese)
You Light Up my Life - Everybody
Three Times a Lady - Commodores
House of the Rising Sun - Animals
Annie's Song - John Denver (Viennese)
Themes from Romeo and Juliet, The Godfather, The Cider House Rules, even Finding Nemo
If you want a romantic, wistful, moving, flowing song with a lot of momentum (emotional and physical), you want a waltz.
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