Social+Dance

= ﻿__**The Waltz**__ =

== media type="youtube" key="ob7Ve7Q__IE" width="467" height="385" align="right" The Waltz has been popular ever since the 1800's. This dance is very similar to other dances such as the volta, the weller and the landler. It took the 1800's by storm. The point at which it was most popular was during the 18th century. It began showing up in numerous plays and musicals. It's first appearance was in Vincente Martin y Soler's opera, //La Cosa Rara//. It's first ballet showing was in Gardel's //La Dansomanie// which took place in Paris in 1800. It is showed off many times in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and, The Nutcracker. Many choreographer's have created their own, individual works due to the celebration of it's music and romantic vibe. One example is Nijinska’s //La Valse// in 1958. Another example is Mark Morris’s //New Love// //Song Waltzes// which took place in Brahms, NY in== media type="youtube" key="b5GaGk74zT0" width="466" height="385" align="left" ==1982.Several types of dances were known in the late 17th century and early 18th century, including the basse danse, the tourdin or tordion, the passepied, the tarnatella, the waltz and the almaine. (Craine 506)==

= The Basic Steps to Dancing "The Waltz" =

==The steps to the waltz are very few in number. There are a total of six steps to the "Left foot closed change" which is what we will be teaching you today. There are two main roles in the dance of the waltz. The leaders and the followers. Theleaders tend to be men and the followers tend to be women. But, if your only option is to have two dancers of the same gender then it is no different, you just have to decide who will be which partner. The waltz can be very basic or made very difficult, depending on its speed. The position of your arms and upper bodies are the most important part. You want to keep your shoulders back and your back erect at all times. And another important thing to remember when performing the waltz is that you must always keep eye contact with your partner, never look down. Trust that your partner will know what he or she is doing.==

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http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3foxtrt.htm

= __The Cotillion __ =

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt0ub81Ekxo&feature=player_embedded

media type="youtube" key="Mt0ub81Ekxo" height="348" width="413" align="left" ==The Cotillion is a popular ballroom dance that emerged in the late 18th century. Cotillion was a type of dance held at gatherings where people around town met for a party of ballroom dancing. Most of the towns with high standards for fashion and the towns that had large numbers of middle-class people, had their own Assembly Rooms in which these balls where held. This was a common way for men and women to be able to introduce themelves and flirt with one another. Also at these gatherings they possibly tried to find someone to marry and they did this by dancing with a member of the opposite gender. By the 19th century, cotillion style dancing became even more popular with more and more people joining in as partners. However, dance steps became more complicated. Each cotillion dance could last a very long time, almost up to half an hour. It would not have been fun to dance with someone that you didn't have any interest in for that long of a time. Some of the cotillion dancing gatherings were very elegant and stylish these were also held along with dinners. The Country Gentry, who were people of wealth, would have professional musicians play, at their Country Houses. (Ross)==

= ﻿__QUIZ TIME :)__ =

3 Which type of dance was featured in many plays? The Waltz or Cotillion?
Sources:

Ashford/British Social History, Viola. "Regency Dances." Britain Epress. David  Ross and Britain Express, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.  .

Craine, Debra. "The Waltz." The Oxford Dictionary of Dance . USA: Oxford City Press, 2010. 506. Print.

Answers to the quiz

1 Six 2 Weddings 3 The Waltz