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Waltz Components

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Terry Dean: Hi! I am Terry Dean from Terry Deans Dance Studio. Now, I am going to teach you the components of dancing. These are the material that make up the basic steps and get you on your way to learning how to dance a beautiful graceful waltz. They are very simple and I think you will enjoy it.

First of all, the basic components of the waltz, I am going to use Cindy as my demonstrator, are going to be walking steps. Walking steps sound very simple, but again you have to do in time with your partner. They are very easy. The main thing with walking steps are that when you walk, you strike your heel first, if you're going forward and you roll your foot down. Now, if you can pull up skirt slightly so that they can see at whole. While I go backwards I mean, while I go forward the lady goes backwards with her toe, as my goes down her heel goes down. My heel will come up and her toe will come up. We get a rolling action of the feet. This happens on all the walking steps that when I walk forward again I do heel toe, heel toe and then she comes forward, she does, heel toe, heel toe. So, we're rolling our feet back and forth together. Those are the walking steps of the waltz.

The next component is going to be side steps. Side steps are very simple. They just go side ways from left to right and from right to left. We just put out our foot and we're going to go side together, side together. Then, we go the other direction, side together, side together. The main thing with the side steps, are to take large side steps so you reach and you step with your toe.

So, we go side together, side together then the other direction side together, side together. Now, I am going to do this with Cindy from side to side in position. So we're going to go to the my right, her left first, side together, side together. Then the other direction, side together, side together. These waltz components forward walk and back walking steps, side steps left and right make up your basic dance patterns and you find them very easy, but the most important thing is that you do them in time with your partner.

Next thing we are going to do is we are going to go into the basic box step in the waltz.

Expert: Terry Dean

Ballroom Dancing Expert

www.terrydeansdancestudio.com

Terry is the owner and principal male dance instructor of Terry Dean’s Dance Studio, in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has been teaching ballroom dancing for 30 years and opened his own successful studio following a 19 year career with Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Terry has received accolades for his choreography and has been honored as Virginia State’s Top Studio and Top Teacher twice. He and his staff teach More »