Waltzing in the magnificent Spanish Ballroom .... or waltzing all by yourself

 

This picture shows Waltzing in the magnificent Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park in Maryland, USA ..... happy memories of yesteryear, before the Covid-19 pandemic closed public spaces and blocked our dancing passion. This picture shows the amazing SWALLOWTAIL dance band. 

Wanna hear them?  TRY   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duUlgCvjNzE

GOOD NEWS:  you can dance to Waltz music, even if you are alone. Tu peux danser avec toi-même.

Grete Wiesenthal (1885-1970) was an Austrian dancer, actor, choreographer, and dance teacher who found ballet too static, the Court Opera too stiff, too removed from the feel of the music. Using the waltz music of Strauss and Chopin, Grete became a Modern Dance Innovator, transforming the Viennese Waltz of her home city from a ballroom staple into a wildly ecstatic solo dance form. Her dramatic choreography with "swirling, euphoric movement and suspended arches of the body" was described as “ecstatic.” The dancers swirled in a “spherical dance” bent backwards with unbound hair and swinging dresses."  Here is Grete performing her Blue Danube solo spherical dance. Wild Waltzing!

Grete trouvait le ballet trop rigide, négligeant les émotions exprimées par la musique. Elle a donc inventé sa propre choréographie qui transforma le WALTZ en danse solo dramatique provoquant une ‘extase’ avec ses mouvements tournoyants ….. Une danse moderne de son époque.

This choreography made Wiesenthal a leading figure in Austrian dance and when she visited New York in 1912, Americans loved her!   You can read more, and hear my choice of Waltz music, if you read my monthly letter of jokes and stories THE DANCING HIPPO.  

visit my website: https://robinpoulton.com         English and French ..... and see my books !