The Waltz Was Once Considered Scandalous
A waltz is a ballroom dance in triple time. Its close hold shocked polite society when it arrived.
A waltz is a ballroom dance in three-four time, and the music for it. It arrived in London ballrooms around 1812 and caused genuine outrage: earlier dances kept partners apart in lines, while the waltz put a man's arm around a woman's waist and kept it there for the whole dance. *The Times* denounced it, and one physician warned it was dangerous to health. German *walzen* meant to roll or revolve, which describes the turning motion exactly.
- A triple-time dance. *A Viennese waltz.*
- To dance it. *They waltzed.*
- To move breezily. *He waltzed in.*
- Three-four time. *In three-four.*
- German — *walzen*, to roll. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | waltz | A waltz. |
| Plural | waltzes | Waltzes. |
| Verb | waltz | Waltzed. |
| Variant | Viennese waltz | Viennese waltz. |
| German | walzen | To roll. |
- They danced a slow waltz.Dance.
- He waltzed into the meeting late.Figurative.
- It scandalised London in 1812.History.
Dances that scandalised
- Waltz — the close hold shocked Regency London
- Tango — condemned in Europe before it was celebrated
- Charleston — banned in some venues in the 1920s
- Twist — denounced from pulpits in the early 1960s
- Each objection faded within a generation
German *Walzer*, from *walzen*, to roll, turn or revolve.
Why was the waltz shocking?
Because partners held each other closely throughout, where earlier dances had kept them apart in lines and touched only briefly.
Why does waltz mean to move breezily?
From the smooth confident turning motion of the dance, extended to entering somewhere with easy assurance.