Each choreographer will say that it is impossible to learn how to dance a waltz on your own, from scratch, without the help of a professional teacher, experienced dancer, or even a person who knows how to do it.
But is this really so? Modern people have a lot that can help them learn one occupation or another and not leave their own home. We are talking about the Internet, television panels, smartphones and other technical benefits that make distance learning possible.
How to dance?
The waltz is distinguished by the use of a musical size of three quarters. That is, each measure is “one, two, three.” With the release of intonation "times".
In movement, this is expressed in the fact that a beat equals three steps. In how to learn to dance a waltz, to master the rhythm - this is the most important thing. Without a sense of rhythm, an understanding of size and the habit of counting measures within yourself, nothing will work.
What is a waltz?
Usually people who are interested in how to learn how to dance a waltz at home on their own do not quite know exactly what they want to be able to perform.
There are several varieties of dance:
- fast or Viennese;
- slow;
- figured;
- Argentinean or waltz in the rhythm of the tango.
Each of the options has its own characteristics, and before you learn how to dance a waltz, you need to clearly understand what type of movements you want to master.
Viennese
As a rule, when they say “waltz”, they mean precisely the fast Viennese ballroom dance. He is part of the competition program, he is danced in films, this option is the most famous among people who do not come in contact with choreography.
And he is the most difficult. In this kind of dance, 60 measures are stacked per minute. Before you learn how to dance a waltz at home, or rather start this process, it makes sense to try to speak out the size with a stopwatch aloud.
“One, two, three” should sound 60 times in one minute, and you need not to go astray and not to lose your breath. If everything worked out - the Vienna version of the dance can be safely mastered, if not - you need to start with a simpler variety.
Slow
Its difference from fast only in rhythm, in this kind of dance is 30 measures repeating every minute.
For those who are thinking about how to learn how to dance a waltz at home, this dance option is just perfect. In addition, the famous Viennese is easily mastered after it.
Figured
This dance is distinguished by the presence of additional movements - swings, kicks, and so on.
If on any show, just in the evening program at the club, a waltz solo is dancing on stage, one dancer, without a partner, then this is the figured type.
You should not start training with this variety, since such a dance implies the presence of improvisation. And in order to improvise, you need to be able to dance.
Under the tango
The Argentinean version of the waltz is a crazy mixture of Latin American passions and European twists. Starting to learn dancing with him is not a good idea.
The performance of this type of dance implies impeccable possession of both waltz and tango. In addition, it is almost impossible to master the Argentinean version for a beginner who does not know how to move without a choreographer.
Where to begin?
Typically, such a question is supposed to be heard in response to a short story about how to stand, walk, where to look. However, in order to learn how to dance a waltz, for beginners it will be necessary first of all not to learn a position, but to arrange a place for classes.
It should be as similar as possible to a dance class. It will take a room of at least 20 square meters, freed as much as possible from furniture. This is necessary because circling like a princess at a ball in a room of 10 squares, crowded with armchairs, cabinets, chairs and tables, is quite difficult and only by the power of the heroines of Disney tales.
You will need a large mirror, reflecting in full growth, and even better - a few or panel wall sheathing.
As a machine for warming up and preliminary exercises, you can adapt a simple wooden cornice, fixing it well. But if there is no intention to seriously engage, and only interested in how to learn how to dance a waltz to any event, such as graduation, then the device of the machine can be neglected.
What to focus on?
When the room is ready, you can begin classes. What to focus on is everyone’s personal affair, someone easily copies movements, watching an episode from a movie, and someone needs detailed explanations with schematic images.
In how to learn how to dance a waltz, one cannot do one thing - only follow a written description of the movements. The movement needs to be seen. Otherwise, you can memorize something completely wrong.
Music at the initial stage is not needed, the movements are unlearned on the account, which can simply be recorded on a regular smartphone.
Description of the main positions
Before you begin to learn the position, you need to warm up the muscles. Of course, before a home waltz lesson, it is not necessary to sit on a twine. But the elementary exercise, with which physical education lessons begin in schools, needs to be done.
Initial stance - partners stand close to each other with a straight back. At the same time, the woman holds her back, leaning back a little, due to the deflection in the lower back. The chin is raised, the head is turned to the left, the gaze is directed over the partner’s shoulder.
The man supports the woman over the deflection zone, visually it seems that she rests on her hand, and without it she will break. The woman’s left hand is on the man’s shoulder.
With a single independent learning the partner will have to imagine.
The dance step is initially the legs in position “6”, which means that the feet are parallel. The one who leads begins by moving from the left foot “one”, then from the right foot - “two”, and by “three” pulls the left to the right.
The dance is performed by the "attached" type of steps. The lead partner simply repeats behind the main. The rotation is performed arbitrarily, the minimum interval for it is 2 measures.
As a result, the pair should “outline” the square.
Many are interested in the term “waltz track”. This dance figure develops by itself, by distributing the turns in measures.
One of the biggest challenges in solo home waltz learning is the need to represent a partner. It's not about emotional complexity, but tactile difficulty. That is, to keep the open palm at the same distance, it is difficult not to “drop” the elbow. It is equally difficult and constantly to keep a hand on weight, imagining that it rests on someone’s shoulder.
Learning to waltz on your own is quite real, although difficult. Classes for a pair of dances are always a better decision. But if this is not possible, then it is quite possible to include a documentary instructional film and try to move in a similar way to what is shown on the screen. In the same way, you can use feature films, and even animation.