There's Dancing, and Then There's Waltzing

Oh, the glorious Season, when the hearts of young (and not so young) Regency ladies turned toward thoughts of dancing and romancing. Many of us have seen Regency dance scenes courtesy of Hollywood or British films. Some Regency writers have been fortunate enough to take instruction from an expert in historical dance, such as John Hertz, the choreographer for The Friends of the English Regency, one of the largest Regency-interest groups in North America. As such instruction shows, what we've seen on the screen may not be an adequate representation of Regency dance, particularly the waltz.

The dances done in the typical Regency ballroom were versions of earlier English country dances brought to the court by Queen Elizabeth I and made much more staid and proper in the process. These dances in turn are the forerunners of the American square dance. But don't get the impression of stamping feet and a boisterous caller. With a few noted exceptions such as the "Sir Roger de Coverly" Regency dancers took slow, careful steps and barely came into physical contact except for the occasional touch of hands. In addition, the Regency miss (and mister) was expected to have memorized the steps to each dance.

Luckily, the pattern sequence of the typical Regency dance was also not as varied as a square dance, usually comprising between six to twelve figures repeated until the music ended. Partners stood in line or square formations, depending on the dance. Most of the country dances that were introduced to court were danced in long lines, men down one side of the room and women down the other, approximately four feet apart. Each couple would dance the same pattern sequence with their neighbor couples, slowly progressing up or down the lines, each time dancing with new couples. The movements of the dance constantly brought partners together and apart. A lengthy conversation, especially of a private nature, was often not possible during the dance and at best disjointed, except when the couple was forced to stand out.

Standing out refers to the practice of having a couple stand at one end of the line, waiting to join the dance in progress. Most Regency dances require two couples to interact (remember the square dance). Some require three couples. Sometimes the number of couples wishing to dance did not match the number needed by the dance pattern. During any particular movement of the dance, then, this extra couple might be left with nothing to do. Nothing to do, that is, but have a nice little coz!

There is reason to believe that a line dance version of the waltz was practiced in England as early as 1800. Couples still started in two lines, but they stood side by side facing toward the top of the room (from whence the music came) and clasping nearest hands. They would promenade for four counts of the music, then do an open waltz step for four counts, then do a closed waltz step for four counts before returning to the promenade. In an open waltz step, the couple still stands side by side but the clasped hands serve as a hinge by which they alternately turn toward and away from each other. The closed waltz step is more like what we consider a true waltz.

Historians disagree as to when the true waltz, in which couples did the closed waltz step and turned together, arrived in London. Some claim waltzing was done as early as 1812, but that may have been the open waltz step. Some say the Countess Lieven brought it back from Vienna in 1813 and introduced it at Almack's. Others say it was Tsar Alexander who danced the waltz at Almack's during his June 1814 visit to England. One account has him dancing it with the Countess and Lady Jersey (although not both together, I would imagine!).

Whenever the dance arrived, it caused quite a stir. Imagine, couples touching! Locked in each other's arms! As Andrew Seymour Viscount Jamison summarizes in Elizabeth Mansfield's My Lord Murderer, "dancing represented society's sanction--in public, vertical expression--of what were essentially private, horizontal desires." The Times reportedly condemned the waltz as unseemly. Mothers refused their daughters permission to dance it. Even Byron wrote a satirical poem about the shocking dance (and as we know he was not easily shocked).

In 1816, the Prince Regent provided a blessing to the waltz by including it in a formal state ball. But by then, the waltz was old news. Lady Jersey had introduced the quadrille to Almack's in 1815, making it the newest dance. But it would never replace the popularity of the waltz, which was to become the dance of choice in Victorian England and one of the most romantic dances of all time.

Care to see how it really felt to dance a romantic waltz? Try The Bluestocking on His Knee or Catch of the Season.