Waltz the night away at Powell

In Los Angeles, a night out dancing usually entails some
pleather, a DJ and a venue with a name like The Boogie. But this
Saturday night in the Powell Library Rotunda, members of the UCLA
community can travel back to a time before the art of freaking had
ever possessed the hips of the teenage population.

For the third consecutive year, the UCLA College Library will
host Waltz Night in the second-floor Rotunda, during which
instructor and Special Events Coordinator Cynthia Harper will be
teaching a variety of waltz styles ranging from the Jane Austen era
to 1920s Ragtime that will make the evening not just another dance
party, but an introduction into the culture and mannerisms of
another era.

Although today we consider the waltz to be something of an elite
or noble class of ballroom dancing, when the original form was
introduced in the early 1700s, it was considered lewd, scandalous
and erotic.

Originating as a folkdance called the Landler in Austria, the
close proximity and embrace of the partners earned it a lusty
reputation among the aristocracy. Eventually, immigration brought
the Landler to Vienna, where in the 18th century it earned a place
in Viennese dance halls. Its fan base slowly began to evolve into a
more prestigious crowd, and the dance came to be known as the
waltz.

In fact, it is this reversed progression that makes the waltz so
unique from other social forms of ballroom dancing. While dances
such as the Volta and Minuet began in the courts and trickled down
to the laypeople, the waltz was born in the streets at rowdy social
gatherings of commoners long before it found its place on polished
dance floors.

According to Emma Lewis Thomas, professor emerita of world arts
and cultures, along with its immoral notoriety, the waltz was
actually considered to be a dangerous and risky form of dance.

“During the Victorian era, when women wore corsets, the
waltz tended to make women swoon because they could not breathe
properly,” Thomas said.

It was greatly due to its effect on female dancers that the
waltz was initially denounced by the church and state once it was
introduced to ballrooms in England.

One great change that pushed the waltz toward respectability was
the evolution of its musical accompaniment. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
went from focusing on minuets to composing waltzes, and more
notable instruments were used to play them, such as the bass, piano
and violin. Subsequently, the people had to buy softer, more
delicate shoes to match the refined musical tone, and the waltz
lost the dissonant clogging from the feet of its participants.

“When you waltz, there is a certain intimacy with your
partner,” Harper said. “There is a connectedness that
you just do not get out of modern rock ‘n’ roll
dancing.”

Harper also stresses the simple fact that the waltz is fun.

“It is just enjoyable to be whirled around in a
circle,” she said. “I recommend that you try to close
your eyes and feel it. But this is only for the ladies because the
men have to steer.”

But the night will be educational in addition to being fun,
according to Programming Consultant James Zimmer, a UCLA alumnus
who has been volunteering his time to teach ballroom dancing to
student organizations on campus for 15 years.

“The Waltz Night will also educate the guests about the
culture and etiquette of that time,” he said.
“Gentlemen will learn how to approach a lady, ask her to
dance, and then escort her back to her seat.”

Second-year art student Harmony Sharewsbury attended last
year’s Waltz Night and remembers her experience as being very
entertaining.

“Throughout the night we were exposed to many different
kinds of dancing,” she said. “One in particular was
incredibly difficult because you were stepping over the beat
instead of on it. But it was a wonderful night.”

Zimmer and Harper, as the main coordinators of the event, are
especially excited for this year’s Waltz Night.

“Most events like this can cost anywhere from $25 to $65
to attend and are out in Pasadena,” Zimmer said. “So it
is great that here you get a chance to attend something this
enriching on campus and at no cost.”