I was recently at the MIT Open Ballroom Dance Competition's website. http://mitbdt.mit.edu/comp/2001/results.php It listed International Waltz, International Viennese Waltz, American Waltz, and American Viennese Waltz as different dance categories. Could someone tell me what the differences are between them or direct me to an internet resource where I can read up about them?

I come at this question from the perspective of someone who would like to learn a style of waltz. I took several months of a ballroom dance class a couple of years ago. We learned Foxtrot, rhumba, basic tango (don't know which type of tango) and, of course, waltz. Waltz really stuck out because it felt so graceful, almost as if we were floating. (We basically did a box step, but the "box" gently rotated instead of staying in a fixed position on the floor. Part of what made it feel airy and graceful was, I think, that we would often find ourselves on standing on the balls of our feet/tiptoes on the last beat of the 1-2-3 that I counted as we danced.)

Since then, I have seen people waltzing at contra dances in New England. (Contra is a form of folk dancing, similiar to square dancing in that it has lively fiddle music and a caller). Couples spun around each other as everyone travelled in a circle around the whole dance floor. It didn't look quite as graceful and airy as the one I had learned earlier. However, it was hard for me to judge how graceful it would feel to dance because I definitely couldn't dance it. I need to have dances laid out systematically in order to learn them, and I just couldn't get my head around how to do this one.

So, as I consider which form of waltz I would like to learn, it would be helpful to know: * Which of the 4 forms of waltz might I have been doing (or attempting) both times? * Would the second type of waltz actually feel just as airy and graceful if I could actually do it? Would the other ones feel the same way? (Or rather, because you can't know how _I_ would feel, "How do the different dances feel for you?" * Is it possible to find instructors in each of the 4 forms? How about social and competitive dancing opportunities? * Is there some sort of geographic distribution to where the 4 forms are danced socially? * Can anyone recommend any good places to learn any of the four forms? I live in the Boston/Cambridge area.

I've asked quite a few questions and I doubt that any one person will be able to answer all of them. However, even if you can't answer all of them, any little bit of help would be appreciated.

Thank you, Rob

You definitely want Slow Waltz at this stage. It's not that Viennese is necessarily out of your reach, but you're going to get that nice graceful feeling much sooner in Slow Waltz than if you pursue Viennese. Also, Slow Waltz is a good foundation for Viennese, so you'll be doing things in the right order.

As to whether you choose Int'l or American style, that's probably going to be a more subtle distinction, since there's so much overlap between the two (particularly in the Waltz). You can't really go wrong either way. American style might provide a more instant gratification, but that really depends on the teacher. If you see yourself doing open figures like underarm turns and the like, you'll want to go with American style, since Int'l style never leaves closed position.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com