The Viennese waltz is a smooth, graceful rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either toward the leader's right or toward the leader's left. The Viennese waltz is actually the original form of the waltz, but its music is twice as fast as slow waltz music (52-58 measures or 156-174 beats per minute). Both the music and dance maintain a graceful character, reminiscent of the original Viennese balls.
Viennese waltz has a 3/4 time signature, which is the same as the slow waltz. This is different than all other ballroom and Latin dances such a tango, foxtrot, cha cha, or jive, which all have a 4/4 time signature. This unique timing is why the Viennese waltz would be counted as "1, 2, 3", "1, 2, 3". The timing of every count of the Viennese waltz should be even.
Viennese waltz is a popular dance for weddings and other formal occasions, including the continued tradition of the Viennese ball. Viennese waltz music is often beautiful and romantic, but many genres have songs appropriate for dancing waltz, from Strauss in the 1800s to modern movie soundtracks.
When selecting a song to dance Viennese waltz, it's important to find a song in 3/4 timing, that can be counted "1, 2, 3", "1, 2, 3" instead of "1, 2, 3, 4", "1, 2, 3, 4". If you would like to dance a Viennese waltz as your first dance at your wedding, for example, you'll be limited in what songs you can select due to this unique timing. The speed of your chosen song will also influence whether your dance's choreography will be a slow waltz (click the link to learn more about this dance) or a Viennese waltz.
To give one example of the difference between a slow waltz and Viennese waltz, the original version of the theme song from Disney's "Up" has varied timing, but it is generally too slow to dance as a Viennese waltz. This version of the song would be better suited to a slow waltz.
However, an artist named DJ Ice has reimagined the "Up" theme song as a Viennese waltz, with both a 3/4 time signature and a faster speed than the original version above. If you play both the original version and this version of the song, you may be able to hear the difference between the timing. If you can't hear the difference yet, don't worry! Counting music is a surprisingly difficult skill, but our professional dance instructors can help teach you this skill in person during your private lessons or group classes.
In the meantime, we've listed 10 of our favorite songs for dancing the Viennese waltz below! All of these songs already have the correct time signature and speed to dance the Viennese waltz. We've assembled songs from different genres to show the versatility of the Viennese waltz. If you have any more questions about the Viennese waltz and what songs it can be danced to, please contact us at info@aretedancecenter.com - we're happy to help!
10 Songs You Can Viennese Waltz To
"That's Amore" - Dean Martin
"A Thousand Years" - Christina Perri
"Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" - Bryan Adams
"Cinderella Waltz" - Rodgers and Hammerstein
"Say Something" - A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera
"Black Pearl" - DJ Maksy
"Heaven" - Julia Michaels
"Love on the Brain" - Rihanna
"Blue Danube" - Ballroom Orchestra and Singers
"Once Upon a December" - Liz Callaway
Want more Viennese waltz? DJ Ice Dancesport Music is known for remixing popular songs for ballroom and Latin dance. We have included his playlist for Viennese waltz below. All of these songs should be relatively easy to count and have consistent timing, as they were designed especially for Viennese waltz. (Click the icon in the top right corner of this video to open the full playlist.)
Click here to learn more about the Viennese waltz, and how you can learn this dance at Areté Dance Center!
If you have any questions, contact us at info@aretedancecenter.com or (408) 824-0074. Enjoy your dancing!