Dancing Dilemmas

People keep asking me if we’re going to do a bridal waltz.

Actually, so many people of all different backgrounds and relationships to me have asked me about it that I’m starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me.

Because the answer to that question is no; neither of us are great dancers and the thought of choreographing something that will ultimately just be embarrassing, fills me with dread.

We do have a song though. Does that count? I’m not ready to share that with anyone yet, so that will have to remain a secret.

First, to unpick it a little…

I’m guessing all the curiosity comes from a combination of A) a suitable question as we’re on the eight week countdown to the wedding itself and all the other questions like dress, honeymoon etc have been answered. B) most people dread it themselves and just enjoy probing the next victims to scare them off and C) internet sensations like this couple that went viral make it kind of “fashionable” to add yet another level of competition to the proceedings.

All three of these factors leave me a bit cold, but it has raised my curiosity about where the damn thing came from.

Who invented the wedding waltz anyway?

The waltz, as a dance has its origins in Germany and means to “roll” and “glide” and “turn”.

It was popularised around C17th century when composers Strauss and created beautiful music to go along with it.

Not everyone loved the dance; according to a dance website I found, some religious leaders considered the waltz “immoral” because of the “closeness” it demanded between the participants dancing shoulder to shoulder.

On the other hand, Queen Victoria was believed to be a big fan of the waltz.

It peaked in popularity around World War One when it also became a lot more relaxed, with dancers incorporating other styles and moving closer still, dancing hip to hip (shock, horror).

For the life of me I can’t find any explanation as to the placing of the dance in the wedding itself, but I guess at the end of the day it’s just kind of romantic.