This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the evolution and reception of couple dances in Europe during the long nineteenth century. It combines elements of historiography, cultural memory, folklore, and dance to offer insights into how dances like the Waltz and Polka were perceived and practiced across different regions. The volume includes contributions from leading researchers and offers a transnational perspective on dance culture.
This book delves into the intimate relationships between the body and sound in popular dance and music, spanning from the early twentieth century to contemporary youth club cultures. It engages in an interdisciplinary conversation across Asia, Europe, and the United States, examining how popular forms construct, reinvent, and negotiate cultural meanings and values.
In 'Decorum of the Minuet, Delirium of the Waltz', Eric McKee examines the dance-music relations of the minuet and waltz, two influential social dances of the 18th and 19th centuries. The book delves into how composers responded to the practical needs of dancers while incorporating aesthetics and cultural associations into their music. McKee's work combines insights from music analysis, musicology, and dance history to provide a comprehensive understanding of these dances.
This book examines the role of dance in 19th-century British literature, highlighting its use as a tool for social commentary and cultural critique. It covers themes such as gender and social mobility, bridging the gap between dance and literary texts. The work spans from Jane Austen to the New Woman, providing insights into the cultural significance of dance during this period.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is a seminal work in music scholarship, offering extensive coverage of music terms, composers, and musicians. Edited by Stanley Sadie, it includes detailed biographies and works lists for major composers, making it a definitive resource for music researchers and enthusiasts alike.
Invitation to the Waltz, published in 1932, is a novel by Rosamond Lehmann that follows the preparations of two sisters, Kate and Olivia Curtis, for a significant social event. The story delves into the complexities of adolescence, particularly Olivia's transition from girlhood to womanhood, as she navigates her first dance and the societal pressures that come with it. The novel is a prequel to Lehmann's later work, The Weather in the Streets.
This book delves into the vibrant history of ballroom and Latin dancing, tracing its development from the early twentieth century to the present day. It explores the dances, lavish venues, competitions, and influential instructors, as well as the impact of popular TV shows like *Strictly Come Dancing* and *Dancing with the Stars* on its resurgence.
The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances delves into the development of popular dances that were once considered taboo, examining their influence on fashion, music, leisure, and social reform. It highlights how these dances served as catalysts for lasting social change despite opposition from religious and social leaders.
The Viennese Ballroom in the Age of Beethoven positions social dances within their specific performing contexts and investigates the wider repertoire of the early Viennese ballroom. It highlights the influence of these dances on both social dance and music in nineteenth-century Europe, revealing connections to opera, concert music, and emerging entertainment genres. The book provides new insights into the social contexts of familiar dance types and the role of non-canonical composers in shaping the ballroom repertoire.
In 'Sounds of the Metropolis', Derek B. Scott examines the cultural life of four major metropolises, highlighting how each city contributed to distinct revolutions in popular music styles. London was the birthplace of music hall, New York of minstrelsy, Paris of cabaret, and Vienna of popular dance music for couples. These genres not only flourished during the 19th century but also endured well into the 20th century.
Revolving Embrace: The Waltz As Sex, Steps, And Sound delves into the historical and cultural significance of the waltz, particularly its impact on social norms and dance practices in the 19th century. The book examines how the waltz introduced a new level of intimacy and interaction between partners, changing the dynamics of dance and social interaction.
This two-part article explores the transformation of the waltz in London's fashionable ballrooms from the Victorian era to the modern English waltz of the early 1920s. It delves into choreological aspects, influential practitioners, and the cultural context that shaped this dance form.
This book by Theresa Jill Buckland provides a detailed examination of the evolution of ballroom dancing in England during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drawing on extensive archival research, it explores how dancing reflected and influenced societal norms and fashionable bodies among London's elite. The work offers insights into the cultural significance of dance during this period.
This book delves into the reciprocal relationship between literature and dance during modernism, highlighting how dance influenced modernist writers and vice versa. It covers a wide range of topics, including the impact of choreographers and dancers on literary works and the philosophical underpinnings of modern dance.
This book examines the impact of social dance on the modernist imagination during the interwar period in Britain. It highlights trends such as folk revivalism and therapeutic dance education, illustrating how these influenced literary and cultural narratives. Zimring's work provides a nuanced understanding of the intersection between dance and modernist thought.
Save Me the Waltz is a vivid portrayal of the life of Alabama Beggs, a Southern belle who marries an aspiring painter, David Knight. The novel follows their tumultuous marriage and Alabama's quest for identity through ballet, mirroring Zelda Fitzgerald's own experiences. Written in six weeks while Zelda was hospitalized, the book offers a unique perspective on the glamorous yet troubled lives of the Fitzgeralds during the 1920s and 1930s.
In 'The Waltz Emperors', Joseph Wechsberg delves into the lives and musical achievements of the Strauss family, highlighting their significant impact on the world of waltz music. The book provides a comprehensive look at the cultural and historical context in which the Strausses flourished, making it a valuable resource for music enthusiasts and historians alike.
The Go-Go Years is a harrowing and humorous account of the growth stocks of the 1960s and their meteoric rise, followed by the devastating market crashes of the 1970s. The book includes stories of high-profile personalities such as H. Ross Perot, who lost $450 million in one day, Saul Steinberg's attempt to take over Chemical Bank, and the fall of America's 'Last Gatsby,' Eddie Gilbert. Brooks blends humor and astute analysis to provide a vivid description of the financial landscape of the time, making it a classic of business history.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dance which, from when it reached Britain in the early nineteenth century, revolutionised the relationship between music, literature and people here for the next hundred years. While it may seem formal now, it was the informality and daring that drove its popularity, with couples holding each other as they spun round a room to new lighter music popularised by Johann Strauss, father and son, such as The Blue Danube. Soon the Waltz expanded the creative world in poetry, ballet, novellas and music, from the Ballets Russes of Diaghilev to Moon River and Are You Lonesome Tonight.
With
Susan Jones
Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford
Derek B. Scott
Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Leeds
And
Theresa Buckland
Emeritus Professor of Dance History and Ethnography at the University of Roehampton
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Reading list:
Egil Bakka, Theresa Jill Buckland, Helena Saarikoski, and Anne von Bibra Wharton (eds.), Waltzing Through Europe: Attitudes towards Couple Dances in the Long Nineteenth Century, (Open Book Publishers, 2020)
Theresa Jill Buckland, ‘How the Waltz was Won: Transmutations and the Acquisition of Style in Early English Modern Ballroom Dancing. Part One: Waltzing Under Attack’ (Dance Research, 36/1, 2018); ‘Part Two: The Waltz Regained’ (Dance Research, 36/2, 2018)
Theresa Jill Buckland, Society Dancing: Fashionable Bodies in England, 1870-1920 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)
Erica Buurman, The Viennese Ballroom in the Age of Beethoven (Cambridge University Press, 2022)
Paul Cooper, ‘The Waltz in England, c. 1790-1820’ (Paper presented at Early Dance Circle conference, 2018)
Sherril Dodds and Susan Cook (eds.), Bodies of Sound: Studies Across Popular Dance and Music (Ashgate, 2013), especially ‘Dancing Out of Time: The Forgotten Boston of Edwardian England’ by Theresa Jill Buckland
Zelda Fitzgerald, Save Me the Waltz (first published 1932; Vintage Classics, 2001)
Hilary French, Ballroom: A People's History of Dancing (Reaktion Books, 2022)
Susan Jones, Literature, Modernism, and Dance (Oxford University Press, 2013)
Mark Knowles, The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances: Outrage at Couple Dancing in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries (McFarland, 2009)
Rosamond Lehmann, Invitation to the Waltz (first published 1932; Virago, 2006)
Eric McKee, Decorum of the Minuet, Delirium of the Waltz: A Study of Dance-Music Relations in 3/4 Time (Indiana University Press, 2012)
Eduard Reeser, The History of the Walz (Continental Book Co., 1949)
Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 27 (Macmillan, 2nd ed., 2000), especially ‘Waltz’ by Andrew Lamb
Derek B. Scott, Sounds of the Metropolis: The 19th-Century Popular Music Revolution in London, New York, Paris and Vienna (Oxford University Press, 2008), especially the chapter ‘A Revolution on the Dance Floor, a Revolution in Musical Style: The Viennese Waltz’
Joseph Wechsberg, The Waltz Emperors: The Life and Times and Music of the Strauss Family (Putnam, 1973)
Cheryl A. Wilson, Literature and Dance in Nineteenth-century Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out (first published 1915; William Collins, 2013)
Virginia Woolf, The Years (first published 1937; Vintage Classics, 2016)
David Wyn Jones, The Strauss Dynasty and Habsburg Vienna (Cambridge University Press, 2023)
Sevin H. Yaraman, Revolving Embrace: The Waltz as Sex, Steps, and Sound (Pendragon Press, 2002)
Rishona Zimring, Social Dance and the Modernist Imagination in Interwar Britain (Ashgate Press, 2013)
In Our Time 
