Maintaining Your Balance When Dancing The Waltz

By Stanley McCalla

How can I maintain my balance when doing the Waltz? This question came up while I was coaching a student recently.

Because this subject factors in many technical aspects (e.g. posture, leg action footwork, foot pressure, rise and fall), today I will only give details on the footwork and the rise and fall.

The Waltz is characterized by rise and fall used by the feet and felt in the body, which of course involves the legs. When you use the correct rise and fall, you apply foot pressure on the floor; this action helps further your balance.

As an exercise, stand with your feet together with weight on your right foot and your body vertically poised over your feet. Slowly dance a left turning basic doing ¼ turn on the forward half and a ¼ turn on the back half. All the while use your feet as follows: count 1: heel-toe; count 2: toe; count 3: toe-heel; count 4: toe-heel; count 5: toe; count 6: toe-heel.

Repeat the exercise again, this time thinking of your rise and fall as follows: commence to rise at the end of 1; continue to rise on 2 and 3; lower at the end of 3; commence to rise at the end of 4 (no foot rise); continue to rise on 5 and 6; lower at the end of 6.

I suggest that you do these movements before every lesson. Also, check in with your teacher so he/she confirms that you are doing them correctly. After a while, you will experience progress. Your balance will improve and your dancing will benefit from it.

Until next time,

Happy dancing!

Stanley Mc Calla
Fred Astaire National Dance Board Member & Examiner
Fred Astaire National Smooth Champion
US 10 dance finalist
4 times US representative to World Championships
Former US Latin, Standard, 10 dance Champion