Cross Step Waltz

Gary and I had our first real lesson in the Cross Step Waltz last Saturday with Rosie Lempkin of The Flying Cloud Vintage Dance Troupe in Cincinnati. We are both officially in love with this dance.

We tried the waltz when we first started dancing, but neither one of us liked it. The ballroom version is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but we didn’t care for the reverse poise, the calculated positioning, or the formalness.

The cross step waltz is nothing like the ballroom variety and is infinite in its application. In fact, its very nature lends itself to experimentation. Want to put tango moves in? Go ahead. How about a swing move? Works perfect. The basic timing is indeed one two three, but at any time you can put a cha cha cha in there or stop completely for drama. It’s all up to …I was about to say the lead, but in this dance the lead is often “given” to the follower. How cool is that?

The basic step is deceptively simple…the feet cross in front, the woman’s as well, even when she is going backwards. It is simply breathtaking. And something else happened with that dance too, something that has never happened to me before. At one point Rosie asked us to separate while doing the basic step. It was so romantic and beautiful that I started to cry!

I am not a crier in general, and certainly not (gasp) in public. But something happened when I danced that dance, something magical. I now understand why the waltz is called the Mother of All Dances.

Rosie just laughed. Yeah, she said, it’ll do that.

The Mother of All Dances. I get it. For me, at least the Cross Step Waltz is.