I was combing various You Tube videos to find a demonstration on contra body movement and came across a totally unrelated video for the waltz for beginners. The instructor was teaching a SQQ for the waltz, which I have never used. I always tell people I am teaching that the Fox Trot uses the SSQQ or SQQS sequence, but the waltz is more of a steady 1-2-3 with an emphasis on 1, the rise on 2 and 3.
I was once scolded by an instructor for counting the waltz as SQQ, which I may have had stuck in my head from many, many years ago at a Fred Astaire studio. It was a quick reminder that it probably is best not to consider it a SQQ sequence on the 3/4 time.
And then I see this instructor teaching it that way on You Tube. I suppose it's not horribly wrong, but is there actually a preferred method or technique on the speed/counting of the waltz, as opposed to the Fox Trot box step?
I would like to hear feedback, more for being able to explain to others, than anything I am particularly worried or fretting about.

hi good day to you, based on what ive learned we dont use s,q,q, in the waltz because the beat values are even only 1 beat. the only time you divide the beat is if your syncopating the movement like in the chasse from Pp.
Also the rise is commencing to rise at the end of one, and continue to rise on two and 3 and lower at the end of 3 to have a pendullum action or a metronome. thats what i understand according to the technique book.

Hi!

In the waltz SQQ can be used but it is not practical. It is much better to count it as 1,2,3 (3/4 timing). In terms of the rise and fall, I have always been told the strong beat is 1 (heel lead) and the rise commences at the end of 1 (so you in some level you shorten beat 2 to pull back some of beat 1)and then continue the rise into beat 3 lowering at the end.

Hope this is useful!

SQQ simply cannot be used in Waltz.

Waltz is by definition in 3/4 time. If it's not in 3/4, it's not Waltz. SQQ is by definition 4 beats* (2+1+1). So if you dance SQQ to 3/4 time, you'd be taking 1 measure + 1 extra beat with each sequence of 3 steps.

Regards,
Jonathan

* Well, at least an even number of beats. In 2/4 time, it's 2 beats. Either way, it's not 3/4.

this is an advanced method that some Pros do when they dance thru to the 1 st bar of natural turn (altho, today, most dance open naturals).

I have come across this concept in the past, but, counted QQS.. the point was.. getting the dynamic in the " swing" thru 1 and 2 , and allowing for a much more delayed rise and close thru 3 .

Conceptually, how we dance. and WHAT the " book " says, is quite often revised for personal taste during a competitive event.

I would not however, suggest applying this techn. to a beginnner .

Thanks for the feedback on this topic. It all makes sense to me. Considering his e-mail user name of Waltz123, I had a feeling what Jonathan would have to say about this.
I asked a professional couple the same question at an event in our community last weekend, and they said maybe when you go into promenade position, it may look or feel more like a SQQ move to get set up, but even then it is supposed to remain the steady 1-2-3 count.
Terence, your input was really interesting, as usual.

Yes, that's me. I like to use Admin to answer questions about the website, and Waltz123 to participate in discussions as a regular user.

In all styles of dancing, the dancers often like to take artistic license to "stretch" and "squeeze" counts for added musical emphasis. In this regard, one might describe the stretched counts as "slows" and the squeezed ones as "quicks". But this would be a completely different usage of the words "slow" and "quick", a subjective description of the feeling one might get from manipulating the timing, not a literal description of beat values where Slow = 2 and Quick = 1.

I guess you can't say it's wrong, but I'd recommend teachers use something else to describe this method of manipulating timing. The words Slow and Quick have come to mean something very specific in the teaching of ballroom dancing, and when you switch semantic gears without a thorough disclaimer, you're begging for confusion.

But let's say for the sake of argument I were going to use Slows and Quicks to describe which beats are stretched and which are squeezed. In Waltz, I would be more inclined to use QSQ, where step 2 is held the longest. On the other hand, if I have a beginner student who needs help completing the lowering on 3 to avoid "lurching" into the next 1, I might describe it as QQS. In other words, SQQ in Waltz is probably only rhythm I *wouldn't* use.

Regards,
Jonathan