Porfirio,

Great comment.
I don't think you are a trator.......

Thanks Guys, i knew i could depend on you for some good answers.
I'll be learning IS VW...

Even when danced by people with several years of solid training, American Viennese looks very choppy and hurried due to the nature of the movements used. In constrast, it's possible for those with only a year or so of solid experience to start to get a nice flowing feel in the basic closed hold figures (mandated in international, usefull in American).

So I'd suggest learning international first, and then add the American steps once you have an idea of the characteristic flowing feeling to work towards.

Realistically, I'd suggest this for any of the Smooth/Standard dances - learn their international form first, as while it is easy to do American badly, the technique of international is easier to get right (and true top-notch coaches are much easier to find). Then you can transition your international-fortified knowledge to the special challenges of American style dancing.

The first 4 Viennese Waltzes I ever attempted, I fell flat on my butt each time! I tellya, that was hella embarrassing, but everyone else found it hilarious.
People would actually stop dancing to watch me try to Viennese waltz.

Glad to say, I can make it around the floor fairly well now.

Well, thanks for making me feel a little better. I have had a couple Viennese Waltz lessons about a month ago. I am now in the process of having refresher lessons to reinforce those, and it feels like I'm starting over again, possibly worse off than I was before.

It doesn't help that the popularity of the dance in both the studio and the social dances I have managed to find is low, so it is hard to practice. Of course, I guess it would have helped if I was a little bit more dilligent practicing at home...

Even though I expressed my slight frustration earlier, in my opinion you only need to know a couple of steps in Viennese in order for it to be fun .

One thing that may seem to contradict most perceptions, but to me, it's actually easier to do Standard Viennese in a social setting, because there are fewer steps, and you're not throwing any "curves" at the lady... just going left, right, and throwing in a few wisks/balances every now and then. With American Style, unless you know about the person's dance history, you usually can't just impose/lead whatever you want. I hope I'm not considered a trator, since I compete in American Smooth

I agree with Porfirio. VW is a dance which requires good solid technique and an excellent topline. And it is a relatively simple syllabus, so as a dancer you can focus on these things in the dance.
In Ireland, we have the "old time Waltz" which is very popular and EVERY social dancer dances it. It's similar to VW but at a slower tempo (about 55 BPM) and without the Viennese cross footwork and no flekerels.
In Ireland, only the very top dancers attempt the flekerels in VW.
I was reading a book by Harry Smith-Hampshire (a famous UK dancer who was 8 times World champ at VW - i think)). He pointed out that the flekerels were the original dance, and the travelling turns only came later. such is progress i guess.

There are very few steps in the International Viennese Waltz. The good thing about learning International is that the repetitive nature of the dance will expose flaws in your technique that you may not notice practicing American Style VW.

I think that if you are not interested in learning the closed position technique that comes with all standard dances, that you stick to American Style. This will provide you with more variation and steps to use socially.

Happy Dancing!