The St. Bernard's Waltz

{c. 1944}

Introduction

The St. Bernard's Waltz is an Waltz sequence dance that appeared in several sources in the mid-20th century, at the height of the Old Time Dancing revival in England.

The Position

Closed position, Lead facing the wall.

The Dance

Part I - Chassé and Stamp (4 bars): Two side-closes along LOD (1, 3, 4, 6), then one more side step (1), and stamp closed (3), and stamp in place (4).

Part II - Chassé, Back the Lead (4 bars): Two side-closes against LOD (1, 3, 4, 6), closing without weight on the fourth step. Then back the Lead two steps to center of room (1, 4).

Part III - Back the Follow, Underarm Turn (4 bars): Back the Follow two steps to outside wall (1, 4), then a slow underarm turn in two steps: the Follow pivots forward and back along LOD under the held hands as the Lead walks two steps along LOD (1, 4).

Part IV - Waltz (4 bars): Two full turns of right-turning waltz.

Repeat from the beginning.

The Music

"St. Bernard's Waltz," or another square waltz at 144 bpm.

Sources

Victor Silvester. (1950). Old Time Dancing. London.

For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.

For full-length teaching videos, visit: University of Dance.

For help crafting a life you love, visit: Project Quartz.

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