Empress Waltz Dance Steps and Video
The Empress Waltz dance script was composed by Ted Kirk and J O’Reilly in 1933. It is a 32 bar dance (see paragraph numbers) and should be danced in the usual 3/4 waltz time to music at a tempo of 52-54 beats per minute. We commence the dance in Shadow Hold with the man behind the lady and to her left and both facing down the line of dance. We describe only the man’s steps here on the assumption that the lady will follow as a counterpart, unless otherwise stated, in which case the Lady’s steps will be in italics.
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Bar |
Timing | |
Empress Waltz – 1st Movement |
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| 1 | The man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 2 3 |
| 2 | Then his right foot moves forward down the line of dance and he commences to turn to the right | 4 5 |
| Then the man Brushes his left foot towards his right foot without a change of weight | 6 | |
| 3 | The man continues to turn to the right until he is facing the wall, then his left foot goes to the side along the line of dance | 1 2 |
| Then he closes his right foot to his left foot | 3 | |
| 4 | The man now turns to the left on the ball of his right foot until he is facing the line of dance, then moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 4 5 6 |
| 5 | Then the man Taps his right foot forward down the line of dance without a change of weight | 1 2 3 |
| 6 | Then he brings his right foot back against the line of dance | 4 5 |
| Now he Drags his left foot back toward his right foot, without a change of weight – Loose 3rd position | 6 | |
| 7 | Next, the man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 2 3 |
| 8 | And he Swings his right foot forward into a Medium Aerial Lift | 4 |
| Now the man lowers his right foot until it is touching the floor, with his toe pointing diagonal to wall. | 5 6 | |
Empress Waltz – 2nd Movement |
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| 9 | The man moves his right foot forward down the line of dance and commences to turn to the right | 1 2 |
| Then the man Brushes his left foot towards his right foot without a change of weight, while he continues turning to the right until he is facing against the line of dance. The lady is now on the man’s left side. | 3 | |
| 10 | Next, the man moves his left foot forward and against the line of dance while commencing to turn to the left | 4 5 |
| And he Brushes his right foot towards his left foot without a change of weight | 6 | |
| 11 | The man continues turning to the left until he is facing the wall, then his right foot goes to the side and against the line of dance | 1 2 |
| He closes his left foot to his right foot | 3 | |
| 12 | Now, the man turns to the right on the ball of his left foot until he is facing against the line of dance, then moves his right foot forward and against the line of dance | 4 5 6 |
| 13 | Now the man taps his left foot forward and against the line of dance without changing his weight | 1 2 3 |
| 14 | Next, the man brings his left foot back, himself backing the line of dance | 4 5 |
| And he drags his right foot back towards his left foot – Loose 3rd position | 6 | |
| 15 | Then he moves his right foot forwards and against the line of dance | 1 2 3 |
| 16 | And Swings his left foot forward and against the line of dance into a Medium Aerial Lift | 4 5 |
| Finally, he lowers his left foot until it is touching floor, with his toe pointing diagonal to centre and against the line of dance | 6 | |
Empress Waltz – 3rd Movement |
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| 17 | The man moves his left foot forward and against the line of dance, while commencing to turn to the left until he is facing the wall | 1 2 |
| Then he brushs his right foot to his left foot and continues turning to the left until he is facing diagonal to wall. The parnters then release their left hands | 3 | |
| 18 | Next, the man moves his right foot forward in a diagonal to wall direction (the Lady moves her right foot forward in a diagonal to wall direction and commences turning to the right) | 4 5 |
| The man brushes his left foot to his right foot without changing his weight (the Lady continues turning to the right until she is backing diagonal to wall, a 1/2 turn to the right, then she closes her left foot to her right foot but with a weight change) | 6 | |
| 19 | The man brings his left foot back in a diagonal to centre direction against the line of dance (the Lady brings her right foot back in a digaonal to wall direction) | 1 2 |
| The man brushes his right foot to his left foot without changing his weight and with a foot rise (the Lady brushes her left foot to her right foot without changine her weight and with a foot rise) | 3 | |
| 20 | Lowering his left heel, the man moves his right foot forward in a diagonal to wall direction, closing to a loose Ballroom Hold (the Lady lowering her left heel, moves her right foot forward toward her partner, closing to a loose Ballroom Hold) | 4 5 |
| The man now brushes his left foot to his right foot without a weight change (the Lady close her left foot to her right foot but with a weight change) | 6 | |
| 21 | Now the man moves his left foot forward in a diagonal to wall direction and with a foot rise (the Lady brings her right foot back) | 1 2 |
| The man closes his right foot to his left foot, lowering his right heel | 3 | |
| 22 | Now he brings his left foot back in a diagonal to centre direction and against the line of dance | 4 5 |
| The man closes his right foot to his left foot, while turning on ball of his right foot until he is facing down the line of dance. He then lowers his right heel and takes up a loose Ballroom Hold in Promenade Position. | 6 | |
| 23 | The man then moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 2 3 |
| 24 | Now his right foot goes forward and down the line of dance | 4 5 6 |
| 25 | Then his left foot goes forward down the line of dance and with a foot rise | 1 2 |
| The man locks his right foot behind his left foot while lowering to his right heel (the Lady locks her left foot behind her right foot) | 3 | |
| 26 | Next, the man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance and does a foot rise in this left foot | 4 |
| And he swings his right foot forward into a Medium Aerial Lift | 5 6 | |
| 27 | The man brings his right foot back against the line of dance then lowers his left heel | 1 2 |
| He locks his left foot in front of his right foot | 3 | |
| 28 | He turns to the right on the ball of his left foot until he is facing the wall and his partner, then brings his right foot to the side and against the line of dance | 4 5 |
| Finally, he brushes his left foot to his right foot without changing his weight and continues turning to the right on his right foot until he is backing the line of dance and in position to commence the Natural Waltz | 6 | |
Empress Waltz – NATURAL WALTZ ENDING – (Rotate smoothly to the Right) |
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| 29 | The man brings his left foot back down the line of dance (the Lady moves her right foot forward down the line of dance) | 1 |
| The man’s right foot goes to the side down the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot goes to the side down the line of dance) | 2 | |
| The man’s left food closes to his right foot as he is facing the line of dance (the Lady’s right foot closes to her left foot as she is backing the line of dance) | 3 | |
| 30 | The man’s right foot goes forward down the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot comes back down the line of dance) | 4 |
| The man’s left foot goes to the side down the line of dance (the Lady’s right foot goes to the side down the line of dance) | 5 | |
| The man’s right foot closes to his left foot as he is backing the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot closes to her right foot as she is facing the line of dance) | 6 | |
| 31 | The man brings his left foot back down the line of dance (the Lady moves her right foot forward down the line of dance) | 1 |
| The man’s right foot goes to the side down the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot goes to the side down the line of dance) | 2 | |
| The man’s left food closes to his right foot as he is facing the line of dance (the Lady’s right foot closes to her left foot as she is backing the line of dance) | 3 | |
| 32 | The man’s right foot goes forward down the line of dance and he breaks ballroom hold to face down the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot comes back down the line of dance and she breaks Ballroom Hold to face the line of dance) | 4 |
| The man’s left foot goes forward in a diagonal to centre direction as he moves into Right Shadow Hold (the Lady’s right foot moves forward in a diagonal to wall direction while turning to the right so that she moves into Right Shadow Hold) | 5 | |
| The man’s right foot closes to his left foot as he faces the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot closes to her right foot without changing her weight as she faces the line of dance) and both partners take up Right Shadow Hold | 6 | |
Enjoy This Video of the Empress Waltz Steps
