The Remembrance Waltz is a 32 bar modern sequence dance. The dance script was composed by Joy Gullick-Holmes in 1996 and dedicated to her late husband, Jack. It should be danced to a 3/4 rhythm and to music at 52 bars per minute. The dance commences in open extended hold with both partners facing down the line of dance. Here we mainly describe the man’s steps on the assumption that the lady will dance as a counterpart. If the lady is meant to dance independently of the man at any point, her steps will be described in italics.
Technique Tips:- The man lowers (bends) his legs slightly and uses “heel leads” to step forward. Backward steps are drawn with his toe (again, lowering himself) coming back onto his heel. Whenever they bring their feet together in a continuing sideways movement (e.g. chasse) both man and lady should rise up onto their toes.
Remembrance Waltz Dance Steps
If you prefer to just watch a video of the Remembrance Waltz, please scroll down to the bottom
Remembrance Waltz – 1st Movement |
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| 1 | The man commences by moving his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 |
| The he swings his right foot forward into a Medium Aerial Lift, with his toe pointing to the floor | 2 3 | |
| 2 | Then he brings his right foot back against the line of dance | 4 5 |
| The man then crosses his left foot in front of his right foot without changing his weight | 6 | |
| 3 | Next, he moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 |
| The his right foot follows down the line of dance | 2 | |
| And then his left foot goes forward down the line of dance | 3 | |
| 4 | Next, he crosses his right foot in behind his left foot, into what some call a “lock” | 4 5 6 |
Remembrance Waltz – 2nd Movement |
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| 5 | Now the man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 2 3 |
| 6 | Followed by his right foot going forward and down the line of dance | 4 5 |
| And he closes his left foot to his right foot | 6 | |
| 7 | Now he brings his right foot back against the line of dance | 1 2 |
| And he closes his left foot to his right foot | 3 | |
| 8 | Then he moves his right foot forward and down the line of dance | 4 5 6 |
Remembrance Waltz – 3rd Movement |
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| 9 | Now the man moves his left foot forward and down the line of dance | 1 2 3 |
| 10 | And crosses his right foot over his left foot while rising onto his toes and making a 1/2 turn to the left – called a Twist Turn – to be facing against the line of dance | 4 5 |
| Then he lowers his weight onto his right foot | 6 | |
| 11 | Then he commences turning to the left and his left foot goes forward against the line of dance, into a Fallaway | 1 2 |
| He continues turning to the left and his right foot goes to the side | 3 | |
| 12 | Next, the man’s left foot comes back against the line of dance | 4 5 |
| And he closes his right foot to his left foot | 6 | |
Remembrance Waltz – 4th Movement |
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| 13 | With the man and lady now facing down the line of dance in Open Extended Position, the man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance | 1 2 |
| Then his right foot moves forward down the line of dance | 3 | |
| 14 | Followed by his left foot moving forward down the line of dance | 4 |
| And he swings his right foot forward into a Medium Aerial lift | 5 6 | |
| 15 | Next, he brings his right foot back in a diagonal-to-wall direction against the line of dance (the Lady, turning strongly to the left, commences to curve across to the man’s left foot side. Her left foot goes forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction and against the line of dance) | 1 |
| The man’s left foot then goes back in a diagonal-to-wall direction (and the Lady, still curving to the left, moves her right foot forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction against the line of dance) | 2 3 | |
| 16 | The man brings his right foot to the side, toward the wall (and the Lady, still curving against the line of dance, moves her left foot forward) | 4 5 |
| The man closes his left foot to his right foot and takes up Open Extended Position with the lady, who is now on his left side – the man’s left hand joins with the lady’s right hand (and the Lady closes her right foot to her left foot and swivels a half-turn to the left, to be facing down the line of dance. She should now be on the man’s left side) | 6 | |
Remembrance Waltz – 5th Movement |
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| 17 | The man moves his right foot forward down the line of dance (and the Lady moves her left foot forward down the line of dance) | 1 2 |
| And crosses his left foot behind his right foot (the Lady crosses her right foot behind her left foot) | 3 | |
| 18 | Then the man moves his right foot forward down the line of dance (and the Lady moves her left foot forward down the line of dance) | 4 5 6 |
| 19 | Now the man moves his left foot forward in a diagonal-to-wall direction to commence a Fallaway (the Lady moves her right foot diagonally forward) | 1 2 |
| Then the man’s right foot goes to the side and he takes up Ballroom Hold, facing the centre and his partner (the Lady brings her left foot to the side and she takes up Ballroom Hold, facing the wall and her partner) | 3 | |
| 20 | Turning into a Fallaway, the man brings his left foot back down the line of dance (and the Lady, turning to the Fallaway, brings her right foot back down the line of dance) | 4 5 |
| Now the man brings his right foot back to the centre while turning the lady into Closed Ballroom Hold (and the Lady, moving her left foot forward in a diagonal-to-wall direction, continues turning into Closed Ballroom Hold with the man) | 6 | |
Remembrance Waltz – 6th Movement |
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| 21 | Now the man, turning strongly to facing the wall, brings his left foot to the side but leaving his feet apart (while the Lady continues turning and brings her right foot to the side so that she is now backing to the wall but leaving feet apart. She sways to the right side) | 1 2 3 |
| 22 | The man transfers his weight to his right side with his feet still apart and takes a small step with his right foot and sways to the against the line of dance (while the Lady transfers her weight to her left side against the line of dance and sways to the left) | 4 5 6 |
| 23 | Turning into Promenade Position, the man takes a small step on the heel of his left foot, down the line of dance and rises up onto the ball of his foot (the Lady also turns into Promenade Position and moves her right foot forward, a small step on her heel and rising up onto the ball of her foot) | 1 2 |
| The man now crosses his right foot behind his left foot without changing his weight, forming a Lilting Action (the Lady crosses her left foot behind her right foot with a Lilting Action) | 3 | |
| 24 | Lowering his weight onto his left foot, the man brings his right foot back against the line of dance (the Lady, lowering her weight onto her right foot, brings her left foot back against the line of dance) | 4 5 |
| The man then crosses his left foot in front of his right foot without changing his weight – another Lilting Action (the Lady crosses her right foot in front of her left foot without changing her weight) | 6 | |
Remembrance Waltz – 7th Movement |
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| 25 | Releasing his hold, the man now commences turning to the left while moving his left foot forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction, into a Telemark (the Lady, releasing her hold, moves her right foot forward in a diagonal-to-wall direction and commences turning to the left) | 1 2 |
| Continuing his turn to the left, the man brings his right foot to the side until he is facing the centre (the Lady, bringing her left foot to the side, continues turning until she is facing the wall) | 3 | |
| 26 | The man brings his left foot to the side and continues turning until he is now facing the wall (the Lady brings her right foot to the side and continues turning until she is facing the centre) | 4 5 |
| The man closes his right foot to his left foot (and the Lady closes her left foot to her right foot) | 6 | |
| 27 | The man extends his right hand and acknowledges the lady’s curtsey. He doesn’t not point his toe (the Lady extends her right hand and takes the man’s right hand and does a curtsey with her left foot behind her right foot) | 1 2 3 |
| 28 | The man moves his right foot forward and raises the lady from her curtsey (the Lady rises from her curtsey) | 4 5 |
| The man closes his left foot to his right foot without changing his weight while turning to the right to be backing the line of dance (the Lady closes her left foot to her right foot) | 6 | |
Remembrance Waltz – Final MovementNATURAL WALTZ ENDING |
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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 foot closes to his right foot while facing the line of dance (the Lady’s right foot closes to his left foot while backing the line of dance) | 3 | |
| 30 | The man’s right foot goes 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 while backing the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot closes to her right foot while 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 foot closes to his right foot while facing the line of dance (the Lady’s right foot closes to his left foot while backing the line of dance) | 3 | |
| 32 | The man’s right foot moves forward down the line of dance and he breaks his hold to face down the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot comes back down the line of dance and she breaks from Ballroom Hold to face the line of dance) | 4 |
| The man’s left foot moves forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction while moving into Open Extended Hold (the Lady’s right foot moves in a diagonal-to-wall direction while turning to the right and moving into Open Extended Hold) | 5 | |
| The man’s right foot closes to his left foot as he is facing the line of dance (the Lady’s left foot closes to her right foot without changing her weight and she faces the line of dance) They take up Open Extended Hold ready to begin again. | 6 | |
Enjoy This Video Demonstration of the Remembrance Waltz
