Lucille Waltz Dance Steps
The Lucille Waltz is an Australian New Vogue dance and the script was composed by Bert Cartledge of Melbourne in the 1930’s. It is a 32 bar dance (see paragraph numbers) in the usual 3/4 waltz time and should be danced to a 1-2-3,4-5-6 rhythm and to music at a tempo of 50 beats per minute. We commence the dance in right semi shadow hold with the man and lady both facing down the line of dance and the lady in front of the man and slightly to his right. The man’s right hand should be on the lady’s hip and their left hands should be held at about shoulder height. We describe both partners’ steps here, with the Lady’s in italics.
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Lucille Waltz – 1st Movement – Forward Step and Aerial – Backward Step – Forward Reverse Viennese Cross – Backward Step
1. The man moves his left foot forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction (The Lady does the same) (1) then he brings his right foot forward, also in a diagonal-to-centre direction but lifts it to a medium aerial position, outside his partner and from behind the lady (The Lady does the same) (2,3)
2. Now the man brings his right foot back to its original position (The Lady does the same) (4,5) and his left foot drags across his right foot without changing his weight (very loosely crossed) (The Lady does the same) (6)
3. Now turning left, the man brings his left foot forward and across his body, in a diagonal-to-centre direction, while turning the lady to the left (The Lady turning left, does the same) (1) then the man brings his right foot forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction, from behind the lady and turns left on the ball of his right foot to face against the line of dance (The Lady brings her right foot forward in a diagonal-to-centre direction and turns to the left on the ball of her right foot to face against the line of dance) (2) and the man’s left foot again crosses loosely in front of his right foot, fifth position (while the Lady’s left foot crosses loosely in front of her right foot, fifth position) (3)
4. The man brings his right foot back down the line of dance (The Lady brings her right foot back down line of dance) (4,5) then his left foot brushes to his right foot without changing his weight so that the man and lady are now facing against the line of dance (The Lady’s left foot brushes to her right foot without changing her weight) (6).
Lucille Waltz – 2nd Movement – Repeat (Forward Step and Aerial – Backward Step – Forward Reverse Viennese Cross – Backward Step)
5. The man moves his left foot forward, this time in a diagonal-to-wall direction (The Lady does the same) (1) then he brings his right foot forward, also in a diagonal-to-wall direction but lifts it to a medium aerial position, outside his partner and from behind the lady (The Lady does the same) (2-3)
6. Now the man brings his right foot back to its original position (The Lady does the same) (4-5) and his left foot drags across his right foot without changing his weight (very loosely crossed) (The Lady does the same) (6)
7. Now turning left, the man brings his left foot forward and across his body, in a diagonal-to-wall direction, while turning the lady to the left (The Lady turning left, does the same) (1) then the man brings his right foot forward in a diagonal-to-wall direction, from behind the lady and turns left on the ball of his right foot to face against the line of dance (The Lady brings her right foot forward in a diagonal-to-wall direction and turns to the left on the ball of her right foot to face against the line of dance) (2) and the man’s left foot again crosses loosely in front of his right foot, fifth position (Lady LF crosses loosely in front of RF, fifth position) LF crosses loosely in front of RF, fifth position (while the Lady’s left foot crosses loosely in front of her right foot, fifth position) (3)
8. The man brings his right foot back against the line of dance (The Lady brings her right foot back against line of dance) (4-5) then his left foot brushes to his right foot without changing his weight so that the man and lady are now facing down the line of dance (The Lady’s left foot brushes to her right foot without changing her weight) (6).
Lucille Waltz – 3rd Movement – Breakaway – Chasse – Step and Aerial – Side Step – Bow and Curtsey
9. The man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance while turning slightly left towards a diagonal-to-centre position and prepares to lead the lady to turn right into a breakaway from semi-shadow hold (the Lady moves her left foot forward down the line of dance while turning left towards a diagonal-to-centre position) (1-2-3)
10. Now the man brings his right foot down the line of dance in a contra body movement position (CBMP) while turning right to face diagonal-to-wall (the Lady, turning right, brings her right foot forward diagonal-to-wall while she continues turning on her right foot, one full turn to the right overall) and they release their hold (4-5). The man’s left foot then brushes to his right foot without changing his weight (the Lady continues turning right to face her partner and her left foot closes to her right foot with a weight change, so that she is now facing diagonal-to-centre) and they take up Open Extended Hold with the man’s right hand to the lady’s left hand (6).
11. Now the man brings his left foot diagonally forward down the line of dance while turning slightly to the left and towards facing line of dance (the Lady brings her right foot diagonally forward down the line of dance while turning slightly to the right and towards facing line of dance) (1-2). The man continues turning left to face line of dance and his right foot closes to his left foot with a weight change (the Lady continues turning right to face the line of dance and her right foot closes to her left foot with a weight change) (3)
12. The man brings his left foot forward down the line of dance while his right foot is held pointing backwards (the Lady brings her right foot forward down the line of dance while her left foot is held pointing backwards) (4-5-6)
13. Now the man’s right foot drags through and swings to a medium aerial position with a CBMP, his body turning slightly to the right (the Lady’s left foot drags through and swings to a medium aerial position, also with a CBMP, her body turning slightly to the left) (1-2) and the man’s right foot lowers to the floor with his toe pointing (the Lady’s left foot also lowers to the floor with her toe pointing) (3)
14. The man moves his right foot diagonally forward down the line of dance while turning right to face both the wall and his partner (The Lady moves her left foot diagonally forward down the line of dance while turning left to face both the centre and her partner) (4-5). Then the man’s left foot closes to his right foot without changing his weight so that he is now facing the wall and his partner (The Lady’s right foot closes to her left foot without changing weight so that she is now facing the centre and her partner) (6).
15. The man’s left foot goes to the side down the line of dance (and the Lady’s right foot does the same) as they change their hold to the man’s left hand now holding the lady’s right hand (1-2-3).
16. We now come to the ‘bow and curtsey’. The man’s right foot points forward towards the wall and his partner, as he does a slight bow from the waist (while the Lady’s left foot comes back and behind her right foot and facing her partner, she does a curtsey) (4-5-6)
Lucille Waltz – 4th Movement – Repeat – (Chasse – Step and Aerial – Side Step – Bow and Curtsey)
17. We now repeat the previous movement, but this time in the opposite direction. The man brings his right foot to the side against line of dance while turning slightly to the right and towards facing against the line of dance (the Lady brings her left foot to the side against line of dance while turning slightly to the left and towards facing against line of dance) (1-2). The man continues turning right to face against line of dance, as his left foot closes to his right foot and with a weight change (while the Lady continues turning left to face against line of dance, as her right foot closes to her left foot and with a weight change) (3).
18. The man moves his right foot forward against the line of dance, while his left foot is held in a backward point (the Lady moves her left foot forward against the line of dance while her right foot is held in backward point) (4-5-6).
19. Now the man’s left foot drags through and swings up to a medium aerial level with a CBMP, his body turning slightly left (the Lady’s right foot drags through and swings up to a medium aerial level, also with a CBMP, her body turning slightly to the right) (1-2) then the man’s left foot lowers to the floor with his toe pointing against the line of dance (and the Lady’s right foot lowers to the floor with her toe pointing against the line of dance) (3).
20. Next, the man moves his left foot diagonally forward against the line of dance while turning left to face the wall and his partner (the Lady moves her right foot diagonally forward against the line of dance while turning right to face the centre and her partner) (4-5) and the man’s right foot closes to his left foot without changing his weight, so that he is now facing the wall and his partner (while the Lady’s left foot closes to her right foot without changing her weight so that she is now facing the centre and her partner) (6)
21. The man’s right foot goes to the side against the line of dance (and the Lady’s left foot goes to the side against the line of dance) and they change hold so that the man’s right hand is now to the lady’s left hand (1-2-3).
22. The man’s left foot points forward to the wall and his partner, as he does a slight bow from the waist (while the Lady’s right foot comes back and behind her left foot on the wall side, and she faces her partner and does a curtsey) (4-5-6).
Lucille Waltz – 5th Movement – Solo Turns
23. The man and lady now break apart for the solo turns. The man commences turning to face the line of dance, his left foot going forward down the line of dance into a solo turn (the Lady commences turning to face the line of dance, her right foot going forward down the line of dance into a solo turn) and they release their hold (1). The man continues turning left to face the centre, his right foot moving to the side down the line of dance (while the Lady continues turning right to face the wall, her left foot moving to the side down the line of dance) (2). He continues turning left to a point where he is backing the line of dance, her left foot coming back down the line of dance in a very small step (the Lady continues turning right to a point where she is backing the line of dance, her right foot coming back down the line of dance in a very small step) (3)
24. Now the man’s right foot comes back down the line of dance as he continues turning left to face the wall and his partner (the Lady’s left foot comes back down the line of dance as she continues turning right to face the centre and her partner) (4) then the man’s left foot goes to the side down the line of dance while he continues turning to face diagonal to wall (and the Lady’s right foot goes to the side down the line of dance while she continues turning to face diagonal to centre) and they both take up Normal Ballroom Hold (5) as his right foot moves forward in a CBMP and in Promenade Position (the Lady’s left foot moves forward in a CBMP and in Promenade Position) (6).
Lucille Waltz – 6th Movement – Forward Walks and Aerial – Backward Walks
25. To begin the forward walks, the man moves his left foot forward down the line of dance and in Promenade Position (the Lady, also in Promenade Position, begins by moving her right foot down the line of dance) (1-2) followed by his right foot forward down the line of dance, still in Promenade Position (and the Lady’s left foot moves forward down the line of dance, still in Promenade Position) (3)
26. And now the man’s left foot comes forward down the line of dance (the Lady’s right foot comes forward down the line of dance) (4) and the man’s right foot then swings up to a medium aerial position (while the Lady’s left foot also swings up to a medium aerial position) (5-6)
27. Now the partners walk backward. The man’s right foot comes back against the line of dance (and the Lady’s left foot does the same) (1-2) followed by his left foot coming back against the line of dance as he begins turning right towards facing the wall (the Lady’s right foot comes back against the line of dance while turning right towards facing the centre) (3)
28. They now prepare for the natural waltz ending. The man brings his right foot to the side while facing wall and his partner and continues turning right (the Lady brings her left foot to the side while facing the centre and her partner and also continues turning right) (4-5). The man’s left foot brushes to his right foot without changing his weight so that he is now backing diagonal to centre, ready to waltz (the Lady’s right foot brushes to her left foot without changing her weight so that she is now facing diagonal to centre) (6)
Lucille Waltz – Final Movement – Natural Waltz Ending (Rotating Smoothly to the Right)
29 – 32 The man and lady complete 2 complete Natural Waltz turns … the first step for the man is to bring his left foot backwards down line of dance, (the Lady moves her right foot forward down line of dance) then his right foot goes to the side down line of dance and then he closes his left foot to his right now facing line of dance, thus completing a half-turn. Then his right foot goes forward down line of dance as he continues by stepping through the lady’s legs and repeats the process three more times, completing two full turns in the process. The last half turn ends with the man and lady again taking up right shadow hold.
Then ready to begin again . . .
Enjoy this Video of the Lucille Waltz
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