Valse, Valse, Valse

Valse, Valse, Valse

Sun 05. to Thu 09.01. & Sat 05. to Tue 08.04., dance, from 12 to 16 years

The waltz is as much a part of Vienna as schnitzel and the Prater. But don't be fooled, because there is more than just a dance form behind the elegant turns. At the beginning of the 19th century, the waltz was criticised and sometimes banned because of its physical closeness and intimacy with the opposite sex. It was also criticised because the turns of the dance put the participants in an intoxicated state, which was thought to encourage people to pursue their desires without restraint. The almost floating movement of the waltz, the relationship between the two dancers and the accompanying music create a kind of trance. However, this trance has nothing to do with a loss of control, but with the movement itself.

Johanna Heusser and her team of 4 dancers and 3 musicians take you on a journey. They ask whether the waltz ‒ today a symbol of prosperity and the upper classes ‒ can retain its rebellious nature. Will they succeed in uncovering its historical potential for disorder and intoxication?