The Ascroft Waltz

{c. 1919}

Introduction

The Ascroft Waltz is a Waltz sequence dance, composed by B. Durrans in the early 20th century.

An educated guess, based on Durrans' 1919 composition of the dance "Cazaret," would be that the Ascroft Waltz was composed around a similar time.

The original description has been lost, but A. J. Latimer provides an "Authentic Replica of Original Description" in his Second Bouquet of Old Time Dances in 1950.

The Position

Both facing LOD, holding inside hands.

The Dance

Part I - Promenade and Point (4 bars): Seven steps forward along LOD (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), stopping on the seventh (1), then point inside foot forward (4).

Part II - Balance and Glide Back (4 bars): Rock forward on inside foot (1), then half waltz inward against LOD, with the Lead stepping back left and turning one quarter to the right, and the Follow stepping back right and turning one quarter to the left (4, 5, 6). Then side (1), close (3), side (4), close without weight (6) against LOD.

Part III - Four Point Balance (4 bars): Taking R-in-R, balance to the left (1), to the right, turning the Follow counterclockwise in place under R-in-R hands (4, 5, 6), away from partner, lowering the hands (1), and toward partner, raising the hands (4).

Part IV - Waltz (4 bars): Taking closed position, two full turns of right-turning waltz (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Repeat from the beginning.

The Music

Waltz music.

Sources

A. J. Latimer. (1950). A Second Bouquet of Old Time Dances. 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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