I’d like to tell you more about the 8-week course I’ll be offering on Zoom, entitled Waltzing Through Time. Starting on Wednesday, September 17th., it will run for 8 weeks from 10:30 am to noon (EST). The course is being offered through the Lifetime Learners Institute. Lifetime Learners is a nonprofit in southern Connecticut that provides lifelong learning through Norwalk Community College. I’ve been creating courses for them since 2012 after I retired from teaching. To see a breakdown of the eight weeks see the schedule at the bottom of this post.
Using videos and interactions with class members to keep things lively, we will survey over 200 years of the waltz’s history, spending time on many of the biggest names in music (Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Ravel, Richard Rodgers, Benny Goodman, Leonard Bernstein, Dave Brubeck, to name just a few), and introduce you to someone you’ve probably never heard of - Joseph Lanner. Recognized as the first dance band leader, Lanner had his own “book” of waltzes and dances—a major attraction in Vienna during the opening decades of the 19th century.
Waltzing Through Time also has personal meaning for me. Back in the day, when I was about 10 years old growing up in Cape Town South Africa, I vividly remember the emotional charge that the suite from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake gave me. It was a recording we had at home-- the same one owned by my married sister and one of my uncles. One of thrills for me was listening to the waltz from Act I—a vibrant number from the ball celebrating the coming of age of Prince Siegfried. Its unique mix of youthful energy and yearning had me hooked.
Fast forward to Christmas Day, 1959. That’s when I arrived in New York thanks to the generosity of my older brother, 18 years my senior, who was like a surrogate father. By a happy coincidence, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music had just started its opening run on Broadway with Mary Martin in the role of Maria. Some time in January 1960 I was taken to see the show. I was just overwhelmed. I also distinctly remember hearing my brother singing the opening strain of the title song “The hills are alive with the sound of music” while he was in the bathroom shaving.
Among the opening examples in my course, I’ll focus on a defining moment in the movie version of the musical, where Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as Capt. Von Trapp dance the ländler. This is an Austrian folk dance involving both circular movements and physical intimacy between the sexes— a dance that’s recognized as one of the primary sources of the waltz.
One of the biggest takeaways from Waltzing Through Time will be the sweeping emotional range of the waltz. It is not just music for dancing. It touches us in mysterious ways with feelings of joy — of yearning — of dreams unfulfilled.
I hope you will join us online from wherever you are. Below is the breakdown of the class schedule.
Week by Week Breakdown
Week 1: From countryside to city, including Lanner, Schubert
Week 2: Chopin and Brahms work their magic
Week 3: Waltzing with the devil
Week 4: “Waltz King” Johann Strauss II and a family dynasty
Week 5: A mix of decadence and nobility, Ravel-style
Week 6: “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” waltz treasures of Richard Rodgers
Week 7: “Someday my prince will come,” Miles Davis and other jazz men
Week 8: Dave Brubeck, the Nonesuch Waltz Project
Here is the link to sign up: https://reg139.imperisoft.com/LifetimeLearners/Search/Registration.aspx
Copyright 2025 by Joshua Berrett. All Rights Reserved.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation directly to the Ageless Mind Project (AMP), a 501(c)3 nonprofit. To donate, click on the button below.
