One Last Spin Under the Chandelier

About this drawing

Depending on the century, a princess at the ball would have danced very different steps. Through the 1600s and 1700s, Europe's palaces favored the minuet, a slow and careful dance in which partners barely touched.

Then the waltz showed up and caused a real uproar. It spread from German-speaking lands in the late 1700s, with a three-beat rhythm that sent couples whirling around the floor. The problem, for the scandalized, was the hold. Partners actually stood close with an arm around the waist, and plenty of respectable people thought that went way too far.

The critics lost. By the 1800s, Vienna had become the waltz capital of the world, thanks in large part to the Strauss family. Johann Strauss II wrote hits like The Blue Danube, and packed ballrooms danced to his orchestra all winter long.

A royal ball was never only a party. Young nobles were introduced to society there, alliances got made over supper, and everyone was watching who danced with whom. Hundreds of candles lit the room, so servants had to keep up with a lot of wax and flame. The tradition has quietly survived in the United States as well, in the form of debutante balls, and in a slow dance at a high school prom.

• princesses
• dance
• waltz
• palaces