Learn to dance the wedding waltz

Find a dance studio

Find a dance studio

Wedding waltz

Dancing has become all the rage, and the TV schedule is packed with programmes featuring various forms of dance. We want to work up a sweat and get fit through dance, but also become elegant and graceful – not least when we glide beautifully across the floor, the centre of everyone’s attention, during the wedding waltz.The wedding waltz is a tradition found all over the world, and according to old custom, the bride would first dance with the priest or her father before dancing with the groom. Nowadays, the bridal waltz begins with the bride and groom dancing together in front of their guests, and it has become common for the couple to choose a dance other than the waltz to start with, such as the foxtrot, salsa or Argentine tango.
One of the best-known figures in the world of dance in Sweden is Tony Irving. We know him from our sofas as the charming judge on the popular entertainment programme “Let’s Dance”, but by day he runs the Tony Irving Dance Academy, which operates in Stockholm and Blekinge, amongst other places.
Tony’s training spans 12 years at several of England’s leading dance schools, but we wonder how long it takes to learn a stylish and elegant bridal waltz?
— It takes about five hours to make the perfect wedding waltz look professional and relaxed. You get roughly the same amount out of two hours of group lessons as you do from a private lesson, so allow for ten hours if you’re practising the bridal waltz in a group.
Tony has never come across any impossible cases where the bride and groom haven’t learnt to dance, but his advice is to set realistic goals. Tony explains that he often meets couples-to-be who want to learn more difficult dance routines.
— Set your goals according to your abilities and don’t make the dance too difficult. Learning that spectacular jump from the film *Dirty Dancing* requires a lot of hard work and time.

Take a course, either private or in a group:

Take dance lessons with Tony Irving: www.tonyirving.com
Brudvals operates in Stockholm and Gothenburg. Take a group course or choose private lessons based on your chosen dance theme. www.brudvals.nu
As well as bridal waltz courses, an instructor from Malmö Dance Academy can come to your wedding reception to give guests some tips on how to get started on the dance floor. www.dansakademi.se/brollop.php
RK Dance Team in Örebro offers a wide range of waltz classes, including the slow waltz and the Viennese waltz. www.rkdanceteam.dinstudio.se
Studiefrämjandet and Medborgarskolan also offer wedding waltz courses in many locations across Sweden. www.studieframjandet.se, www.medborgarskolan.se
» Find more dance schools here
Music to dance to

What should be played for the bridal waltz? Choose the classic ‘An der schönen Blauen Donau’ or more modern classics: Dean Martin’s ‘That’s Amore’ or perhaps Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’.
Swedish favourites include Björn Afzelius’s “Sång till friheten (du är det finaste jag vet)”, Jill Johnson’s “Kärleken är” and Ted Gärdestad’s “Älskar du mig”.
Here at Bröllopsguiden, we also like international love songs. For example, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, Savage Garden’s “I Knew I Loved You”, David Gray’s “Sail Away” and Bryan Adam’s “Everything I Do, I Do It for You”.
You’ll find more suggestions for wedding dances in our Spotify playlist

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