"Valencia (A Song of Spain)" was a popular tune by José Padilla, apparently imported from Paris to England and thence to America in 1926. Accompanying the American sheet music was a brief set of dance instructions which could be done to "Valencia" or any other foxtrot.
Interspersed with walking steps are four specific moves:
(1) The Balance: step forward on one foot then back onto the other (count 1, 2)
(2) The Strike: step, usually to the side, with one foot, then strike the other foot lightly against it (count 1, 2)
(3) The Catch: a two-step; step-close-step (count 1&2).
(4) The Round: a rond de jambe; this is described as pointing the left toe and describing a small, fast circle. The instructions suggest that it moves clockwise ("point toe of left foot to left side...start to rear") but the illustration of the move, shown at left, contradicts this, the arrows clearly showing counter-clockwise circles, which also work much more smoothly with the flow of the dance; the Round is invariably followed by a step forward on the left foot. This move is very fast and takes some practice for two people to perform smoothly in unison, with their feet equidistant throughout.
These moves are combined into four short routines, which may be mixed and matched at will:
Routine 1 (eight counts)
1, 2, 3 Walk forward L, R, L
4, 1 Strike: step R, strike with L
2, 3 Strike: step L, strike with R
4 Step back R with a slight dip
Routine 2 (eight counts)
1, 2, 3 Walk forward L, R, L
4&1 Catch: two-step R-close L-R
2 Round with L
3, 4 Balance: step forward L, rock back R
Routine 3 (sixteen counts)
1, 2, 3 Walk forward L, R, L
4, 1 Strike: step forward R, strike with L (turning right)
2, 3 Strike: step back L, strike with R (turning right)
4, 1 Balance: step forward R, rock back L (continuing to turn right)
2, 3 Balance: step forward R, rock back L (completing the turn)
4, 1 Strike: step slightly forward R, strike with L
2, 3 Strike: step slightly forward L, strike with R
4 Step back R with a slight dip
Routine 4 (sixteen counts)
1 Walk forward L
2&3 Catch: two-step R-close L-R
4 Round with L
1 Walk forward L
2&3 Catch: two-step R-close L-R
4 Round with L
1 Walk forward L
2&3 Catch: two-step R-close L-R, angling back and making a half-turn to the left
4 Round with L
1 Walk forward L
2&3 Catch: two-step R-close L-R, finishing the turn to the left
4 Round with L
The original tune is a brisk paean to the joys of Valencia:
Valencia!
In my dreams it always seems I hear you softly call to me.
Valencia!
Where the orange trees forever scent the breeze beside the sea.
A brief snippet of the song in a 1920s recording by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra is below for your enjoyment:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edited 7/17/2016 to add: there are now YouTube videos of a couple of other other 1926 recordings:
(1) A lively instrumental version by The Denza Dance Band, apparently a pseudonym for the Raymond Dance Band with Stan Greening. This is from British Columbia record 3895, recorded February 2, 1926. It is played on an actual 1926 Victor VE8-30X Orthophonic Victrola!
(2) An elaborate vocal arrangement by The Revelers, also taken from an original 78. More about The Revelers here. This recording can be purchased as part of a complete album of Revelers hits from Amazon and elsewhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The photograph at top is of Oscar Duryea and "Miss Duryea," presumably his daughter Dorothea, later one of the editors of the ballroom section of Dance magazine. It is one of a half-dozen photographs illustrating the dance moves on the final page of the sheet music.
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.