In my earlier post on the Ruchter, I mentioned the mixed-tempo version described by William De Garmo in the fifth edition of The Dance of Society (New York, 1892). This version was called the Rutcher (not Ruchter) Waltz, and was comprised of sixteen measures of 2/4 music, and sixteen measures of 3/4 (waltz) music. To be precise, that is eight measures, repeated, of each, as may be seen in the music from De Garmo's book at left (click to enlarge). This dual-time format is similar to that of the Rye Waltz, which shifts from 4/4 to 3/4. De Garmo claimed that it was an old folk dance, which I find believable from its style, but I haven't found any trace of it under either Rutcher or Ruchter. It may well be the original version of the dance, with the Gilbert/Lopp Ruchter being a variation created for a particular piece of music.
A quick summary of the dance is that it is a "doubled" version of the Ruchter using waltz music for the second part. To break that down in more detail:
The dancers begin the first part facing each other, both hands joined as if for a two-hand turn, as far apart as is feasible while keeping the arms extended outward. Photos of this position may be seen in my post on the Ruchter. This is the position for the first sixteen measures; for the second part, the dancers take normal closed position.
The gentlemen's steps are given below; the lady dances opposite.
Part I (facing, hands joined) - 16 bars of 2/4 music
1b Extend left foot straight forward in 4th position (1, 2)
1b Switch to extend right foot (1, 2)
1b Switch faster: left foot forward (1), right foot forward (2)
1b And once more: left foot (1) and hold
4b Repeat all of the above, starting with the right foot
8b Repeat all of the above
(take closed ballroom hold)
Part II (closed hold) - 16 bars of 3/4 music
16b Waltz, eight complete turns
(open up to facing position again)
Notes
The rhythm of the first part is "one...two...one, two, one..." It ends, the second time through the first part, with the second foot (gentleman's right/lady's left) forward. The dancers need to put their weight on that forward foot so that their first foot is ready to begin the waltz. This feels quite natural as they come together; just shift weight rather than moving the feet.
The waltz step given by De Garmo (as the Waltz or valse a trois temps) consists of sliding the left foot backward to fourth (1), placing the right foot behind in third (2), pivoting in place to bring the right foot in front (3), then sliding the right foot forward to fourth (4), bringing the left foot slightly forward of the right (5), and pivoting on the balls of both feet (6). The full description may be found in the first edition of The Dance of Society. De Garmo also gave a somewhat different waltz step under the name Glide Waltz, but since he made the specific point that people needed to be clear about whether they want Waltz or Glide Waltz, I take him at his word and assume that for the Rutcher Waltz, he intended to use his Waltz.
De Garmo does not specify starting orientation for the first part, but given the waltz step he described, it would be easiest for the first part of the dance to be done with the gentleman's back to line of dance, Otherwise the dancers will have to rotate to get into position for that first backward step.
Music
Obviously, given that it shifts from 2/4 to 3/4, the Rutcher Waltz can't be done to just any random piece of waltz music. I'm not aware of any recording of the tune given in De Garmo, so, since it's useful to hear how the music is accented to match the dance, here's a quick software-generated version:
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