The Dream Waltz appeared in Caroline Walker's book The Modern Dances, three editions of which appeared in the year 1914. Her Dream Waltz appeared in at least the second and third editions; the latter is available online here. Another Dream Waltz appeared in both editions of F. Leslie Clendenen's Dance Mad (also both 1914), but it is distinct enough to be considered a separate dance, which I will look at in some future post.
The Dream Waltz is a simple hesitation sequence. The dancers take normal closed ballroom hold. The gentleman starts on the left foot, the lady on the right. Steps below are given for the gentleman; the lady dances opposite.
The Dream Waltz (16 bars of fast 3/4 waltz music)
1b Slide left foot to the side (1), slowly closing right foot to left with weight on (3)
1b Slide left foot to the side (1), swinging right foot to left (2) and away again (3)
(making a quarter-turn)
1b Step onto right foot (1), slowly closing left foot to right with weight on (3)
1b Slide right foot to the side (1), swinging left foot to right (2) and away again (3)
(making a quarter-turn)
4b Four walking steps backward, one step per measure, starting left foot, dipping on fourth step
4b Three walking steps forward, one step per measure, starting left foot, then shift weight back and dip backward on the fourth measure
4b Balance forward onto left foot, back onto right, forward onto left, back onto right, rotating counter-clockwise (spin turn)
Repeat from the beginning.
Reconstruction and performance notes
"Walking Boston" is Walker's name for the one-step waltz, taking one step to each bar of waltz music.
The dip on the fourth beat of each walking sequence is shown above; this photo is Illustration 19 in the third edition and Illustration 20 in the second edition of Walker's book. Walker notes that the dip is always backward.
The balance at the end is described in the instructions for the Dream Waltz only as "Balance twice"; the performance details come from Walker's description of the Walking Boston. Since defining "twice" as "forward and back" would make only two bars, creating an awkward fourteen-bar dance, I have interpreted "twice" to mean going forward and back twice. This is the same as the spin turn described by the Vernon and Irene Castle and Albert W. Newman, discussed by me here. Walker does specify that on each balance one makes a quarter-turn or, potentially, a half-turn.
It's not clear to me that the Dream Waltz is really meant to travel along the line of dance - the quarter-turns every second bar at the beginning are really awkward for that, and there is no indication of a turn on the walking sequences or how much turn to make during the balance steps. Walker doesn't even specify which way to turn on the first part; the instructions for the first four measures are simply "On each swinging step make a quarter turn, in order to vary your direction." I think perhaps the Dream Waltz is meant as something of a wandering dance, with the couple meandering randomly around the dance floor, hopefully avoiding other couples.
Music
Walker does not specify music for the Dream Waltz, merely stating that it is
...done to the same music as the Hesitation Waltz and Walking Boston...
Any reasonably brisk waltz -- fast enough that one step per measure doesn't feel sluggish -- will therefore do. But in Dance Mad, one of the suggested tunes for that Dream Waltz is "Dreaming", which I believe to be Archibald Joyce's 1911 composition "Dreaming: Valse". Joyce (1873-1963) was a famous composer of waltzes, with his most famous piece today probably being Songe d'Automne (1908), said to have been the last music played on the sinking Titanic. (A moving video using Songe d'Automne over film footage from the 1958 Titanic film, A Night to Remember, may be seen and heard here.) Given the title and the timing, I think Joyce's piece is highly suitable for Walker's Dream Waltz as well. A piano version may be seen and heard here:
For musicians, one version of the original sheet music may be downloaded from The University of Maine's Parlor Salon Sheet Music Collection. Another, with lyrics by Earl Carroll, may be found at The Library of Congress.
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