Webfeet: Rozsa

The annotated Rozsa Waltz

Rozsa is a slinky waltz, maybe not what you immediately think of as a very English dance but it is most thoroughly so... You may see it described as the 'Rosa Waltz' but it was originally Rozsa.

The Dance

The source (in bold) taken from the the sleeve notes for the Committee Band's Dancemusic CD.

It's a couple dance, so you need a partner. Ask someone you know for this one. Face each other; with hands at shoulder height, fingertips to fingertips...

A1: 2 hands with partner, sway to man's left and right, woman turns to left under man's arms, chassé 4 left.

• Sway gently to the man's left and right (yes, that's to the ladies' right and left)
• The man lift his arms and allows the lady to turn left underneath them.
  'Left' is clockwise and the lady only needs to turn half way round and face out. Both are then facing the same direction. Keep on holding hands and bring them down to waist level. This is often called as 'turn and lock'.
• Both together, take four small sliding steps to the left. The "small sliding step" is a chassé.

A2: Chassé 4 right, sway left and right, woman turns back round.

• Chassé 4 steps back again to the right
• Sway gently left and right
• Lift arms to allow the lady to turn back out, ending up facing the man.
  While doing this, the man makes sure he picks up the ladies right hand with his.

B1: Right hands to each other, balance in and out, change places, woman twisting under man's arm, and the same back to place.

• Holding right hands with each other, step towards each other (in waltz time; one, two, three) and away (one, two, three), change places with lady turning under man's arm. That's a turn to the right, anticlockwise
• Repeat - step towards each other, apart and change places again to get back to where you were.

B2: Ballroom hold, chassé 4 to man's left and right, waltz 4.

• Can start in a ballroom hold, or can just start with the man's left holding and the woman's right; chassé 2 steps to the man's left and 2 steps back to the right.
  Whatever, by the end of the chassés you'd get to a full ballroom hold.
• Waltz round for 4.

Variations: No problem

This dance lends itself to variations... the simplest is that gradual approach together during the chassé.

Changing Roles

A more radical variation concerns how far you go round in a waltz.

Being a dance done by Englishpersons (people who find they cannot easily waltz round two full times and a single time round is a little tame) it is quite tempting to waltz round a time and a half. However this implies that dancers 'change sex' during each time through the dance.

Do not worry! Start again with the fingertips but with the man swaying right and left (instead of left and right) and continuing with the man turning under the raised arms of the lady. And so it goes on...

Stocai

Stocai have a Rosa written up (one where you chassé 4 steps right first instead of left).

More information: Origins...

It's Rozsa rather than Rosa or Rosza and was composed by Gordon Potts in the early 1990's to fit Undine Hornby's tune of the same name. The tune came before the dance and was named after her favourite, spicy, brand of Paprika (scan down for rózsa).

Tunes...

Originally danced to the tune Rozsa (see also, the Session) by Undine Hornby and recorded by the Late Night Band. The classic tune is the Committee Band's Vuoma-Pertti's mazurka

Also highly recommended:

• Jabadaw's Waltz I & II (Martin Keates)
• Blowzabella's Rose of Raby (David Shepherd); although if you dance it as Blowzabella play it, you repeat the B part.
• Martin's Waltz [MP3] from Stömp's Machine without Horses