Author: Tyler Kearn
For most Occidental events, the room where an event takes place is adorned with decorations that create the atmosphere; at Friday’s Viennese Waltz Night in the Cooler, it was not the room that was adorned, but the people. Without the people, the Cooler looked like it always does; with the people, it transformed into a room straight from upper-class 19th century Austria.
A nearly 25 year tradition, the event alternates every year between Caltech and Oxy. It was hosted by the Occidental-Caltech orchestra and the Folk and Historical Dance Troupe, a group that consists of students, alumni, faculty, staff and members of the community.
The men were dressed in tuxedos, accessorized with top hats, cummerbunds, coat tails, cloaks and canes. The women were wearing dresses of all colors-flowing and waving, structured and poofy-accessorized with all sorts of items from scarves to fans, and either their nicest shoes, or their nicest shoes that weren’t heels (which for some ill-equipped students meant tennis shoes, or Sketchers or Uggs). And of course, the Occidental-Caltech Orchestra, crammed down at the stage end of the Cooler, sported their instruments-rows of strings, horns, woodwinds, and drums.
There were two primary dances performed-the waltz and the polka. For each of these the Troupe came out and did a very impressive exhibition dance. They would spin, twirl, slide and gallop all the while maintaining symmetry.
Perhaps this description does not do their performance justice, but the reaction it elicited did-people were crowding around the doors and peering from the grill to get a look. On their breaks, the Cooler staff had their faces pressed against the glass, trying to get a view of the spectacle.
Following the performance by the Troupe, the floor was opened up to whomever wanted to dance. Those who already knew how to waltz or polka took advantage of the opportunity, because following this, it was time for the “refresher” course for the beginners.
In my case however, there was nothing to refresh. I have never waltzed before. A lady in a long, pink dress showed us the basic steps, which I clumsily tried to replicate. Her dress was so long that it obscured the view of her feet from every angle except straight-on, making the task slightly more challenging.Luckily, that was not the only instruction I got that night.
After the refresher course, they again opened up the floor to everyone. It was too crowded-there were too many waltzers for the cramped Cooler floor and people could not help but run into each other. There was even a referee of sorts, who would watch the dancing and blow a whistle, indicating to the orchestra to slow the tempo down when it was getting hairy. I went out there, doing my best not to look like a total hack.
As the guy, I am supposed to lead, but it was pretty clear to my partner that I had no idea what I was doing. It must have also been pretty clear to the friendly bald man (who had come prepared with cloak, hat and cane), for he pulled my partner and I aside, showed us what we should be doing and danced with each of us so that we could feel the movement. I thanked him and my partner and I went back out there, slightly better than we were before.
Surprisingly, the bald man wasn’t the only one to offer me instruction. A few dances later, I was trying to sit down for a few minutes and catch my breath when a smiling woman in a blue dress came over to me and asked me to dance. She showed me a few different Waltz moves-not just the one single move that I had been doing all night-including some less tiring moves I could do to break it up.
I could not believe that two separate people from the dance troupe would come up to me independently and give me unsolicited instruction. It really speaks to their enthusiasm and desire to include everybody. And, by the end of my dance with the woman, she told me that if I was faking it, I was faking it very well.
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