The Viennese Waltz is a dance from a town called Vienna, in Austria.  (“Viennese” means “from Vienna”.)  It is the most common type of ballroom dance. 

It is always in three-time, never four-time.  This means that the music is divided into bars of three beats, so if you were to count along with the music, you would be counting “ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three”. 

The most famous Viennese Waltzes were composed in the 1800s, by Johann Strauss and his son, also called Johann Strauss. 

A ball during this time would be a very exciting occasion.  The women wore fine jewels and wonderful and expensive long dresses.  The men also dressed up.  A waltz would be a dance for couples rather than groups of people. 

The basic waltz-step is easy to get the hang of, so everyone at a ball was capable of waltzing.