Dance customs in Vienna and old San Francisco

2. “Court Ball athe Hofburg, 1900” by Wilhelm Gause

3. “A Dance Hall in Gold Rush San Francisco,” by Charles Christian Nahl (1818-1878)

4. My own fascination with dance came about as a result of my love for the culture of cities: first, the
wild nightlife in Gold Rush San Francisco, then, much later, in the stately dance traditions of
Imperial Vienna.
For many years I had taught courses on the culture of two cities: San Francisco and Paris. Both
courses offered the opportunity for my students to explore the literature, fine arts, philosophy and
history of two great cities.
At the same time, my wife and I had taken up ballroom dancing (you can read about my
involvement with dance here: arthurchandler.com), And of all the “standard” ballroom dances, our
clear favorite was (and still is) the Viennese waltz: a much faster dance with fewer steps and a
greater emphasis on elegant execution. One of the figures, called a fleckerl, is one of the most
difficult steps to master in all ballroom dancing.

5. In 2001, we travelled to Vienna to immerse ourselves in the city’s great traditions of architecture, music, and
of course dancing. We attended classes at the famous Elmayer Studio, where we learned not only how to refine
our dance, but how to appreciate the social traditions in which social dancing as an essential accomplishment.
One incident that still makes me smile:
At the Elmayer studio, all the young men dancing wore while gloves — a far cry from the informal dress at
American ballroom dance venues. When I asked our instructor why men wore those while gloves, he replied
(with some hesitation, though his command of the english language was very good): “It is because women do
not like to dance with men who have…” here he hesitated while finding the right word, “… juicy hands.”

6. So on that trip to the Viennese dance studio, we were introduced to the many formal traditional that the annual
ball season in Vienna required. Though we did not attend any of the formal balls that year — the season takes
place in the winter time, and we were visiting in the summer — we left with the determination to return and
immerse ourselves in at least three of the more than 450 balls held in Vienna during the annual ball season.
Florists’ Ball
Held in the Vienna City Hall
Pharmacists’ Ball,
Held in The Hofburg
Vienna Philharmonic Ball,
Held in Wiener Musikverein

7. The Viennese Ball
Vienna is a metropolis of contemporary balls. Around 400 balls are annually held
here from the end of November until the last carnival week. Dancers from around the
world, not only local ones, come to enjoy the tradition of Viennese balls, which fills
the city with a unique festive flair.
A unique flair is vested in the proceedings by the ceremonial program. The
foundations of the carnival-esque addiction to balls amongst the Viennese can be
found as far back as the 18th century, when the wearing of masks and costumes was
reserved to the nobility on private occasions. To compensate for this, Emperor Joseph
II opened up the dances in the Redoute Rooms in the Hofburg Palace to everyone.
This allowed the Viennese to copy the courtly customs of these celebrations,
something which they have retained to this day. A strict dress code, an opening
fanfare, the entrance of the debutants and the call of “Alles Walzer,” dance cards and
changes of music, together with the midnight quadrille and the formal closing are all
evidence of this. Another unique feature is the “Damenspende,” a special gift given to
each lady.
The waltz, being a partner dance, was initially perceived as being morally
objectionable. The Vienna Congress, which was held in the city in 1814/1815 in order
to establish a new order in Europe following Napoleon's campaigns, however, made it
socially acceptable. The political negotiations were so lavishly accompanied by balls
that they gave rise to the legendary saying "Der Kongress tanzt!" ("The congress
dances!"). The Congress’ dancing ultimately moved the world more than any of its
decisions. The Viennese Waltz was honoured as the king of dances.
— http://www.ballderoesterreicher.cz/en/en/vienna-and-balls

8. Old Vienna Dance Cards
Ladies would carry these dance cards, often attached to their wrists. If a man asked the lady for a dance and his
request were granted, his name would be entered at the appropriate place on the card.
Dance cards are not used these days (at least I never saw any). But according to Elmayers book on manners, any
younbg man wishing toi dance with a lady he has never met must first be introduced by a third party.

9. “Each year more than 450 balls take place in Vienna. The city of waltzes exuberantly celebrates Carnival in January and
February. The three-quarter rhythm is supplemented by more contemporary sounds, offering enjoyable dancing for every taste.
“The best time of the year begins for ball-goers and dance fans on 11 November. The Vienna ball season starts punctually at
the beginning of Carnival with public dancing of the waltz in the city center. In Vienna, the ball season reaches its peak in
January and February. The old tradition of carnival balls continues to thrive in the city. While some dancers enjoy following
the three-quarter time of the waltzes, others may prefer letting loose to a disco beat.”

11. Stairway to the dance hall

13. Beautiful flowers, lovely gowns

14. Pharmacie Ball: first held in 1932

15. When we attended the Parmacists’ Ball, the first booth we encountered was dedicated
to Nicorette gum — a product designed to reduce or eliminate the urge fo smoke.
However, all around us in the dance venue, people were smoking — including many
pharmacists themselves!

16. Pharmacists’ Ball: Musicians’ Stage

17. Pharmacists’ Ball at the Hofburg

25. Charles Christian Nahl’s lithograph of a ballroom scene in Gold Rush San Francisco

26. In the mining camps, where there were few women, men would sometimes dance with other men, the one willing to take the
woman’s part indicating his willingness by showing a handkerchief or bandana dangling from a rear pocket:
Elegant dress, much less refined dance costumes as pictures by Manet and Hermans, could scarcely be found in San Francisco — and, indeed, were
not necessary for either work or leisure. As Bayard Taylor remarked: “Dress was no gauge of respectability, and no honest occupation, however
menial in its character, affected a man’s standing,” and that “a man who would consider his fellow beneath him, on account of his appearance or
occupation, would have had some difficulty in living peaceably in California.”
But the men who returned from months of hard mining labor in the mountains wanted as much entertainment as they could get to make up for the
privations they had been through. They wanted to eat, drink and dance at as high a level as their new-won gold could purchase. The standards of the
old world prevailed — champagne to drink, masked balls for dancing — but the free-for-all society of San Francisco meant that they had to make do
with whatever, and whoever, was available. Here is a summary of the atmosphere of such dances, as reported in The Annals of San Francisco (1855):
Occasionally a fancy-dress ball or masquerade would be announced at high prices. There the most extraordinary scenes were exhibited, as might
have been expected where the actors and dancers were chiefly hot-headed young men, flush with money and half frantic with excitement, and lewd
girls freed from the necessity of all moral restraint.

27. The dance scene in Gold Rush San Francisco as
reported by the visitor from Paris, Albert Benard
de Russailh —>
The following slide vividly describes such a scene
in one of these dance halls. —>

28. "Last April, the actors in the French Theater got up a ball, and Charles Duanc, who is presentable and
well-mannered, attended the party. Halfway through the evening, in the midst of the laughing and
stamping of the dance, a quarrel broke out between Duane and an actor named Fayolle, who had
accidentally stepped on Duane's foot. In fear, everyone stopped dancing.
"Fayolle was very apologetic, but Duane's rage flared up when he saw that the Frenchman wanted to
avoid a fight. Some men intervened, separated the two, and pacified Duane. who seemed ready to leap at
Fayolle. At last everyone thought that the quarrel was settled; but they had not reckoned onDuane's
thirst for blood.
"A quadrille began, and Duane moved up behind Fayolle, who was dancing. When the dance was over,
Duane coolly drew his revolver and shot Fayolle in the back.
"The actor fell severely wounded, and lay in a pool of his own blood. At the sound of the shot all the
women either fainted or ran away.
As for Duane, he stood calm and impassive over his victim, apparently contemplating his handiwork
with satisfaction, and calmly took out a cigar from his pocket. “
— Albert Benard de Russailh, Last Adventure: San Francisco in 1851
Charles Duane

29. In a letter to her sister back on the East
Coast, “Dame Shirley”
(Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe)
describes another dance scene in Gold
Rush San Francisco —>

30. The artist who gave us the above image of a Gold Rush dance hall was Charles Christian Nahl, who came
to the western shores to seek his fortune in the gold fields, but remained to become the foremost chronicler
of life in California in the nineteenth century. Here is a link to his major works:
http://www.arthurchandler.com/nahl-index