Mexican Waltz (USA)

Mexican Waltz

USA

These notes ©2018, Andrew Carnie. We learned this dance from Harvey Gardner who learned it in the 1950s from Larry Pallas at the Brooklyn College Folk and Square Dance Club. Michael Herman introduced it the International Folk Dance community, who probably got it from the square dance community of the US southwest. It is done to the tune Chiapanecas, but is not the same dance as the traditional Mexican Dance.

Music:
The first two records mentioned here are the ones most US folk dance groups used to do it to. The others are listed in Ron Houston's 1994, Folk Dance Problem Solver.

• F1457x45
• Folkdancer 1016
• Bost Album ES4
• Sonart Album M8
• Sonart M301
• Burns J551
• Folkdancer 1093
• Imperial 1004
• Imperial 1136
• Lloyd Shaw 118
• MacGregor 608
• Old Timer 8100
• https://youtu.be/IQgfFIZy_Fg
• https://youtu.be/t9JVCkUH-E0

Meter: 3/4
Formation: Couples in a circle, Start with men on the inside, Ladies on the outside, holding inside hands, facing LOD
Introduction: 4 bars, start with main melody

Part 1

Bar 1: Facing LOD,  Step on outside foot (M's L, W's R) away from partner (1), swing inside foot up and across (2,3)
Bar 2: Repeat bar 1, with opposite footwork and direction
Bar 3: Step on outside foot to outside (1), pause (2), Clap hands to the outside(3) [In Tucson we face our partners on this step]
Bar 4: Clap again (1), pause (2,3)
Bars 5-8: Repeat bars 1-4 with opposite footwork, and facing CW (RLOD)
Bar 9: Facing partner, holding both hands, sway backwards on outside foot (away from partner) (1,2,3).
Bar 10: Sway in towards partner on inside foot, joined hands go out to sides parallel to the floor (1,2,3)
Bar 11: Sway backwards on outside foot (1), pause (2), Clap hands in front of you (3)
Bar 12: Clap again (1), pause (2,3)
Bar 13: Repeat Bar 10,
Bar 14: Repeat Bar 9,
Bar 15: Sway on inside foot towards partner (1), pause (2), Clap hands, W behind M's neck, M behind W's back (3)
Bar 16: Clap again (1), pause (2,3)

Cues:
Step Swing, Step Swing, Step ... clap clap...
Step Swing, Step Swing, Step ... clap clap
Away, together, away, ... clap clap ...
Together, away, together, .. clap clap ...

Part 2

Bars 1-16: Progress CCW around the room using 16 turning waltz steps in Ballroom hold

Tucson Video

Other notes on the web

• Kernerman PDF syllabus collection 
• http://www.socalfolkdance.com/dances/M/Mexican_Waltz_A_American.pdf

Other videos on the web

Other Sources:

• Herman, Michael (1947) Folk Dances for All. Barnes and Noble.
• Anonymous (1959) Happy Feet. Northland Recreation Laboratory, Minneapolis. page 28
• Leifer, Fred (1951) The Folk Dance Memorizer. Adult Education Department Brooklyn College
• Houston (1994) Folk Dance problem solver 1994, page 4. Society of Folk Dance Historians.

Sheet Music:

• http://www.sheetmusicdigital.com/digitalcollection.asp?ID=DAM0096242 (commercial site)
• https://www.penders.com/p-86807-chiapanecas.aspx (commercial site)
• https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/chiapanecas-mexican-clap-dance-digital-sheet-music/20414005

Children's song lyrics

• https://kcls.org/content/mexican-handclapping-song/

Also Called: Mexican Clapping Dance, Chiapanecas, Chapinicas, Chapinecas, Clap Hands, There's a song they know in old mexico