12/04/2026
The Viennese Waltz was invented in the early 1930s - not in Vienna, but in England - by Erik van der Weyden, a British professional skater born in France to American parents, and his wife Eva Keats.
The couple taught both roller and ice skating, and they created the Viennese Waltz for ice revues on the stage, where it was performed in a circle. It was originally skated at 54–56 bars per minute.
van der Weyden and Keats also created several other compulsory dances, including the Rocker Foxtrot and Westminster Waltz. Protective of their work, van der Weyden frequently wrote articles about his dances for skating magazines, in hopes of preserving the original choreography and intent of his dances, as they evolved through rule changes, different coach's interpretations and skaters' bad habits. Though many saw compulsory dances as technical drills, their creators considered them an art. ⛸️
📸 "Ice Dancing Illustrated" (Lorna Dyer)
