What could be more fitting than learning this lively dance where it originated – in Vienna? Vienna’s dance schools assist visitors to Vienna with waltz lessons, special crash courses for ballroom dancing and individual lessons. Needless to say, all the other standard and Latin dances are offered alongside the Viennese waltz, and for all skill levels. Complete non-dancers are also very welcome – dancing is above all about having fun and celebrating in Viennese style.

The people of Vienna embrace this above all during the ball season at the beginning of the year, when waltzing takes center stage! Visitors to Vienna are very welcome – 30,000 guests attended a Viennese ball during the 2023/24 ball season.

During Strauss Year 2025, everything will be in three-four time to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the Waltz King!

© WienTourismus / Peter Rigaud

Float weightlessly in three-four time

The Viennese waltz is a dance that consists of just six steps. The challenge is keeping up with the speed of the music. Experts alternate waltzing in a counter-clockwise direction with the more difficult variant in the opposite direction. If you feel dizzy from the rapid turns, take a breather with a few calm coaches’ skate steps in one place. A tip from us: always look in the direction that you are dancing and, above all, do not look at the floor! 

Waltz lessons for visitors to Vienna

Here are some dance lesson offers aimed specifically at visitors to the city:

• The traditional Rueff Dance School (Tanzschule Rueff) welcomes an international audience to its Hop on Waltz dance workshop in its studios right behind Vienna City Hall, at fixed times (almost every day!). Participants are also welcome to join just one dance lesson. Individuals can also book a dance partner. In addition to the basics of the waltz, you will also learn the basic steps of the fast-paced polka. The waltz dance lessons are conducted in German and English, as well as in other languages on request. Information and registration: at www.viennesewaltz.at and on Facebook
• Private lessons at the Elmayer Dance School (Tanzschule Elmayer) are the most exclusive way to learn to dance with an individually tailored program in a private room. Intensive ball dancing courses comprise three two-hour sessions at fixed booking slots. “Der Elmayer” near the Hofburg is a Viennese institution with a tradition dating back to its founding in 1919! Information, bookings and registration: www.elmayer.at
• The Waltz School by Waltz in Vienna offers visitors to Vienna one-hour workshops in the Viennese waltz, ball preparation classes and exclusive private lessons for individuals, couples or groups of friends and family that can be booked online almost daily. These lessons cover Viennese ball etiquette, as well as tips and tricks for attending the ball. The dancing sessions are held at various locations in Vienna’s city center. The courses are taught in German and English. Information, bookings and registration: www.waltzinvienna.com

Dancing tip outside the ball season: ballroom

There’s more to dancing here than just the waltz: dance enthusiasts of all levels and ages come together on the 500 m² dance floor in the Ballsaal am Rochusmarkt, in the auditoriums of the former Capitol cinema. Dancing and parties take place there several times a week, all year round. Whether it’s standard and Latin, boogie and swing or salsa, ballroom dancing has a permanent home in this Viennese dance palace, which opened in 2018, even outside the ball season. In addition to couples dancing, there are also regular club nights and parties. The dress code for all the events is smart casual, and admission costs about the same as going to the movies.