Boston Waltz
A slow American waltz in which only the first beat of the bar is stressed.
What it means
The Boston, properly the Valse Boston, is a slow American waltz in triple meter. Unlike the fast Viennese waltz, whose momentum comes from three evenly stressed beats, the Boston stresses only the first beat of the bar, with the other two receding noticeably.
The dance developed in the United States as a calmer, more gliding alternative to the European waltz and was cultivated chiefly in early twentieth-century social dancing.
Musical use
Musically the Boston calls for a moderate, flowing tempo that supports the dance's broad, gliding steps rather than driving them through rapid rotation. It should be distinguished from the Viennese waltz, whose characteristic forward drive the Boston deliberately avoids, and from the French minuet, with which it shares only its triple meter.