Can You Dance to It?

A Polish folk dance, the polonaise.

A Chopin version of a polonaise.

The mazurka.

A Chopin version of a mazurka.

The waltz.

A Chopin version of a waltz.

Incidentally, the waltz was considered the “dirty dancing” of its day. The Archbishop of Dublin, William Walsh, warned Catholics to avoid it at all costs:

Never engage in those improper dances imported from other countries and retaining foreign names, such as Polkas and Waltzes, which are so repugnant to the notions of strict morality, are condemned by many of the highest and most respectable members of society and are at direct variance with that purity and modesty of the female character for which Ireland has been ever distinguished.