The waltz (from German Walzer [ˈvalt͡sɐ̯]) is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple (help. · info) time, performed primarily in closed position. Waltz: a dance born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the alpine region of Austria. As early as the seventeenth century, waltzes were played in the ballrooms of the Hapsburg court. The weller, or turning dances, were danced by peasants in Austria and Bavaria even before that time.