Four the Record
In writing an excellent article about slow dancing in the movies (“Shall We Dance?,” Feb. 11), Devra Maza makes one of the most common mistakes about classical movies in the reference to Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr “waltzing” in “The King and I.” Believe it or not, they aren’t doing a waltz, they’re doing a polka!
A waltz is, by definition, in three-four time, and the dance the king and Anna do is, of course, in four-four time. (The “and” in the king’s “one two three and” is the fourth beat.)
This may seem a fine distinction, but it makes for a completely different kind of music and a completely different dance.
RAY IVEY, Los Angeles
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