Chopin was raised on the so-called ‘brilliant style’ of pianism heard in the salons and dance halls of his hometown, Warsaw. Here the waltz reigned supreme as the dance à la mode. It was foreign, exciting, flirtatious even, demanding sustained eye contact and a tight embrace. For the teenage Chopin it encompassed all that was lighthearted and playful in music-making, which goes some way to explaining his skepticism of the genre.