Dance Antique Op. 38 is a parlor-style piano piece by William Mason. It captures the charm of 19th-century salon music through its graceful, flowing melodic lines.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; and careful pedaling — clarity depends on the foot as much as the fingers.
Pay close attention to the stylistic period nuances and tasteful use of pedal.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Lesser-known works by the same hand, at a comparable level.
Dance Antique (Op.38) is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Dance Antique (Op.38) lasts about 3 minutes.
Dance Antique (Op.38) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Dance Caprice by William Mason, Bittle-It Polka by William Mason, Bittle-It Polka by William Mason — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.