Update 12/20/09: This Cambrdige Mostly Victorian Tea Dance is canceled due to severe weather conditions! Sorry!
I don't actually drink tea, but this month I'm doing two afternoon tea dances in Massachusetts on consecutive Sundays.
On Sunday, December 13th, I will be leading a just-pre-Regency-era tea dance in Rehoboth (closer to Providence than Boston) in honor of Jane Austen's birthday. (That's actually the 16th, but the 13th is as close as we can get.) The dancing will primarily be country dances, but we'll also do the Boulanger (as mentioned in Pride and Prejudice and some of Austen's correspondence); the nine-person reel known as the Bumpkin; and a cotillion (slightly shortened) from the 1770s. We might even get a bit radical and do some of that scandalous waltz that came in at the very end of her lifetime! Dances will be taught and steps briefly gone through but not dwelled heavily upon. (More information about dance in Jane Austen's lifetime may be found in my earlier post on this topic.)
The suggested donation is $6. Music will be recorded, primarily from the lovely Regency Ballroom CD by Spare Parts. Light refreshments will be provided. Period costume of the early 19th century is admired but not required.
For more information, please see the event website, download the flier (pdf), or contact Liefe Wheeler.
And then on December 20th, I'll be up in Cambridge as part of Michael Bergman and CVD's Mostly Victorian Tea Dance series. This event will be a mix of couple dances and set dances (contras, quadrilles) of the mid- to late 19th century and a mix of instruction and social dancing. Instruction will probably focus on the schottische and polka. There will be a mix of recorded music for teaching and live music for social dancing.
Admission is $9, or $5 for students. Light refreshments will be served. Note this is in a different location from previous years' tea dance series -- see the directions on the website. Period Victorian costume is admired but not required.
More information, please see the tea dance website or contact Michael Bergman.
Mmmm, tea.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | December 14, 2009 at 05:52 PM