Capering & Kickery

March 2014 Gig Calendar

The highlight of this month will be a trip to a historical dance conference in Russia.  Not a lot else is happening around that other than my usual monthly classes and a fast trip to Boston at the end of the month.

Sunday, March 2nd ~ New York City
Regency Dance Workshop (Facebook event)
Beginner-friendly lesson 3:00-5:00pm.  No costume needed.

Tuesday, March 4th ~ Middletown, Connecticut
Jane Austen Era Dancing (Facebook event)
Beginner-friendly lesson 8:15-9:30pm.  No costume needed.

Saturday-Sunday, March 8-9 ~ Санкт-Петербург, Россия
VII конференция по вопросам реконструкции европейских исторических танцев (ВКонтакте)
Круглый стол: "Working with sources other than dance manuals"
Доклад: "Quintuple meter dances, 1840-1940"

Monday, March 10 ~ Санкт-Петербург, Россия
Мастер-класс: американские галопчики и контрдансы 19 века (ВКонтакте)

Tuesday, March 25th ~ Somerville, Massachusetts (Boston area)
Bluesy Tuesy (Facebook event)
7:30-11:00pm (lesson then dancing).  DJing blues from 9:45-11:00.

Thursday, March 27th ~ Somerville, Massachusetts (Boston area)
Blues Union (Facebook event)
7:30-11:30pm (clinic then beginner lesson then dancing).  DJing blues from 10:30-11:30.

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I am available for private lessons in Connecticut or on my various travels; during the latter, you must provide the dance space.  Email me directly if you would like to schedule a private lesson.

New Haven & Middletown, Connecticut: March 1, 3-4, 14, 16-24, 29-31
Санкт-Петербург, Россия: 6-13 Марта
Boston area: March 25-28

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Coming in April: New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto!

Dance Card: Sons of Veterans, 1894

At left is a dance card for a "Grand Easter Ball" held on Tuesday, March 27, 1894, by a local Sons of Veterans chapter in Middletown, New York.  That's actually a couple of days after Easter (March 25th that year), but I suppose they could hardly hold a ball during Holy Week itself.  Midweek balls seem to have been surprisingly common in the nineteenth century, judging from ball invitations and dance cards I've examined.

The Sons of Veterans was a youth organization (14 and up, with a junior branch for ages 6-14) for the sons of veterans of the Civil War.  It was formed in 1881 as a combination fraternal order and paramilitary training group.  By 1890 it had over 100,000 members.  More informaton about the group may be found on Wikipedia or on the webpage of its descendant organization, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.  The two pages conflict on some points about the early history of the Sons of Veterans -- there seem to have been some organizational politics with the veteran's organization -- but I am not sufficiently curious to research the details myself.

In 1894 the original teenage members would have been young men in their twenties, a very suitable age group for holding a ball.

The front of the card depicts a young soldier holding a rifle with bayonet.  I am no expert on military uniforms, so I can't say whether the uniform represents (accurately or otherwise) a Civil War soldier, a soldier of 1894, or perhaps the Sons of Veterans' own uniform.  The general look is similar to the soldier on the left in this New York Public Library image, which shows soldiers from 1881-1903.  I will leave it open to any experts who want to chime in on this topic in the comments.

The back of the card shows the Sons of Veterans medal with the organization's name in Latin.

The card is generally in good shape, despite a blot on the front and someone having scribbled on the back of it.  There is no attached pencil, but the cord and tassel survive.  The card was never used.