Capering & Kickery

How to Become a Belle, 1888

More from my archive of dance articles!  Here's a trenchant little commentary on ballroom etiquette and society manners, thinly disguised as an "overheard conversation" between two young women, a first-year debutante (Mamie) and her more experienced mentor (Clara).  It was published in the Boston Daily Globe on December 23, 1888. 

While Clara is genuinely trying to be helpful with her advice on how to become popular, the author's disapproval of the entire system is quite apparent in the "provoking" questions asked by innocent-but-observant Mamie.

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Clara wants Mamie to dance less with the interesting and courteous Frank Harrington and more with the inspid "beau" Arthur Jones:

"But there's something to Frank Harrington, while Arthur Jones is insipid.  He doesn't know anything but the inane society gossip."

"But he's one of the beaux, Mamie; you must remember that."

"Why, he's not entertaining, is he?"

"No-o; I can't say that I ever found him so.  But he always dances with the swellest girls.  You never saw him with a wall-flower, did you?"

Immoral Italians: Waltzing, 1807

In October, 1807, a Boston magazine, The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review, published a letter dated February 7, 1805, from an anonymous American traveller in Europe to his sister.  The letter was one of a series from the same traveller published by the Review.  Mostly, they are enthusiastic travelogues filled with descriptions of cities and antiquities.  But one letter was rather different, and makes an interesting companion piece to "Proper Dress for Cotillons", which was likewise published, a year or so later, in The Monthly Anthology.

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Entitled "Morals of Italy. -- The Waltz", the tenth letter contains the writer's "observations on the state of morals and manners in Italy."  He admitted first that it was not really fair for a traveler make judgments about any foreign society:

I would observe, that I think it extremely unfair in a traveller, who visits a foreign country, to whose language he is in a considerable degree a stranger, into whose society he can only have a limited and partial admission to draw general and illiberal inferences as to the state of their morals, and the nature of their domestick relations.  The very illiberal representations which we have seen made of the manners of our own country by Chastellux, Weld, Parkinson, Liancourt, Bayard, and that execrable German, whose travels were republished in the Port Folio, ought to lead us to be very cautious how we venture upon general descriptions, especially unfavourable ones, of foreign nations.

Naturally, he wasn't about to let any such concerns stop him from so reporting on Italy:

But although general comments on national manners are, for the reasons I have assigned, improper, unjust, and illiberal, still there are certain leading traits, which he who runs may read, and which he may without risk report.

Getting Savage!

When I watched the BBC's general excellent documentary Pride & Prejudice: Having a Ball last year, one of the things that caught my negative attention was this rather astonishing assertion at about the 1:07 mark:

"The Savage Dance was a craze back in 1813, taken from a song-and-dance routine in a musical based on Robinson Crusoe."

Um...really?

Let me note first that this assertion was not made by the documentary's dancing master, but by a narrator.  That's a good thing, because I can give the narrator a pass on the assumption that she doesn't actually know anything about early nineteenth century dance.  It's a shame the BBC let this statement slide in, though, since as far as I can tell it is, shall we say, completely unsupported by any actual evidence.  I expect BBC documentaries to have higher standards than Hollywood movies.

Let's take that statement apart.

CD Review: Dance and Danceability

Getting useable music for Regency-era dancing is a chronically frustrating problem, and there are very few albums I can recommend wholeheartedly.  Many of the recordings advertised as "Regency" or "Jane Austen" suffer from a weirdly expansive idea of "Regency era" that goes back to the 17th century or forward to the 20th.  Almost all have an incorrect number of repeats of the music for period dancing, which matches repeats to set length in a specific way that does not accord with modern recording habits.

Dance and Danceability is an Austen-themed album of country dance tunes from the Scottish dance band The Assembly Players (Nicolas Broadbridge, Aidan Broadbridge, and Brian Prentice).  Aidan Broadbridge is a name that may be especially recognizable to Austen enthusiasts -- he was the fiddler for the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice as well as the fictionalized pseudo-biopic Becoming Jane (2007).

Sadly, this is one of the frustrating CDs.

A Vauxhall Masquerade (12th Annual Regency Assembly), Saturday, October 18th, New Haven, CT

Saturday, October 18th, in New Haven, Connecticut we will have a night of Regency-era revelry with a masquerade ball in the style of Vauxhall Gardens, the famous pleasure gardens of early 19th century London!  This will be our twelfth annual Regency Assembly in New Haven.

Regency-style fancy dress costume is welcome (though not required; plain Regency costume and/or modern formal wear is also acceptable).  Masks are encouraged! 

I will be calling the dances to the wonderful dance music of The Flying Romanos. Light refreshments in the famous Vauxhall style will be served!  Dances will include country dances, cotillions, reels, and waltz.  An afternoon workshop (free with ball registration) will review the dances for the evening.

Registration is limited to 60 people. No partner is required. $30 per person in advance ($20 for ages 13-21; under 13 free with parent).  More at the door!

Please see the Vauxhall Masquerade website for more details and registration information and/or join our event page on Facebook for updates!

September 2014 Gig Calendar

Back in the saddle after a very productive (and mostly fun) trip to exciting places in August.  September puts me back into my usual teaching routine with classes in New York, Middletown, and Boston; a dance weekend in Chicago; and a side-trip to Canada for a private workshop and some off-the-grid time! 

I'm still working out my class schedule for the rest of this month, but here are the highlights.  Check back for a few new things toward the end of the month.

Tuesday, September 2nd ~ Middletown, Connecticut
Jane Austen Era Dancing (Facebook event)
Beginner-friendly lesson 8:15-9:30pm.  No costume needed.

Sunday, September 7th ~ New York City
Regency Dance Workshop (Facebook event)
Beginner-friendly lesson 3:00-5:00pm.  No costume needed.

Friday-Sunday, September 12-14th ~ Chicago, Illinois area
Harvest Moon Dance Weekend at Fermilab (Friday-Saturday) and Oak Park's Nineteenth Century Club (Sunday)
Sponsored by the Chicagoland English Country Dancers
I'll be doing a whole series of workshops and waltz evenings for this dance weekend,and there are more events with other teachers and callers as well!  Download a flyer (PDF) here.  My events:

• Friday, 7:30pm - ???: Cross-Step Waltz Workshop
• Saturday, 1:00-5:00pm: Time-Travelling through Social Dance (historical dance sampler)
• Saturday, 7:00-8:30pm: Waltz instruction and waltz evening (live music!)
• Sunday, 3:00-5:00pm: Regency Era Dances (taught & called; live music!)
• Sunday, 7:00-8:00pm: Cross-Step Waltz Workshop

Tuesday, September 16th ~ Pickering, Ontario
Private workshop

Tuesday, September 23rd ~ Somerville, Massachusetts (Boston area)
Bluesy Tuesy
7:30-11:00pm (lesson then dancing).  DJing blues from 9:45-11:00.

Sunday, September 27th ~ Boston area
Regency dance workshop 1:00-4:00pm (Facebook event)

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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: September 1-6, 8-9, 29-30
Chicago: September 11-14 (very limited availability)
Boston area: September 23-28

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Coming in October: the 12th Annual Regency Assembly -- the return to Vauxhall!