Regency Dancing was how young ladies and young gentlemen met and courted, and the dance floor was often the only place they could talk without being overheard by their chaperones. As was to be expected, the dancing was lively and flirtateous. The dancing needs to be accurate and elegant, but always remember that it is also about love and young people having fun.
A lovely email from a Gentleman in England alerted me to this new website on Regency Dances [ http://RegencyDances.org ].
From his email:
Launched in January, the site is a free learning resource for Regency Dances. As well as providing dance notations, the dances are shown as animations. This combination of watching the animation while following the notation has been found to be an excellent way of quickly understanding the structure of a dance. The dances are taken from original 18th -19th century sources and written into modern notation by experienced dancers under the watchful eye of a recognised international expert.
Two or three new dances are added each week. To keep informed you can “follow” them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RegencyDances
The objective of http://RegencyDances.org is to create an international shared website resource independent of any specific dance group for (a) sharing genuine Regency dances of known provenance, (b) sharing news of upcoming Regency balls, and (c) sharing information about other Regency groups.
The site includes a history of the dances, the various dance steps presented in animations, lists of dances and music sources, plans on how to organize a Regency party, a listing of various societies and upcoming events, and a very informative section on “What to Wear” which includes the details of the era fashions and how to locate or make your very own costume.
Please visit the site if you have any interest in the dance of Jane Austen’s period – new information is being constantly added, and the site editors are “looking for sources of recorded music that we may use, videos of single dances to be selected as examples of ‘good practice’ and a few more editors.”
If you are a member of a Regency dance group, certainly add your name and events to their growing list.
[Image: Regency Dances website]
Jane Austen in Vermont 