Blue Regency Ball Gown

I finished my blue regency silk satin and lace gown just in time to wear it to our Christmas Carol Ball last night. The simple dress theme was "Christmas" so John and I went as merrymakers from Mr Fezziwig's Party.

Learn to dance like Jane Austen - new book release

Historic Dance VII: 1800-1825

A4 book by John Gardiner-Garden. 642 pages of research, discussion and analysis with dozens of illustrations, musical scores, dance reconstructions, source extracts, transcriptions and translations.

To order, go to Shop.

26 page Preface and bibliography then the following 5 parts (omitting the subheadings
for the Part 4 dance contents):

Part 1 ~ Dance Context ~ 42 pages ~ England ~  4 ~ The private ball according to Jane Austen ~  6 ~ Assembly room dancing ~  10 ~ Public balls according to Thomas Wilson ~  16 ~ Dancing in Jane Austen screen adaptations ~  24 ~ Denmark to Slovenia ~  27 ~ Congress of Vienna ~  29 ~ France ~  31 ~ America ~  34 ~ Australia ~  39 ~ Poland and Russia ~  41 Part 2 ~ Dance Forms ~ 58 pages ~ Allemande ~  4 ~ The Country Dance ~  6 ~ Variety ~  6 ~ Its mechanism ~  8 ~ Its setting to music ~  9 ~ Its decline ~  11 ~ Écossaise ~  14 ~ The Finishing dances ~  17 ~ Gavotte ~  19 ~ The Mazurka ~  20 ~ The Minuet ~  23 ~ The Polonaise ~  27 ~ In Poland ~  27 ~ In Russia ~  28 ~ To the West ~  30 ~ The Quadrille ~  32 ~ Its origins and first devotees ~  32 ~ Its form ~  33 ~ Its stepping ~  35 ~ Its debut in England and Scotland ~  37 ~ Its diversification ~  39 ~ Quadrillemania ~  41 ~ The Scotch Reel ~  47 ~ The Waltz ~  49 ~ Arrival in England ~  52 ~ Arrival in America ~  56 ~ Arrival in Australia ~  57 Part 3 ~ Dance Technicalities ~ 158 pages ~ Style ~  4 ~ Deportment ~  4 ~ Management of arms and hands ~  6 ~ A new naturalism ~  7 ~ Knowing appropriate steps ~  7 ~ Shunning exhibitionism ~  8 ~ The reality of the ballroom ~  10 ~ Etiquette ~  14 ~ Honours ~  19 ~ The bow and courtesy ~  19 ~ Honours in quadrilles ~  20 ~ Putting on and taking off the hat ~  21 ~ Holds and positions ~  22 ~ Turn out ~  22 ~ Five positions ~  23 ~ Standing ~  26 ~ Carriage of the arms ~  26 ~ Couples dance arm holds ~  28 ~ Formations ~  29 ~ Couples ~  29 ~ Triple minor set ~  29 ~ The Quadrille ~  31 ~ The Ecossaise ~  32 ~ Figures ~  33 ~ In the Quadrille ~  34 ~ In the Country Dance ~  40 ~ In the Écossaise ~  43 ~ À Droite et à Gauche / Chassez-dechassez ~  46 ~ À Droite sur les Côtes ~  49 ~ Allemande ~  50 ~ En Avant et en Arrière ~  51 ~ Back to Back / Dos à Dos ~  51 ~ Back / Retreat and Advance ~  52 ~ Balancé ~  52 ~ Cast off ~  52 ~ Chaîne Anglaise ~  56 ~ Chaine ~  56 ~ Chaînes des Dames ~  58 ~ Change / Change over ~  58 ~ Change sides ~  59 ~ Change Places ~  59 ~ Chase ~  59 ~ Chassé Crois(s)é ~  60 ~ Chassé out / Chassé ouvert ~  64 ~ Contra corners / Turn corners / Swing corners ~  65 ~ Crossing Over / Traverser ~  69 ~ Dechassé ~  75 ~ Demi Promenade ~  75 ~ Dos-à-dos ~  75 ~ En Avant et en Arrière ~  75 ~ En Avant les Huits ~  76 ~ Figure / Figure of eight ~  76 ~ Forward and Back / En Avant et en Arrière ~  79 ~ Forward all Eight / En Avant les Huit ~  82 ~ Gypsy~  83 ~ Half Promenade / Queue de chat ~  83 ~ Hands across / Moulinet ~  83 ~ Hands round ~  84 ~ Hands three / Rond de Trois ~  84 ~ Hands four / hands four round / circle ~  86 ~ Hands six / circle ~  86 ~ Hey ~  87 ~ Ladies’ Chain / Chaîne des Dames ~  87 ~ Lead around ~  89 ~ Lead down and back ~  89 ~ Lead outside ~  94 ~ Lines / Les Lignes ~  95 ~ Moulinet (Le) ~  96 ~ Petit tour ~  96 ~ Pirouette ~  96 ~ Poussette ~  96 ~ Promenade / La promenade ~  97 ~ Right and Left / Chaîne Anglaise ~  100 ~ Set / Setting / Balancer ~  105 ~ Set and change places ~  112 ~ Set and change sides ~  112 ~ Set contrary corners ~  113 ~ Set Four in line / Balancez Quatre En Ligne ~  113 ~ Set three in place and three across ~  114 ~ Swing ~  115 ~ Swing corners~  115 ~ Swing round~  116 ~ Tour de Mains ~  116 ~ Tour sur place ~  116 ~ Traversez ~  116 ~ Le Tiroir ~  116 ~ Turn with both hands / Tour de Mains ~  116 ~ To the Right and to the Left ~  119 ~ To the Sides / À Droite sur les Côtes ~  119 ~ Traverser ~  119 ~ Turn corners ~  119 ~ Turn right hand / Turn left hand / La Main / Swing ~  119 ~ Steps ~  122 ~ Country Dance Steps ~  126 ~ Quadrille Steps ~  129 ~ Assemblé ~  130 ~ Balancé ~  131 ~ Ballonné ~  131 ~ Balloté ~  132 ~ Battement ~  132 ~ Bending / Plié ~  133 ~ Bourrée ~  134 ~ Change of the Feet / Changement de Jambe ~  135 ~ Chassé ~  137 ~ Contretems / Contretemps ~  140 ~ Coupé ~  140 ~ Entrechat ~  141 ~ Eschappé / Flic Flac / Fosgladh~  142 ~ Flic Flac / Fosgladh ~  143 ~ Glissade ~  143 ~ Jeté ~  145 ~ Kemkossy~  149 ~ Kemshoole ~  149 ~ Minuet (Pas de) ~  150 ~ Pas de basque ~  150 ~ Pirouette ~  151 ~ Rond de Jambe ~  152 ~ Seby-trast ~  153 ~ Sissone ~  153 ~ Tem(p)s Levé ~  156 ~ Temps de Courante ~  157 ~ Zephyr (Pas de) ~  158 ~ Walking / Pas marché ~  158  Part 4 ~ Dances in Detail ~ 316 pages ~ The Alexander ~  4 ~ Allemande (3) / Strassburger ~  6 ~ The Battle of Leipzig ~  17 ~ La Boulangère (1) ~  19 ~ Butter’d Pease (2) ~  22 ~ The Caledonian Quadrille ~  24 ~ The Chase (1) ~  46 ~ Congo Minuet ~  48 ~ Countess of Yarmouth’s Fancy ~  53 ~ The Cushion Dance (2) ~  56 ~ The Czar ~  61 ~ Downfall of Paris ~  63 ~ The Duke of Kent’s Waltz ~  68 ~ Dutch Dollars ~  72 ~ Elegance and Simplicity ~  74 ~ The Fair Circassian ~  75 ~ The Fairy Dance ~  77 ~ The Good Girl ~  79 ~ Haste to the Wedding ~  83 ~ Italian Monfrina (1) ~  87 ~ Italian Monfrina (2) ~  89 ~ La Josephine ~  91 ~ Juliana (1) ~  93 ~ Juliana (2) ~  95 ~ Lady Caroline Lee’s Waltz ~  99 ~ The Lancer’s Quadrille (1) / The Strathy Lancers ~  102 ~ The Lancers’ Quadrille (2) / The Duval Lancers ~  111 ~ The Lancer’s Quadrille (3) / The Hart Lancers ~  143 ~ Money Musk (2) ~  163 ~ Morgiana in Ireland (1a, b, c) ~  165 ~ Morgiana in Ireland (2) ~  168 ~ Mr Turner’s Academy Cotillion ~  174 ~ La Napoléon ~  177 ~ Nichol’s Favourite ~  180 ~ The Perigodine ~  182 ~ Pleasures of the Town (2) ~  186 ~ Polonaise (3) / The Polonese Russe ~  189 ~ Quadrille Français (1) ~  192 ~ Quadrille Français (2) / Paine’s 1st Set~  206 ~ Russian Dance (1) ~  240 ~ Russian Dance (2) ~  243 ~ The Scotch Reel ~  245 ~ Sir Roger de Coverley (2) ~  255 ~ La Tempete (1) ~  263 ~ The Triumph (1) ~  266 ~ The Triumph (2) ~  271 ~ The Union Waltz ~  276 ~ La Vinetta ~  278 ~ The Volga ~  280 ~ Waltz (1) / French Waltzing ~  282 ~ Waltz (2) / German Waltzing ~  299 ~ Wilson’s Quadrilles ~  308 Part 5 ~ Dancing Masters ~ 38 pages ~ The Profession ~  3 ~ The importance of dance classes ~  3 ~ The changing repertoire ~  6 ~ The teachers of dubious quality ~  6 ~ The teachers of quality ~  11 ~ Calling ~  14 ~ Publication and Notation ~  16 ~ Publication ~  16 ~ Notation ~  16 ~ Lives and Works ~  19 ~ Anonymous ~  19 ~ Becker ~  22 ~ Blanchard ~  23 ~ Campbell ~  23 ~ Cassidy ~  23 ~ Charpentier ~  23 ~ Clarchies ~  24 ~ Dun ~  24 ~ Duval ~  24 ~ Gourdoux-Daux ~  25 ~ Hart ~  26 ~ Lund ~  26 ~ Moreau de Saint-Méry ~  27 ~ Nichols ~  27 ~ Noke ~  27 ~ Paine ~  28 ~ Peacock ~  30 ~ Rice ~  31 ~ Rosenhain ~  31 ~ Saltator ~  32 ~ Schaffer ~  32 ~ Simonet ~  32 ~ Stender ~  33 ~ Strathy ~  33 ~ Théleur ~  33 ~ Thompson ~  34 ~ Voiart ~  34 ~ Wilson ~  34

High Court tribute to Dickens

We danced at a tribute to Charles Dickens at the High Court yesterday. A snippet was played on the ABC news at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-12/legal-luminaries-pay-tribute-to-dickens/3825828?section=act

English Dance Week 10-12 April 2012

My favourite past time is dancing - without dancing everything pales into insignificance. My love of historical clothing came about because of dancing. In April 2012 we are organising two events in Canberra, an English Dance Week followed by the Jane Austen Festival. I do so hope you can join us! Click on the poster below to see a larger image that is easier to read. Registrations are limited - tickets can be bought online at http://edhda.eventbrite.com

Olde English Christmas Carol Ball

To celebrate Jane Austen's 236th birthday the day before, on the 17 December 2011 we are holding an Olde English Christmas Carol Ball. A whole mixture of olde English dances will be called.
Everyone is welcome, no partners are necessary and you are asked to bring a plate of cold fingerfood for the mid-evening potluck supper.
Tickets are already on sale at http://edhda.eventbrite.com and if you are coming from interstate and need a place to stay, we can ask around for billets or you might find a good room at the nearby Canberra City YHA.

Gone With the Wind

I had the pleasure of organising a Gone With the Wind Ball last Saturday night. Pictured here is a group photo taken just after supper. If you would like to come to more of our balls, please visit our upcoming page.

We were very lucky on this occasion to have special guests from the Australian Costumers Guild in attendance, traveling from South Australia and Queensland specially for this event.

Hoops, more hoops...

A box of hoops has arrived and is currently residing in our lounge room. It will be such an amazing sight at our Gone With the Wind 1860s Ball on the 17 May. Everyone has been spending their spare time making sure their dresses are ready.

Yes, you can hire a hoop from me! There are plenty to go around @ $30 hire. Collection is to be on Friday 16 May, between 10.30am - 2pm.

Greetings all!

Its here at last! I've spent the last few weeks preparing for our Midsummer Nights Dream Ball - and its on this Saturday night 20 January 2007. The weather here is unbearably hot - so it's a night for cooler costumes - sprite-like ones! This morning the weatherman predicted 35 degrees C (95 degrees F). See what happens.

John has been teaching us new dances from his upcoming book focusing on new translations from Italian dance manuals. I'm finding all this very interesting but am glad to leave him to the research and teaching while I do the sewing.

I'm working on a set of Regency short stays this week. They're going together really fast. I really must recommend this pattern. I'll be selling the new stays pattern through Regency Reproductions from next week, along with some new patterns from Tailors Guide. I'm getting quite excited about the patterns - I'll be adding Regency-era patterns from Past Patterns and Wingeo in the next few months.