Busy at work, I have not had the opportunity to blog as often as I generally like to. I did not have the chance to tell about my recent visit to Pasadena for the Jane Austen Evening, the annual Regency Ball, and must say, it was a very festive and entertaining event. All the planning and months of sewing certainly paid off when we entered the event hall to find a world transformed, a step back into time, with ladies dressed as Elizabeth Bennetts? I never saw so many deep decollated, puff sleeved, ballet-slippered, ringlet haired women in one place. And the men were definitely Darcy'd out, in buckled shoes, white hose, breeches, waist coats, high cravats! Some men came in naval splendor as if on shore leave from Lord Nelson's Royal Navy, and some as dandies complete with lace hankie and silk fan.
The music was provided by a live band, a string quartet I believe, and the dances were called as they say, by a lady on stage,who instructed the dancers as they went along, to "turn", "set", "cast", " hay", etc as the music proceeded.
As in Jane Austen's time, it was a chance to see and be seen, and hopes were high as men, and in this case, women, asked for dances of each other, even filling out dance cards, if you please. There were the perennial wall flowers, and the belles of the ball. It's not easy to be left out, or passed over, even if it is just a lark!
And so one does ones best to be light hearted and gay (gosh, even that has a different meaning today), and join in the fun as much, and as often, as one can. By the evening's end, we had encountered our friends from our home town county dance group, and made some new friends, too. 
It was a memorable evening for me, one I will long remember. When we left, we walked back up the block to our hotel, warmed by the dancing and by the excitement of the last dance, the Sir Rogers, as it is known, a rather free-form romp, with hand clapping and bows and curtseys, and about as much wild footwork and frenzy as politely and raucous could be imagined in 1810! I look forward to the next opportunity to whirl back in times other day!
Next time I will be prepared for all the etiquette, making sure my dance card is filled up WAY before the first strains of the violin can be heard!!! I don't want to be a wallflower, or have to dance with a poor representative of the social circle, having my toes or train stepped on. That may sound Prejudice, but it would be the Sensible thing; not to have one's Sensibilities disturbed. Ahhhh....the foibles of social hierarchy live on.
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