Dancing in Pride and Prejudice

I'd just like to take a moment and congratulate all Spotlight Performers that attended the dance rehearsal this past Friday.  You did a great job and learned a couple of country dances.  The first proved to be most difficult because of some misinformation given on a website containing "Regency Dances."  Not having the necessary skills of a choreographer, I led the cast through Sellenger's Round in 6/8 time.  If you are reading this, yes, I now know it should be in 4/4 time, but we are out of rehearsal time and must press on.  So there you have it, so true to SELAH's history, we are breaking new ground!

I'd just like to give a quick overview of the importance of dancing in this production.  There were three main kinds of dances or Formal Balls of 19th century England as noted in Jane Austen's novels, and they played a significant role in people's lives.

These balls included: Assembly Room dances that occurred in town, smaller dances thrown at country inns, and private balls given at a country home by a private citizen. These social events were used as ways to network as well as give young people an opportunity to catch a future spouse.

Assembly Room Balls:  Assembly Rooms were public venues specifically built for public balls. In his book What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, Daniel Pool talks about the Master of Ceremonies, whose responsibility was to know the background of the young men and women present, and then introduce them so they could dance, as it was improper for men and women of the day to introduce themselves. The Master of ceremonies also made sure that the attendees maintained their propriety and proper etiquette.  In the scene containing our Assembly Ball (Act I, Scene 2), Sir William acts as our Master of ceremonies.  He tries to introduce Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth, but to no avail of course!

Private Balls:  The smallest gatherings were balls thrown at private estates by individuals.These balls would also consist of dining as well as dancing. The dinner was held very late (around midnight) and could consist of a few courses to sometimes even eight or ten. Mr. Bingley throws one of these balls at Netherfield Park in Pride and Prejudice.  Here we finally get to see Mr. Darcy dance with Elizabeth.  In our play, they just happen to be dancing to "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot," the same dance that is used in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.

Style of Dancing:  As for the actual dances, they were not the dances of couples as we know in the modern sense. According to Janet Todd's Jane Austen in Context,, the “ladies and gentlemen [would be] standing opposite each other in a line or a circle." These dances could have as few as three couples, and upwards of twenty. Because all of the dancers, not just the couples, were involved with the dancing, the more couples involved with the dance, the longer a set lasted. This was good for the couples, because if there were a lot of people dancing, they may have to wait their turn to dance, so they could "flirt" with their partner. Is it no wonder "Lydia" and "Kitty" enjoy dancing so much.

Etiquette of Dancing:  As for the dancing, it was improper etiquette for a woman to dance more than two dances with the same partner, and if two people did dance more than two dances together, they were assumed engaged.  Thus you can understand "Mrs. Bennet's" excitement with "Mr. Bingley" dances a second dance with "Jane."

All of these circumstances provided the perfect opportunity to have fun, and if they were lucky, make a life match.  This certainly gives "Mrs. Phillips's" line more significance when she tells her sister, "Mrs. Bennet:"

"I find Mr. Bingley favorable. Everyone is delighted with him. He is quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to top it all off, he appears to be quite fond of dancing, he must be certain to fall in love."

Exerts from: "Formal Balls in Jane Austen and Regency England" by Sandra Causey