If you could time travel to Regency England, what better way to spend a Saturday night than at a ball? (My dream, really!)
If you were attending, you would arrive late in the evening: if you think we head out dancing late now, that has always been the case, with the earliest arrivals coming at nine p.m.
The dancing would be opened by the highest social rank, and, if a private ball, perhaps the eldest daughter or a daughter coming out into society, to announce her as a marriageable prospect. Only about twenty couples would be on the floor at once, despite as many as several hundred being in attendance, simply because there had to be space for the couples to dance!
You’d be engaging in country dancing: not dancing from the countryside, but from the French contredanse, which referred to the way couples faced each other. These were usually designed for couples to move up and down a line. The waltz didn’t arrive to England until at least 1811, and even then, it was a controversial addition to the floor.
Be careful if you are attending as an unmarried person: you couldn’t dance more than two dances in a row with the same person, otherwise you would get people talking, and it was as much as saying you were engaged.
Like any good soiree, a ball would have refreshments. Supper wouldn’t be served until 1am, with the dancing recommencing an hour later. Choose a good partner for the last dance before supper, as they could escort you to the food and drinks for further conversation, introductions or courting!
A ball was a place for flirting, for plotting, and for people watching: enjoy!
You can here about attending a Regency ball in my reel below:
Dr. Lizzie Rogers 
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