Watching Bridgerton, and ultimately reading a LOT of Regency romances recently, has had me fascinated even more by the ritual of attending balls: and of course, balls in the eighteenth and nineteenth century were governed by strict rules.

Here are some of them below:

Firstly, you should never attend a private ball without an invitation, and if at a public ball, you should always follow the master of ceremonies.

A gentleman could not ask a lady to dance unless they had been introduced; and a lady should always accept or spend the rest of the evening sitting out (not much room for choice!).

A couple could dance a maximum of two dances together, or risk setting the rumour mill off. And every gentleman was expected to invite available ladies to dance, and, at the end of the dance, escort the lady back to her chaperone, or to the supper room.

A gentleman should always be prompt when claiming his partner for their dance. You also should never save too many dances in advance, and leave space for requests at the ball.

You should not be rowdy in your dancing or attract attention, or push in next to other couples, joining dances from the bottom of a set.

Also, do not pay compliments on your partner’s appearance: everyone should be dressed appropriately, with both men and women wearing gloves, and gentlemen only wearing boots if they were officers on duty. (How did they break the ice without the ultimate icebreaker of complimenting an outfit??)

Ultimately, your behaviour should be discrete and demure, because everyone was watching, and there were always fun stories to share the morning after the night of a ball.

You can hear about the rigid rules of the ballroom in my reel here:

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