Dr. Lizzie Rogers

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Dance

  • The Rules of the Ballroom

    The Rules of the Ballroom

    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, read more

  • Introducing debutantes at Queen Charlotte’s Ball

    Introducing debutantes at Queen Charlotte’s Ball

    Thomas Gainsborough, Queen Charlotte, Met Museum. You may have noticed, if you have immersed yourself in the Regency fantasy world of Bridgerton recently, that each series begins with the presentation of society’s debutantes to Queen Charlotte. Young ladies queue up in white dresses, escorted to the Queen, where they curtsey and are examined by the read more

  • Attending Almack’s in Regency London

    Attending Almack’s in Regency London

    Print made by James Caldwall, The Cotillion Dance, 1771, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.11242. If you were part of high society in late eighteenth or early nineteenth century London, a key social location of the season was Almack’s. Located on King Street behind St James’s Square, Almack’s put on balls and read more

  • Attending a Ball in Regency England

    Attending a Ball in Regency England

    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 read more

  • Did women actually use dance cards at Regency Balls?

    Did women actually use dance cards at Regency Balls?

    I wanted to deep dive into a little bit of a mystery in period drama: you often see at balls in period drama women recording the names of their dance partners beside the name of each dance in a little card – a dance card – tied to their wrists with pieces of ribbons, with read more

  • Lola Montez: The Fascinating Life of a Queen of Reinvention (1821-1861)

    Lola Montez: The Fascinating Life of a Queen of Reinvention (1821-1861)

    London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, Portrait of Lola Montez, unknown date. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, PGP 837.28. Today I wanted to write about a female figure in history who completely fascinates me: Lola Montez. I first heard about Lola Montez in a song (a fantastic song you can find here) by Volbeat, and after listening read more

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