Newport Vintage Dance Week

Newport Dancers' Gazette

Newport Dancers' Gazette
Vol VII, Number 4
Friday, 18 August 2000

Formal tea
Friday, Manor House Gazebo

The Formal tea will take place on the lawn near the Gazebo, which sweeps down to Narragansett Bay. This event is your opportunity to wear your most formal afternoon outfit to enjoy tea and a game of croquet, or to rest your feet after a full day of classes.

Mid-19th Century Ball
Friday, August 18, Rotunda Ballroom, Newport

Friday’s ball will be held at the newly renovated historic Rotunda Ballroom adjacent to the Carousel on Easton’s (First) Beach in Newport. This is the first time we have used this site, it should prove to be a splendid event. The carousel will be open during the early part of the ball for your enjoyment; weather permitting, refreshments will be served on the veranda.

Directions from Portsmouth Abbey:

Turn left onto Cory's Lane, drive to the intersection with route 114, turn right onto 114 and almost immediately, at the first light, turn left onto Hedley St. (there is a sign to Portsmouth Business Park). A little over 1/2 mi. down Hedley St. there is a stop sign, with a second stop sign almost immediately beyond it. Go straight at the first stop sign and turn right at the second onto route 138 south. Go approx. 4 1/2 mi. on Rte. 138, at the Dunkin Donuts 138 intersects with 138A (Aquidneck Ave.), turn onto 138A. Follow Aquidneck Ave. for about 5 miles, it eventually intersects with Memorial Blvd. Turn left onto Memorial Blvd., which bears right and past Newport's First Beach (on left). The carousel and ballroom will be on the left at Easton's (First) Beach. Parking is adjacent to the building.

Lobster Lunch
Saturday, Manor House Gazebo

The New England Lobster lunch will be served at the Manor House Gazebo. A limited number of tables are available; picnic blankets will be available for those who wish to have a more informal lunch. We ask that you do not bring the School’s blankets for use outdoors. In case of rain, lunch will be served in the dining hall.

Saturday Seminar:
Vintage Dance Performance Videos

The Seminar will take place in the auditorium and will be devoted to presentations of vintage dance videos put together by attendees of the Newport Dance Week of their own performances or of performances of the dance group to which they belong. We have had a limited number of submissions, but those we've heard about seem to be quite something.

If you have brought a video that you were considering submitting, please do so as there are still available slots (VHS only, please). As we said before, submissions are not being previewed or prejudged - you will see whatever is submitted. If you have a last minute submission, don't forget to include a very brief descriptive note detailing the duration of the tape and briefly describing the group, types of dance, etc, being shown.

Ask Mrs. Astorbilt

Dear Mrs. Astorbilt,

I have never been to a ball with dance cards and I find the entire business rather intimidating. Why do dance cards exist and what do I need to know to cope with them?

Fearful of Pasteboard

Dear Fearful,

Dance cards afford a modest measure of security in the midst of the bustle of a ball. A lady with even a few dances pencilled in knows that she will have at least that many dances come what may. A gentleman desiring to dance with a particular lady does not need to worry about catching her when she happens to be between partners - he asks her early on in the evening and can then anticipate with pleasure the dance to come. On the other hand, this gain in security is balanced by a loss of freedom - once a dance has been promised in one quarter, it cannot be granted in another.

But enough on theory; here are some practical details. Dance cards are usually laid out on a tray at the entrance of the ballroom. Take one as you enter. A typical dance card has a silken loop with a pencil attached. Many ladies wrap this loop around one wrist and wear it that way throughout the evening. Some ladies have a pocket in their ballgown skirt, or may chose to leave the card with their fan on an out-of-the-way shelf or sill.. Most men tuck their card into a coat pocket.

Typically, a gentleman approaches a lady and asks if he might have the pleasure of a dance that evening. Each produces a dance card and consults it as negotiations begin. The gentleman may propose a particular dance (e.g. the second waltz, or dance number five) or may leave the choice up to the lady. She may counter by suggesting a different dance (because she is unavailable for the one proposed or simply because she would prefer another). Once a consensus is achieved, they exchange cards and each signs the other's card in the agreed upon slot. The form of the signature (first name, last name, initials, idiosyncratic symbol, big wobbly X) is up to the individual so long as each is confident that the other will be able to match the signature to the person when the time comes - Mrs. Astorbilt recommends simplicity in this regard.

When the reserved dance is announced, it is the gentleman's duty to find (and not merely seek) his promised partner. It is the lady's duty to allow herself to be easily found.

And now, back to theory. Dance cards have a number of advantages. The security they offer has been mentioned above. They also allow dancers to spread out their dances and to plan periods of rest. They enable a new dancer to make sure that he has partners for the dances he feels comfortable with. They allow many dancers to get the awkward business of seeking partners over early in the evening. Finally, they provide a tangible reminder of the event. Many a lady has a cache of dance cards among her sentimental treasures.

Dance cards also have several disadvantages. They cause a flurry of partner negotiations early in the evening. This leads to the apprehension that one must get to the ball early or all the "best" partners will be taken. There is that sinking feeling when one looks at a nearly empty dance card as the music begins. But fear not, says Mrs. Astorbilt. These days, more and more gentlemen are deliberately leaving openings in their dance cards (even if it means scribbling in imaginary partners as place holders) so that they can seek partners from among the ladies they may have noticed have been sitting out more than their fair share of dances. The many "extra" dances (not listed on the dance card) give additional opportunities to find partners over the course of the evening. Only if a lady gives in to despair and leaves the ballroom (in spirit or in body) is she likely to end up with as few dances as an initially empty card might suggest. Be brave.

Mrs. Astorbilt

Etiquette Hints for the Ball Room

On entering a ball-room, all thought of self should be dismissed. The petty ambition of endeavoring to create a sensation by either dress, loud talking, or unusual behavior, is to be condemned; also the effort to monopolize a certain part of the room during the evening, or of forming exclusive circles when unanimity and good feeling should prevail, are, to say the least, exceptionable. (Hillgrove, A Complete practical guide to the art of dancing, New York: 1863, p. 24.)

Ladies should remember that men look to the effect of dress in setting off the figure and countenance of a lady, rather than to its cost. Few men form estimates of the value of ladies' dress. This is a subject for female criticism. Beauty of person and elegance of manners in woman will always command more admiration from the other sex than costliness of clothing. (Hillgrove, p. 18.)

Be very careful, when dressing for a ball, that the hair is firmly fastened, and the coiffure properly adjusted. Nothing is more annoying than to have the hair loosen or the head-dress fall off in a crowded ball room. (Florence Hartley, The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness. Boston: 1860, p. 167.)

Draw on your gloves (white or yellow) in the dressing-room, and do not be for one moment with them off in the dancing-rooms. At supper take them off; nothing is more preposterous than to eat in gloves. (Henry P. Willis, Etiquette, and the Usages of Society. New York: 1860, p. 22.)

At private parties ladies and gentlemen should not dance exclusively with the same partners, if by so doing they exclude others from desirable company. We may, however, without impropriety ask a lady to join us the second time in a dance. We should treat all courteously; and, not manifesting preference for any one in particular, be ready to dance with whoever may need a partner. (Hillgrove, p. 21.)

In inviting a lady to dance with you, the words, "Will you honor me with your hand for a quadrille?" or "Shall I have the honor of dancing this set with you?" are more used now than "Shall I have the pleasure?" or "Will you give me the pleasure of dancing with you?" (Cecil B. Hartley, The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette. Philadelphia: 1860, p. 93.)

A young lady should be very careful how she refuses to dance with a gentleman; and above all she must take care not to accept two gentlemen for one dance. Many duels have resulted from this thoughtlessness. (Mrs. Hale, Manners; or, Happy Homes and Good Society. Boston: 1868, p. 286.)

If your partner has a bouquet, handkerchief, or fan in her hand, do not offer to carry them for her. If she finds they embarrass her, she will request you to hold them for her, but etiquette requires you not to notice them, unless she speaks of them first. (Cecil B. Hartley, p.96.)

When an unpracticed dancer makes a mistake, we may apprise him of his error; but it would be very impolite to have the air of giving him a lesson. (Willis, p. 23.)

When the dance is over, offer your arm to your partner, and enquire whether she prefers to go immediately to her seat, or wishes to promenade. If she chooses the former, conduct her to her seat, stand near her a few moments, chatting, then bow, and give other gentlemen an opportunity of addressing her. If she prefers to promenade, walk with her until she expresses a wish to sit down. Enquire, before you leave her, whether you can be of any service, and, if the supper-room is open, invite her to go in there with you. (Cecil B. Hartley, p. 93.)

Every gentleman should escort a lady to the supper-room, and after attending to her wants or tastes, never forget to return with her to the ball or drawing rooms, for nothing can be more impolite than to leave an "unprotected female" to shift for herself amid the tumult of a crowd of modern party-guzzlers. (Anon. Bazar Book of Decorum. New York: 1870, p. 228.)

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