Civil War Dancing Curtsy and Dance Position Instructions

 

'"As to flirtation," continues this sage instructor in morals and manners, ''it is difficult to draw a limit where the predilection of the moment becomes the more tender and serious feeling, and flirtation sobers into a more honorable form of devoted attention. I think flirtation comes under the head of morals more than of manners; still I may be allowed to say that ballroom flirtation, being more open, is less dangerous than any other. But a young lady of taste will be careful not to flaunt and publish her flirtation, as if to say, ' See, I have an admirer !' In the same way a prudent man will never presume on a girl's liveliness or banter. No man of taste ever made an offer after supper, and certainly nine-tenths of those who have done so have regretted it at breakfast the next morning."' ~Harper's Magazine 1860

Dances and balls were at their height in the mid-1800s.  Many conservative people at the time thought balls were only good for introducing sin to young people. Despite that many people loved dances: a dance with under 50 participants was considered "a dance," a dance with under 100 people but more than 50 was considered "a ball," and a dance with over 100 people was considered "a large ball."

Tickets to public dances held in public halls could be bought in advance. Dance cards were frequently printed with the tickets. The cards listed the songs which would be played and the dances that would accompany them. The cards had spaces for dancing partners to write their names to reserve dances. It was considered polite to not dance with the same partner more than once or twice if you were engaged or married. This is much different from our view today, where we normally go to a dance with one person and stay with them the entire night.

The point of dances were to have a good time and to converse with people that you didn't see all of the time. The sentiment at the time was that if you stayed with one person all night you were monopolizing yourselves and denying everyone else the company of both of you. There were many group dances that would allow every lady to dance with every man throughout the course of the dance. This seems like a good arrangement because couples, although at the same dance, could have different experiences at the dance that they could share with each other after.

Dances and dinners that observe the separating of couples are quite refreshing.  I met a lady at a reenactment who said that a girl asked if she could dance with her husband. The lady said she was appalled and didn't know what to do and that she felt foolish after she found out that it was a common period request. It is a weird sensation to us today, but one that should probably be more common. Sometimes it seems that when two people get married or become a couple that they suddenly become removed from their friends and stopped getting invited out. I know many couples who dislike only being invited out on "couples outings" or "date nights." To quote a friend of mine, "We're married, not dead."

Other Posts of Interest:

• 19th Century Dancing Meets 21st.
• The Virginia Reel: Instructions and Sheet Music

**Please remember to enter my contest, the drawing will be held on October 5th!**

Brandywine Revolutionary War Reenactment

 The Brandywine Reenactment last weekend was great! There were over 700 soldiers. It was definitely one of the bigger reenactments. We met a lot of people who flew over from Britain just to be a part of it. The leader of the Crown Forces was a Scotsmen, I heard some reenactors saying they couldn't understand a word he was saying. :D There were tons of sutlers, a lot of cavalry and even a bagpiper!

 

The first day was really hot but still lovely and the next day it was cloudy and rained a little bit. The humidity in the air kept the smoke from the muskets close to the ground. It was very neat to see. We even saw smoke rings being blown from the muskets and huge smoke rings blown from the cannon.

The rain didn't deter people. There were tons of spectators and reenactors. 

We had fun, although we got lost on the way there and almost lost a tire (long story, that has something do do with only half of the roads having roadsigns and many others having repeat names.) We didn't end up sleeping over, I was feeling sick. We still had a great time and the battlefield was great, it was a huge field with a big stone wall and a little bit of forest.

**Please remember to enter my contest, the drawing will be held on October 5th!**

My Les Miserables Post-- You Get to Hear Me Sing! Be Afraid.

It's Les Miserables Week at Send Me A Song by Anna Olivia.  

I had a hobby in 3rd grade, it was Les Miserables. I know that sounds weird but I really loved the storyline and the characters. I was in love with the musical. I had a collection of Les Miserables concert T-shirts and I went though a phase where I would only wear them in rotation.

My best friend and I used to play a game where one of us would mime out the scenes and the other would try to guess the scene the other was acting out. It was intense! For our elementary school talent show, I sang Castle on a Cloud and my friend accompanied me on cello. When we got to middle school, we opted to take French because that's what they spoke in Les Miserables!

I read Les Miserables when I was younger and I am currently reading it now. It is broken up into 5 big chapters but those chapters are broken down into 365 sub-chapters. I am reading one sub-chapter everyday. It's been very enjoyable so far.  

So in commemoration of the story that was beloved now and in my childhood I put together a one minute clip. The clip is of me singing "I Dreamed a Dream," which I found on my computer. I remember singing that clip, it was sometime during high school and I was practicing for musical tryouts. I only have one minute recorded unfortunately but I guess it's still a good tribute. :D I was planning on singing a full song, I even tried to rope Andy into it--never before in my life have I had the perfect tenor Marius... but it was no use, it has just been far too busy. I wish it was better--sorry, be sure to turn your speakers down.

Happy Birthday! Blog Giveaway!

A year ago to the day, I was sitting around writing my very first blog post on this blog. This isn't my first blog, it's actually blog number 13, if you can believe it. In the early days of blogging, before facebook and twitter, there were "webblogs"-- yes it was that long ago. Blogger itself was launched in 1999 but I didn't start a blog until 2002. I feel the need to share with you my first post, when I was 14:

 

Thursday, March 14, 2002

Does this work?

posted by Stephanie Ann @ 7:18 AM

I'd like to think I've come a long way. :D In those times, blogs were a bit different. It was a way to let people know what you were up to or point out interesting things that you found on the internet. There were barely any photos on anyone's blogs and backgrounds and headers were very plain. Most functioned as public journal entries, so your friends and family could comment. I am glad that now there are more interesting and creative blogs and less diary-style entries today. Blogging has become much more of a community today. 

So in commemoration of this blog's 1st anniversary, I will be hosting a giveaway. The prizes are a set of artists pencils and two 18 1/2 x 18 1/2 "mini quilt" kits. Here are the rules:

• Everyone can enter by writing a blog post about your favorite post that I have written and linking to it. I have a lot, explore those archives! Be sure to leave a comment on this post with a link to your post. If you don't have a blog but have a facebook or some other networking page, make a note on it linking to a blog post of mine. This will get you 1 entry. Make sure to leave a comment on my blog with your entry link so I know.
•  Everyone who is currently on my followers list will get 2 bonus entries-- there are 56 of you.
•  People who currently comment on my blog frequently will get 2 more bonus entries--there are 5 of you.
• The first place winner will get to choose which prize they want first then the second. 

You may be wondering why I am giving those who are followers more entries. They have been a real part of keeping this blog alive and it wouldn't exist without them. I will not be giving new followers extra entries because I do not want followers who do not like to read my blog, although if you like my blog, please join! Quality is more important to me than quantity.   

The drawing will be held on October 1st, please get your entries in before then!

Civil War Reenactment at the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation-- Warning: Photo Heavy

Normally the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation focuses on the 18th century, but last weekend they took a break and allowed us 19th century reenactors take over. If you've ever been there, you wouldn't even recognize it.

The house was furnished with 19th century pieces and displays of period dresses.

 The dresses were gorgeous and though I can't even imagine, all belonged to the same lovely lady! 

 Wash dress and day dress.

Morning wrapper with black undersleeves. The undersleeves slide under the large pagoda sleeves and are tied or fastened with elastic at the elbow. The undersleeves, which are more apt to get dirty can be washed without having to launder the whole dress.

The master bedroom. The washbasin and pitcher were just beautiful.

The childrens bedroom. I love the chamberpot box.

The kitchen, along with the two ladies of the house for the weekend.

Cannon are a rare sight at the plantation but these men dragged this piece out to the field. 

It overall was a fun event. Everyone had a good time. During the first battle, the animals on the farm were caught in the crossfire. It was very neat to see sheep and chickens scattering at the advance of an army.  For a reenactment, you can't ask for a more interesting battlefield. There are houses, barns, animals and gardens which all become a part of the battles. It is much more interesting than most places in which the reenactment takes place on an empty field. I especially love that the spectators are so close. Some of the soldiers accidentally even broke through the crowd.