From the Ballroom to Hell: Grace and Folly in Nineteenth-century Dance

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Northwestern University Press, 1991 - History - 225 pages
During the 1800s, dance and etiquette manuals provided ordinary men and women with the keys to becoming gentlemen and ladies--and thus advancing in society. Why dance? To the insecure and status-oriented upper middle class, the ballroom embodied the perfect setting in which to demonstrate one's fitness for membership in genteel society.

From the Ballroom to Hell collects over 100 little-known excerpts from dance, etiquette, beauty, and fashion manuals from the nineteenth century. Included are instructions for performing various dances, as well as musical scores, costume patterns, and the proper way to hold one's posture, fork, gloves, and fan. While of particular interest to dancers, dance historians, and choreographers, anyone fascinated by the ways and mores of the period will find From the Ballroom to Hell an endearing and informative glimpse of America's past.

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Contents

NineteenthCentury America
3
Paris 1847
16
Philadelphia February 1860
27
Dancing the Most Enchanting
38
39
93
51
102
Music and Musicians 125 Part 1 Singing and Other Diversions
125
Part 2 Music at the Ball
128
E The March
151
Part 2 About Waltzing and Other Round Dances 152 A The Position
152
B Comments on the Waltz
154
A Canon for Mr Polka
156
Directions for Performing the Waltz
158
E Directions for Performing the Polka and Variations Schottische and Galop
170
The German Cotillion The German
181
The Importance of Etiquette
183

Part 3 The Manner of Playing the Tunes
131
55
133
Dances and Party Games 137 Part 1 The Minuet and Diverse Group Dances 137 A The Minuet
137
B The Reel
138
Country Dances
139
The Early Cotillion Quadrille and Mazurka Quadrille
140
Notes
187
68888
189
Select Bibliography
193
Annotated Bibliography
199
Index
219
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