Civil War Balls?

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YeshuasTikvah ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 15 (1/15/03 6:44 pm) Reply	Civil War Balls? Ladies: What are your opinions on dancing? As in Civil War balls? I'd love to learn how do dance (and wear those hoop skirts!). Unfortunately, there aren't very many Civil War activities around here. (I live up in New England) My penpal down in Virginia has so much she can do in Civil War reenacting and balls. I'm a leetle envious! She and her whole family just went to a cotillin (sp?) and her brother danced with her. My brothers would never do that with me! Okay, now I'm rambling... So what are your thoughts? LIC, Krista Edited by: YeshuasTikvah at: 1/31/03 12:04:59 pm
022988 ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 27 (1/19/03 12:23 pm) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? I CW re-enact about once a year. I live in Hawaii so when I re-enct I fly to Michigan and do so with my friends there who re-enact. I have never actually been to ball. The dresses are really pretty though. My brother would never even think of dancing with me. Blessings, Danielle Elizabeth Daughter to John and Jacqueline Big Sister to: Mark(12) Samantha(8 ) Lisa(6) Ruth(4) & Jack (2) Website
Empire Girl 1811 Registered User Posts: 4 (2/24/03 7:44 am) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? Hi! I'm very soon going to my 4th ball! I absolutely love them! I go to one in early spring at the top of DE, and last november, my friends and I held one at the bottom of DE. I love dancing, and they are a great way to have fun with your family! At the one downstate, my grandparents and their friends came, and I danced with my pop-pop and dad, and my best friend Emily's younger brother. I can't wait! Yours, Jo Came but for Friendship, and took away Love. ~Thomas Moore~
HisGirl86 ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 6 (3/4/03 8:26 am) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? I think Civil War balls would be a BLAST! Wearing those hoopskirts, and dancing around the room. ::sigh:: Heehee!! (I've never seen the entire movie but I love watching the first part of Gone With the Wind just to see the dresses and the parties!) There are a lot of people who put on balls, but I don't know of any around my area. Oh well! ~anna "There are few people of whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more I am dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief in the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense" Praise God this world is not our home, "but our citizenship is in heaven"
YeshuasTikvah ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 38 (3/6/03 11:46 am) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? For those of you who have gone to CW balls, what kind of dances are there? I've heard of the Virginian Reel, but that's all I really know of. Actually, I've danced a type of reel at our fellowship (church). A lady has been teaching us some folk dances and a reel was one of them. There were 6 couples, my partner was my younger brother Jonathan (11). Even some of the adults joined in. One father was dancing with his 9 yo daughter. We all had a most wondeful time!!!! Even my brothers enjoyed it (I think that they had thought before that dancing was more of a girl thing)!!! We can hardly wait to do it again! Okay, I probably should go... ~Kristalily
Shilohs Handmaid ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 4 (3/9/03 4:14 pm) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? Lets see--I have been to two civil war dances and it is so much fun. For the young men are such gentlemen. So courteous. Well, the Virginia Reel would have to be my favorite! But there is one called the snowball reel which is where you have a whole row of couples and you do the first steps of the reel (right hand, left hand, both hands, do-si-do) then one couple starts reeling down and after tehy've gotten partly down the next couple goes and it keeps going. The people who reach the end make up part of the end. It is so much fun! There is also the Grand march which is usually the first--it makes a cool spiral but you have to have somone direct that one or you oculd get majorly confused. There is one called The Flower Girl (but I never got that one completely figured out) The Scotiche (it may be spelled wrong) is fun-but I haven't done it in almost a year so I don't remember everything except this little stpe that everyone does in a circle and then a hop (it was hilarious). We did the Spanish waltz I think it was or maybe it was something else because it certainly wasn't a waltz, well maybe the name will come to me. Also there was a fun one where we made a star-I'll just have to go to another hoedown and learn the names of all the dances. I'm hoping there will be one this month... Well hope that helps a little Krista. Stephanie
Alea24 ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 2 (4/9/03 2:50 pm) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? I can most definitely understand your problem about the lack of Civil War-era balls in New England. Somehow New England doesn't enjoy re-enacting the Southern style balls. I wonder why. I would absolutly love to dance in those dresses. I don't know if my brothers would dance with me, tho. I've seen most of Gone with the Wind and the dances are absolutly gorgeous. Love to all in our Savior Yahshua's name, Corri
YeshuasTikvah ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 50 (4/11/03 5:12 am) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? I have heard of some activities somewhere up here in New England, but not of much. However, right now, my main difficulty would probably lie in getting together a whole outfit. I am not the greatest at sewing. :/ I don't know how easy it would be to get my brothers to dance with me at an actual ball. They do enjoy it, but they kinda had to be forced into it the first time. Recently we learned a new dance, in which one of the couples makes an arch with their hands, as the other couples go under through it. It was fun, and it got hilarious when it came to my little 6 year old sister and 9 year old brother making the arch! The arch was so small, we had to bend to get through (you ought to have seen my 19 year old brother do it!). It got even more difficult when my piano teacher (who was dancing with my 3 year old sister) and my little sister (3) formed the arch. Now was that difficult!!! But we had a wonderful time! ~Kristalily "Shout to the Lord, All the earth let us sing Power and Majesty, praise to the King! Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name. I sing for joy at the work of your hands, forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand. Nothing compares to the promise I have in You." ~from "Shout to the Lord," by Darlene Zschech
HomekeeperinNC ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 12 (4/27/03 2:46 pm) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? I am very interested in CW re-enacting and balls. My deartest said that I could go. But I don't know where to find out any information. I am in NC. Your Sister in Christ, Avery www.sewlikeyou.com
daphnecm ~Reminisce Member~ Posts: 5 (7/16/03 2:17 pm) Reply	Re: Civil War Balls? This is a late addition to this thread, but I think Civil War era balls are the best because there is usually a caller to tell you what to do next! And it is bad manners to dance with the same person more than once in the evening, which keeps the dance lively and non-romantically oriented. At modern balls (yes, we do go to them) it sometimes seems as if everyone expects to dance with the same partner all evening, and it is a romantic overture. The Virginia Reel is fun. I also like the Quadrille, Oysters and Clams, the Rotary Waltz (Viennese Waltz existed then but didn't achieve great popularity in America until the 1870s). Polkas, Mazurkas, and Schottishes are also enjoyable for the energetic. If you live on the West Coast, the American Civil War Society sponsors Civil War era balls. Their web site is www.acws.net. Also, the Lively Arts History Association has a great web site with links to local Vintage Dance events, including Civil War. Their website is www.lahacal.org/ We went to a Viennese Ball last weekend and met a lovely young lady there who just graduated from a college where she was on the Viennese Waltz exhibition dance team. She had an interesting comment about dance and fitness. She said, "I don't like to do regular exercise all, but I love to dance. Where else can I sweat and feel beautiful at the same time?" God bless all you dancers out there, daphne