Pride and Prejudice

Dance Workshop and Ball

February 24th, April 20-22nd

Please note: at least one March workshop and lecture will be added.

Upcoming Danceweavers, 1812Dance and JaneAustenDancing events

 ————————

Discover some of the lost joys of our shared past. The social dances of Jane Austen's time and the 1812 era are fun, full of variety, and easy to learn.

No partner or dance experience needed.

————————

Friday, February 24

 1812 dance — introductory talk and beginners' workshop

An Ontario Heritage Trust Heritage Week event

 Canadians were dance-crazy in 1812, men and women alike. Come find out why!

Easy to learn: no partner or dance experience required, no lead or follow, and no fancy footwork! This is not like the couples' dance you're used to. You will

be weaving patterns in groups with the other dancers, to lively and

beautiful traditional tunes.

All welcome.

———————————————— 

Schedule

7.30 — Doors open

7.45 — Registration

8 - 10 — Informal talk on social dance in the 1812 era and beginners' dance workshop. Includes a break with light refreshments.

Cost

If you pre-register via e-mail: $20 / $15 for students; group and family rates are available for pre-registration only. Cheques accepted for pre-registration.

At the door: $25 / $20

What to bring

A reusable cup or water bottle. Please wear comfortable, layered clothes and flat shoes — no heels or sandal-type shoes will be allowed. Old running shoes work well (new ones are too sticky and won't let you turn well). Jazz shoes and Oxford-type shoes are also good. Rubber soles can be too sticky; check to see if you can turn easily on the ball of your foot.

Venue

St. Barnabas Anglican Church hall, 361 Danforth Ave at Chester subway. The entrance is on the side street, Hampton Ave., south side of Danforth. Go through the gate and straight through the playground.

Venues: Danceweavers, 1812Dance and JaneAustenDancing events take place in various locations, but central and on the subway line unless otherwise specified. We also travel — if you would like me to do an event in your community, please contact me at 1812Dance at Danceweavers dot ca.

 ———————— 

*** SHOE POLICY ***

Flat shoes only. No heels, sandals or open-type shoes will be permitted on the dance floor. No exceptions will be made.

For more information on Karen Millyard's 1812 dance, music and lectures, click here.

For more information on services available to museums, schools, municipalities, film and theatre production companies, click here.

————————

A Weekend with Jane Austen

April 20-22, 2012

Toronto, Ontario

All welcome — you do not have to be a member of the Jane Austen Society to attend.

 ————————

Pricing will be posted this coming week.  This page is being updated very frequently (check the date at the bottom of the page) with new links and information on the programme, schedule, travel, accommodations, and so on, so please check regularly for new information.

Workshops, lectures, fashion show, tours, concert, ball — more details

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME (subject to change; details will be added frequently)

Friday, April 20

An evening at Historic Fort York

Weekend registration, a lamplight tour of the Regency-era fort, a dance demonstration, fashion show, and Regency supper.

Saturday, April 21

At St. Barnabas Anglican Church Hall, 361 Danforth Ave. at Chester subway

The wonderful Book City will provide a book table for Saturday morning and afternoon. The novels of Austen, Burney and other late-Georgian writers will be featured, as well as relevant non-fiction.

Talk on dance in the novels of Jane Austen and Fanny Burney, by Karen Millyard

"The accommodations to be had on board a man o' war" — power-point presentation by renowned military historian Peter Twist

Informal lecture on late 18th-century portraiture by Prof. Karen Stanworth of York University

Hands-on letter-writing workshop; materials and postage will be provided; the quill is yours to keep. Letters will be franked and posted at Toronto's First Post Office.

Prof. Robert Morrison of Queen's University, Kingston, will give a talk on his new, annotated edition of Persuasion, just published by Harvard University Press. Copies will be available for purchase and signing.

Pre-ball workshop: English Country Dance basics

Evening ball with live music, Regency-era refreshments and polite society.

Sunday, April 22

A day at the historic and lovely Montgomery's Inn.

Regency table games (instructions provided)

Tour of the Inn

A talk on Regency underwear

Historical lacemaking: a lecture and demonstration

A concert of music from Jane Austen's personal collection

Farewell tea and mingle — see you next year!

*** The Toronto chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) will set up an information table during the weekend. ***

*** The Jane Austen Shop will be on-site during the weekend. ***

UPDATE : Letter-writing workshop -- lively talk on letter-writing in an age not only before our "keyboard culture" but long before the ballpoint pen! Full of fascinating detail and followed by a hands-on workshop. You will learn how to use a quill pen and ink, write, fold and seal your own letter, which will be posted at Toronto's First Post Office. All materials furnished, and the quill is yours to keep. Letter-writing materials, including antique stone inkpots, will also be available for purchase. Workshop led by Kate McAuley of TFPO and Mackenzie House Museum.

Porter airlines has frequent and excellent seat sales. They fly from Canadian and American cities right into downtown Toronto, so travel times, lineups and waits are all much shorter than travelling via Pearson International outside the city. Lower departure fees, as well. American cities include Burlington, Vermont; Myrtle Beach; Chicago; New York; Boston; and Washington DC. Canadian cities include St John's; Moncton; Halifax; Quebec City; Montreal; Ottawa; Timmins; Sudbury; Sault St Marie; Windsor; and Thunder Bay. For information on Billy Bishop International Airport and its fantastic central location, click here.

Cheap, quick and hassle-free. 

In the works for later this year: a Regency breakfast, a Regency supper club, a Midsummer ball, Trafalgar Ball, Netherfield Ball, Fezziwig's Christmas party, Dinner at Pemberley, and more!

 Your Dancing Mistress Karen Millyard has been leading English Country Dances (specializing in 1812-era, or Regency style) for years. She is a choreographer, researcher, consultant and professional dance teacher who works in museums and historical sites, theatre, television, schools and the community. She believes that dancing at Publick Assemblies ought to be fun rather than perfect!

It may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successively, without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind; — but when a beginning is made — when the felicities of rapid motion have once been, though slightly, felt — it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more.

— Emma, Jane Austen  

A Danceweavers Presentation

Toronto English Country Dancers
for information on the modern-dress community-based dance group

Updated February 21, 2012.

Past events