Regency Dance
by Alan Winston
music by David Strong, Craig Johnson, and friendsThe English Regency, strictly speaking, is 1811-1820; that's the period when George III was too sick with porphyria to rule, and his wastrel son ruled in his stead as Prince Regent. This is the period of Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Lord Nelson, Napoleon, Beethoven, Haydn - major names in literature, war, science, music - even the concertina was invented during the Regency.
Regency dancing evokes the spirit of the aristocracy of that period. We'll do dances with some connection to the period, and possibly some modern compositions in the style of the period. We may look at some waltzes choreographed with Regency figures (like "An Easy Competence" or "Congress of Vienna.")
Alan Winston, one of the founders of the Bay Area English Regency Society (www.sfregency.org), has been doing Regency dance since 1978 and teaching it since 1985, at monthly dance parties (www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/1815/fridays.html),
period-themed balls, and science-fiction conventions, among other places. His clear, friendly, instruction has helped a lot of beginners to enjoy country dancing.Craig Johnson and David Strong are superb country dance musicians who play often for historically-themed balls and modern English dances.
