Waltz of fun: Wooster Dance to host third Jane Austen Ball March 25

Bryce Buyakie, The Daily Record
·2 min read
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WOOSTER − After two years of pandemic-related cancelations, the annual Jane Austen Ball is back.

Wooster Dance will host its third Austen-themed shindig from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 25 at the Wayne Center for the Arts where (at 6:30 p.m.) guests can learn the moves to 11 dances.

Susan English and Rebekah Lay dress in period costumes in advance of the Jane Austen Ball to be held March 25 at Wayne Center for the Arts.
Susan English and Rebekah Lay dress in period costumes in advance of the Jane Austen Ball to be held March 25 at Wayne Center for the Arts.

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Live music will be performed by Fourpence while Susan English will coordinate the dances. Costumes or outfits that have a look from the 1800s are encouraged but not required. No partner is necessary.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. To register visit woosterdance.com or call 330-463-2787.

Celebrating the era of Jane Austen

English will be the modern day dancing master, prompting partners when and how to dance as the night unfolds like in the days of Austen, who died in 1817.

For the dance veteran, the activity is about community building, having fun and exercise, but it is also about teaching others how to do different dances.

"We put on old time dances," English said about Wooster Dance. "There has been a growing interest in Jane Austen over the years."

That interest allows her to teach longways, a common upperclass dance during Austen's time where two lines of dancers face each other with each partner standing across from the other, she said.

At the March 25 event, guests will perform longways, triplets, square dances, waltzes and more. Some of the specific dances will include the Waggoner, College Hornpipe, Lady Nelson's Waltz Cotillion and La Boulangere.

"Jane Austen really enjoyed square (dances), so we had to include at least one," English said.

Links to videos are included on the Wooster Dance website. English will teach participants these dances at 6:30 p.m. before the event kicks off.

"We are delighted to have the event in the renovated Wayne Center for the Arts auditorium, and we'd like to thank them for hosting us," she said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Waltz of fun: Wooster Dance to host third Jane Austen Ball March 25