Students attended the Regency Masquerade Ball last Sunday evening.
Isabella Zink | Collegian

The Cravats and Bluestockings Club hosted their Regency Masquerade Ball on Sunday, April 2 in the Mauck Solarium. The event featured food, punch, English country dancing, and, of course, masks. 

Junior Alexandra Gess, the club’s event planner, said her goal was to provide an environment which combined learning about the history and social culture of the Regency era with the fun of dancing in a communal setting. The plan was to teach nine different dances from the era, with breaks in between to take advantage of the food and punch, as well as to chat. The club also created a dance card system, with a slight twist. Instead of gentlemen using the dance cards to reserve dances with certain partners, people could use them to record who they danced with and keep them as mementos. 

The fascinating dynamic of English country dances is that they are even more social than regular ballroom dancing; not only does one dance with their partner, they dance with the people around them too, and often trade partners in the process. The fact that everyone is learning the dances together provides an added element of community. 

As Gess said, “Everyone’s kind of in it together.” 

Junior Charis Linton, who attended the event, appreciated this aspect of the community, commenting that it was fun to meet multiple partners in one dance and have an opportunity to mix and mingle. Though she initially came to see people and eat food, she ended up enjoying the dancing as well. 

“The dances were fun and surprisingly easier to follow than you’d imagine by watching,” Linton said. 

Senior Aidan Johnston also observed the fun of learning the dances with friends. 

When asked what brought him to the event, he answered quite simply, “Richie.” 

He said the highlight of the evening for him was realizing how fun the dancing could be, despite having no prior experience.

Though the dancing was very elegant, there was much energy, and the masks added a humorous element. That everyone was learning together added to the energy. 

Whether it was four dancers trying to figure out how on earth they were supposed to “star,” a girl attempting to fix her elaborate hairstyle mid-dance and eventually passing her partner her hair accessories, or simply laughing at the names of the dances while sipping punch in the corner, there was a good time to be found all around. The dances certainly had unique names, such as “Money in Both Pockets” and “Ship’s Cook.” 

Gess said her favorite dance name had to be “Mr. Isaac’s Maggot,” though she admitted she still has no idea what a maggot is.