For the second time, Chestnut, the Paris-based company of English figure dances headed by Cécile Laye, has chosen the Bath Assembly Rooms for:

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Friday, May 31, 2019

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Summary

• Programme of the day
• Organisation and construction of the Chestnut’s costume ball
• Programme of the ball
• Preparing for the ball
• Dress code
• Musicians
• Price
• Registration
• Information
• Flyer

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PROGRAMME of Friday, May 31 2019 Ball :

• 9.30 am – 01.30 pm Rehearsal in the Assembly Rooms
• 07.00 pm Opening of the Costume Ball
• 09.00 pm Buffet  (Searcys)
• 11.30 pm Conclusion of the Ball

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ORGANISATION and construction of Chestnut’s Costume Ball:

The 10th Costume Ball organised by Chestnut will take place in the ball room of the upper Assembly Rooms in Bath (upper Assembly Rooms); the ballroom and the rest of the building were designed by John Wood the younger and inaugurated on September 30, 1771, five years before Jane Austen was born.

The May 31, 2019 ball will not be limited to dances of the Regency period. Rather, it is meant as a retrospective of English figure country dances, covering four historical periods and with dances graded from easy to advanced.

Categories of dancers:

In order to better satisfy all taking part in the ball – dancers and onlookers- the dances fall into three categories, each meant for a particular group of dancers:

• Persons who do not usually dance (the general public)
• Beginners who have taken the monthly workshops or the intensive workshop for beginners
• Dancers who have prepared the most difficult dances on the programme during the PCB half-day workshops or the intensive workshops for advanced dancers

The dances – Grade of difficulty

• 1^stgrade dances will be open to all (all three categories and the general public)
• 2^ndgrade dances are meant for Beginners and Advanced dancers. The sets will have been built beforehand during the workshops.
• 3rd grade dances are open only to the Advanced category. For these dances the sets will have been built beforehand during the workshops. 

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Set building: the composition of all sets will have been determined before the Ball for some of the 2^nd grade dances and all of the 3^rd  grade ones.

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Programme of the ball:

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Arrival in a procession of all costumed dancers to Assembly Rooms

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Welcome by the Presidency

Beginning of the ball 

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Part I: In the Beginning 

• Drive the Cold Winter away (1^st grade)
• Argeers (3^rd grade)
• Northern Nancy (1^st grade)
• Adson’s Saraband (3^rd grade)

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Demonstration:  The Merry Milkmaids

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Part II: After the monopoly

• The Round (2^nd grade)
• The Humours of the Age (3^rd grade)
• The Cuckoo (2^nd grade)
• 3-time sequel (Mr Beveridge’s Maggot / Mr Isaac’s Maggot) (3^rd grade)
• Sicilian Circle sequel (La Pantomime and Market Day) (1^st grade)

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Pause : buffet (prepared by Searcys)

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Part III: From Jane to Victoria

• La Fille du Pasteur (1^st grade)
• Ramsgate Assembly (2^nd grade)

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Demonstration: A variation on summer

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• Lady Caroline Bertie (1^st grade)
• Cotillon Les Ombres Chinoises (3^rd grade)
• La Galopade, a mixer (1^st grade)
• La Révolution de la France (3^rd grade)

Part IV: The New Choreographers

• Haste to the Wedding (1^st grade)
• Elspeth (3^rd grade)
• Heidenröslein (2^nd grade)
• Celui qui Chantait (1^st grade)

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Demonstration: Boadicea (choregraphy by Cécile Laye)

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• Quite Carried Away (2^ndgrade) 
• Westminster Hall (3^rd grade)
• The Slip (2^nd grade)

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End of the Ball

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DRESS CODE:

All dancers in Regency dress, as fitting in such a superb ballroom. Onlookers to dress formally.

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MUSICIANS:

Music for the ball will be played by the The Theater of Music– Marion Fermé (4 musicians) :

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PREPARING for the Costume Ball, for our British friends:

Depending on the number of British dancers proposing to attend the Ball, a workshop led by Robert Moir may be arranged.

Contact: rhmoir@icloud.comor 01594 510276.

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For your information, here is how Chestnut members and dancers are preparing for this Ball:

• Half-day monthly workshops of Preparation for the Costume Ball (PCB) for advanced dancers, on Satutday afternoons (14:30-17:30 /Venue B, Paris 12 / Prices)  and workshops for beginners the following day (Sunday 10:30-16:30 / (Venue A, Paris 14 / Prices), on September 29-30 / November 10-11 / Décember 8-9 / January12-13 / February  9-10 / March  16-17 / April  6-7 / May  18-19

• Intensive workshops over several days (for beginners, intermediate and advanced dancers) to be held during the Easter Holidays (Venue A, Paris 14): PCB for beginners: April 22-23-24, 2019 / PCB for advanced dancers : April 25-28, 2019

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SPECIAL PRICE for our British friends: £48 per dancer

 

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REGISTRATION:

in Great Britain, registration and payment (£48) should be made with Hazel and Robert Moir, with a cheque to Wye Valley Folk Dance Group or a bank transfer. Contact: rhmoir@icloud.com or 01594 510276.

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INFORMATION:

Contact: rhmoir@icloud.com or 01594 510276.

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FLYER:

Flyer Chestnut Bath 2019