From the Ballroom to Hell: Grace and Folly in Nineteenth-century Dance

From the Ballroom to Hell: Grace and Folly in Nineteenth-century Dance
ISBN-10
0810109131
ISBN-13
9780810109131
Category
History
Pages
225
Language
English
Published
1991
Publisher
Northwestern University Press
Author
Elizabeth Aldrich

Description

During the 1800s, dance and etiquette manuals provided ordinary men and women with the keys to becoming gentlemen and ladies--and thus advancing in society. Why dance? To the insecure and status-oriented upper middle class, the ballroom embodied the perfect setting in which to demonstrate one's fitness for membership in genteel society. From the Ballroom to Hell collects over 100 little-known excerpts from dance, etiquette, beauty, and fashion manuals from the nineteenth century. Included are instructions for performing various dances, as well as musical scores, costume patterns, and the proper way to hold one's posture, fork, gloves, and fan. While of particular interest to dancers, dance historians, and choreographers, anyone fascinated by the ways and mores of the period will find From the Ballroom to Hell an endearing and informative glimpse of America's past.

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