Will you do me the honour of dancing with me?
Etiquette within ballrooms in the 18th to 20th Century was of utmost importance. In fact, there were so many rules that people made books full of ballroom etiquette! Every element of an evening of dancing had specific customs to follow, including whom you danced with.
Agreeing to attend a ball meant that you were also agreeing to dance for the majority of the evening. It was impolite to seclude yourself at the edge of the dance floor at a social event unless you did not know the steps to that particular dance. Being a social event, guests were expected to dance with as many different people as possible. It was even frowned upon to dance more than three times with the same person.
However, it was expected that the first dance of the evening be with your escort to the ball, unless it was a family member.
For the remainder of the evening, the men would ask the ladies to dance, but not before formally introducing themselves or exchanging bows and curtsies.
When a lady was asked to dance, she was expected to accept the invitation, unless she had previously promised to be someone else’s partner.
As dances became shorter in the early 19th century, ladies found it more and more difficult to keep track of their dance partners for the evening. This brought about the popularity of the dance card.
Dance cards came in many shapes and sizes, but they typically included the genre of dances in order with a space for a gentleman’s name beside each. Often the cards would have a small pencil attached by a long string or ribbon for the lady to wear around her wrist. Cards were often ornate and included more information about the evening’s events and attendees so that they might be kept as a souvenir. After all, balls were magnificent affairs that one would not want to forget!
