Our First Colonial Ball!

By now, you know that my family loves all things Colonial, thanks to our dear friends, The Gibsons, who introduced us to Colonial Williamsburg two years ago. And part of this living history experience of the Colonial period, is the English Country Dance. You know, like the dances you see in Pride and Prejudice?

And we were all thrilled to participate in our very first Colonial ball! The ball was organized by The Assembly Dancers of North Carolina, commemorating President George Washington's visit to the Town of Salem in May of 1791.

Little details like our table reservation card was so beautifully done.

And what music! Ginger and David Hildebrand of Colonial Music Institute, provided the live music for this special occasion. If you have never heard Colonial period music, you must try! Their newest CD, George Washington, The Music for the First President has a wonderful selection of period music.

And our dance master was John Fitzhugh Millar, from Willliamsburg. What an interesting person! John is a former museum director and captain of an historic full-rigged ship. The ships he had helped to build such as Revolutionary War frigate Rose and Continental Navy sloop Providence were in the movies such as "Master & Commander" and "Pirates of Caribbean".

If you get a chance to visit Williamsburg, also check out his Newport House B & B.

At the ball, we learned that there is much more to it than just learning the dance steps. The grace and mannerism of the Colonial dancing are so beautiful to see when done well.

My girl looking so beautiful.

But John Harvard and his pillow pet could not stay up past 9 pm!

It was an exciting experience for us all. And the Gibsons and my family hope to start an English Country Dance group in Savannah. So stay tuned for more......

To view more photos from our trip, click here.

If you are interested in Colonial dancing, check out colonialdance.org to get started or google to see if you have a group in your area.