Fairfield, Pennsylvania - Saturday, May 13, 2006

Come to Village Hall (108 West Main Street) and learn the dances of the Civil War era in an informal setting from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Briant and Karin Bohleke will demonstrate and call each dance. All levels of dancers can join the fun, and new dances are introduced every month. Price is $6.00 per person. Please wear flat, leather-soled shoes and no running or athletic shoes with rubber soles. Fairfield is located about eight miles southwest of Gettysburg on Route 116. For more information and directions or to place your name on their mailing list, call Norma Calhoun, Civil War Dance Associates, at 717-337-0748 or email them at civilwardance@earthlink.net.

Morristown, New Jersey - Saturday, June 3, 2006

In conjunction with the "Gilded Age" exhibit at Acorn Hall, you are cordially invited to join the Morris County Historical Society and the Metropolitan Vintage Dance & Social Club for a Gilded Age Ball at the Gateways Mansion (Morristown Unitarian Fellowship), 21 Normandy Heights Road. Susan de Guardiola will precept and Spare Parts will provide live music. Formal vintage ball attire or modern formal wear is required (1880s evening wear is admired but not required). $30 per person (limited to 50 dancers) is postmarked by May 20; afterwards, the price is $35. For more information, email Karen Ann Kurlander at kakurlander@yahoo.com.

Fairfield, Pennsylvania - Saturday, June 10, 2006

Civil War Dance Associates cordially invites you to attend their Civil War-Era Ball at Village Hall, 108 W. Main Street. 8:00-11:00 p.m. (Fairfield is located about eight miles southwest of Gettysburg on Route 116.) Briant and Karin Bohleke will precept and the Gnutones will provide live music. Nineteenth-century period or modern semi-formal attire and white gloves (for the gentlemen) are required. Metal heel plates are not allowed on the dance floor, and the wearing of rubber-soled athletic shoes is discouraged. Light refreshments will be served. $15 per person. For more information call Norma Calhoun, Civil War Dance Associates, at 717-337-0748 or email them at civilwardance@earthlink.net.

Essex, Connecticut - Friday-Sunday, June 23-25, 2005

Bring your dancing shoes to the 14th-annual Hot Steamed Jazz Festival at the Valley Railroad Station, which this year has two tents with dance floors. Over a dozen traditional jazz groups perform at the three-day festival, including Banu Gibson, Canal Street Hot 5, Vince Giordano's Knight Hawks, Galvanized Jazz Band (with Jane Campedelli), Jeff Hughes & the Festival All-Stars, Traditional Jazz Collective, and Dan Levinson's Canary Cottage Dance Orchestra. Solo performers include pianists Neville Dickie and Bob Seely. A portion of the festival proceeds goes to Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Tickets are $20-$25 per session ($70 for the weekend). For tickets and additional information, call 800-348-0003 or visit www.hotsteamedjazz.com.

Woodstock, Connecticut - Friday/Sunday, June 23-25, 2006

Time-travel back to June 1897 and celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. A group of friends, some Scottish and some not, are gathered for the weekend at Horace Deming's new country house, and the Queen's Jubilee comes up in their conversation. It leads to reminiscences, perhaps romanticized, of "the old days" back in Scotland, which in turn triggers a do-it-yourself entertainment in the form of a Balmoral theme dance. They secure the nearby Grange for the dance, and plan a dance workshop before the ball. Those who still have earlier styles of clothing scurry to get them; men who have kilts or who can borrow them, do so; and others come in their clothes of the day, perhaps with a touch of tartan or a sprig of heather. In the customary manner of the era, they finish with a lovely midnight dinner back at the house. They all have a grand time relishing their latest "Memories of Balmoral." For more information about taking part in this weekend's entertainment, contact Veronica McClure at 781-321-0675 (h) or 617-495-4725 (o), or email her at veronica_mcclure@harvard.edu

Palo Alto, California - July 14-16, 2006

Back by popular demand, the Waltz Weekend on the campus of Stanford University is a total immersion in the most romantic partner dance of all. Led by Richard Powers and Angela Amarillas, Ryan and Monica Shen Knotts, and Joan Walton, the Waltz Weekend combines waltz technique and variations with secrets for great partnering. The Sunday night dance features the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra. For more information and to register online, visit http://dance.stanford.edu/danceweeks/waltzweekend.htm. NOTE: As of May 11, the Waltz Weekend was sold out and had a very short waiting list.

Palo Alto, California - Sunday-Friday, July 16-21, 2006

If you're planning to visit the San Francisco Bay area this summer, think about attending the Waltz & Swing Week on the campus of Stanford University. Led by Skippy Blair, Jodi Fleischman, Ryan and Monica Shen Knotts, Norma Miller, Richard Powers, Anne Remsen, and Joan Walton, you'll learn "a huge variety of waltz and swing variations." Music for the balls will be provided by the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra and the Bob Saul Dance Orchestra. Danse Libre and the Knotts Dance Company will present a dance concert. For more information and to register online, visit http://dance.stanford.edu/danceweeks/

Moodus, Connecticut - Friday-Sunday, July 28-30, 2006

Fans of Traditional Jazz and Swing will have ample opportunity to dance the One-Step, Foxtrot, Charleston, Lindy Hop, and Swing at the Great Connecticut Jazz Festival, which again takes place at the Sunrise Resort. Bands will include Blue Street, Cornet Chop Suey, The Wolverines, Igor & the Jazz Cowboys, Jeff Barnhart's Coast-to-Coast All-Stars, The Bearcats, Galvanized Jazz Band, Tex Wyndham & Friends, Dan Levinson & RL Tradition, Washboard Slim & the Blue Lights, Swing 39, Fryer-Balaban Swingtet, Connecticut Festival Band, Jonathan "Jazz" Russell, U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band, and the Elm City Banjo Society. For ticket information, call 800-HOT-EVENT or visit their website at www.ctjazz.org/.

San Mateo, California - Saturday, August 5, 2006

The Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society (PEERS) presents the Turkish Delight Viennese Ball at the San Mateo Masonic Temple, 100 N. Ellsworth Avenue. Details TBA. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For information, email peers@peer.org or see our website at http://www.peers.org.

Portsmouth, Rhode Island - Monday/Saturday, Aug. 14-20, 2006

The 2006 Newport Vintage Dance Week will take place on the seaside campus of the Portsmouth Abbey School, a short drive north of Newport, Rhode Island. The Dance Week is an opportunity to combine vintage dance with the pleasures of Victorian summer life. Classes will offer instruction in 19th and early 20th-century ballroom dancing. Formal balls typically take place at the Astors' Beechwood mansion (1890s), the Glen Manor House (Ragtime), and the Rotunda Ballroom (1860s). Other events will include formal teas, croquet games and Victorian amusements, and tours of nearby historic Newport. Dance instructors will be Idy Coddington, Patri Pugliese, Cathy Stephens, and Hannelore Unfried. Ragtime-era musical entertainment will be provided by Ian Whitcomb. For additional information, visit http://www.vintagedancers.org/newport/index.html. Contact Hannah Roberts Artuso at Newport@vintagedancers.org or phone her before 10 p.m. (ET) at 781-662-8344.

San Mateo, California - Saturday, September 2, 2006

The Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society (PEERS) presents the Captain Morgan's Privateers (We Ain't Pirates No More) Ball at the San Mateo Masonic Temple, 100 N. Ellsworth Avenue. Details TBA. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For information, email peers@peer.org or see our website at http://www.peers.org.

Atlanta, Georgia - November 3-5, 2006

The Atlanta Waltz Society is planning a Vintage Dance Weekend led by Richard Powers. Details TBA. Check periodically at http://www.splittree.org/atlantawaltzsociety.htm.

Wethersfield, Connecticut - Saturday, December 9, 2006

Moments in Time and the Vintage Dance Society cordially invite you to attend the Victorian Winter Holiday Ball at Keeney Memorial Hall, 150 Main Street. 8:00-11:00 p.m. Precepted by Marc Casslar, the ball will feature live music by the New River Dance Orchestra. There will be a workshop in the dances of the Victorian era at Keeney from 1:30-3:30 p.m. the day of the ball. Formal, period or military attire is encouraged. A gender balance will be maintained, and couples must register together. Unregistered couples will be admitted at the door only if space is available, so registration is strongly urged. For additional information, call Marc at 860-286-9191 or email him at vintagedance@snet.net.