Two Assemblies in May

After the winter we've had here in Central New York, the prospect of not one but two assembly balls--one in Rochester and one in Spencerville, Ontario, just across the border--is a most welcome one. Here are the details:

First, the Eighth Annual Jane Austen Ball in Rochester, co-sponsored by the Country Dancers of Rochester and JASNA Rochester, will be held on Sunday, May 4, at 2 pm. The elegant private venue that has hosted the Ball for the past several years will once again be the setting (details available upon registration). A full prospectus for the weekend and a registration form are available at this page of the CDR website. The page also includes several YouTube videos, either from previous Balls or from CDR demonstration dances (click on the links for individual dance titles under the "Dance Program" heading).

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Second, some of our JASNA friends in Spencerville, Ontario, have sent us this prospectus for their ball later in May. Our correspondent, The Belle of the Ball, can be emailed at this address, and a YouTube video of last year's ball can be viewed here. The prospectus follows:

My dears, it is with limitless joy that we announce our forthcoming Regency Ball in Spencerville. We hope to enjoy your presence on May 23-25, 2014 for a series of dance workshops and Mrs. Sarah Spencer’s Regency Ball.

Our slate of entertainments is not yet complete, but may we entice you with the following:

Friday May 23 Ball Dances Workshop, 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Saturday May 24 Ball Dances Workshop, 10:00 to noon.

Saturday May 24 Callers Workshop, 2:00 to 4:00, wherein the services of many dancers are required.

Saturday May 24 Regency Ball, 7:30 to midnight, with a light repast at 9:30.

Sunday May 25 Advanced Dance workshop, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Additional fee required.

All dancing takes place at the Spencerville Town Hall.

All dancing workshops are casual dress.

The Regency Ball is mandatory period clothing.

Our caller is our good man David Smukler, with his delightful wife as accompanist, and his band of great renown for the ball.

Cost for this magnificent three-day event is $75 per person, with additional fee of $10 for the advanced Sunday workshop.

We trust we shall be favoured with your presence on this happy occasion.

Your humble servant,

The Belle of the Ball

 

Reminder Update: Ithaca Meeting, Sat., March 8

Here’s a very quick reminder of our JASNA Syracuse/Jane Austen Book Club of Ithaca joint meeting this coming Saturday, March 8, at 2 pm, at the Crow’s Nest Cafe on the second floor of the Autumn Leaves Bookstore, 115 The Commons, Ithaca.

Our topic for this meeting, as noted in earlier announcements, will be “Theatre and Performance in Mansfield Park.” We’ll discuss some of the questions that readers have raised through the years about the planned Bertram/Crawford performance of Lovers’ Vows--as well as the extent to which “all the world’s a stage” for at least some of the characters.

(And as you can see in the photo above, Action Jane Austen has no personal objection to home theatricals. In fact, she quite enjoys acting out dramatic tableaux with her friends Action Sigmund Freud, Action Spider-Man, Action Harry Potter, and Action Crazy Cat Lady, plus numerous cats and a few others. Clearly, Action Sigmund Freud lost the "Argument Clinic" from the Feb. 1 meeting at Liverpool!)

Finally, we pass along a few requests from our hosts for this meeting, the friendly “pirates” of the Crow’s Nest Cafe: Please don’t bring “outside” food or drink into the cafe, and we need to keep our voices to a conversational level, since the cafe shares open space with the rest of Autumn Leaves. We heartily encourage you to purchase food and beverages from the “pirates,” and we should be able to abide by the voice-level request if we refrain from “ranting” like Mr. Yates playing Baron Wildenhaim!