Jane Austen-themed ball at Bank of England Museum among Regency dance events

Inside the high-arched lobby of the Bank of England Museum, women in flowing satin dresses twirled around men in stiff collars and black tailcoats as violins played at a Jane Austen-themed ball — one of many held by historical dance societies across the country. Enthusiasts of the Regency period, including fans of Netflix’s Bridgerton, gather to learn and perform dances from Austen’s era.

David Symington and Irina Porter became friends through such gatherings; "People who take part in these events get a lot of personal interaction – and that’s something we are gradually losing," Porter said. Gemima Lodge told the paper: "It’s a really effective socialising space. You see the same faces and start making connections." Costumes are central, with some commissioning tailors and others, like Mary Davidson and Lian Cooper, sewing dresses from old bedsheets, curtains and secondhand sarees.

Davidson said: "Everyone is so disconnected, stuck behind their phones now. We’re harking back to the old times." Organisers and callers reconstruct dances from 18th-century manuals and notation systems such as John Playford’s The Dancing Master, the Beauchamp-Feuillet system and its Simplified Feuillet form, translated by John Essex.

Jennifer Thorp, a dance historian, described the early guides as "the first visual guide we get" with tunes and floor plans.

Key Topics

Culture, Jane Austen, Regency Dance, Beauchamp-feuillet, Bridgerton