I'm writing something for which I need to know if, in a ball in the 1800s ,there was a customary way in which a man invited a woman to dance with him.
2006-06-23 09:35:49 · 25 answers · asked by Script 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Dancing
POlitely..
2006-06-23 09:39:16 · answer #1 · answered by sunflower 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Wow! I don't know, but I am a ballroom dancer and at a lot of the social dances we go to we do an "old custom" where we have dance cards and at certain times during the dance the DJ will say "okay, we have a rumba coming up. This is your dance card rumba" So I'm guessing other than asking politely if he may have this dance, they probably had dance cards.
2006-06-29 08:11:17 · answer #2 · answered by Samba Queen 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A phrase often used was:
"May I have the honor of this dance?"
If the lady was young, and in the presence of her mother or father, the gentleman might asked permission of the parent.
It was also common to have "Dance Cards". They were literally that - small notebooks that a lady hung upon her wrist with ribbon, and an attached pencil. The gentleman might ask if he could be allowed to place is name on the list. It established the order of dance partners, and...I guess...gave everyone "advanced warning".
2006-06-23 09:47:33 · answer #3 · answered by St. Hell 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They had dance cards. I went to dances in the 50's at school and we would have dance cards also. Fellows put their name down and when that # dance comes up, it's his. Also, if a man tapped a man on the shoulder while you were dancing, that was called cutting in and they would switch partners. I always thanked the man after a dance then excuse myself.
2006-06-26 13:28:40 · answer #4 · answered by folklore 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the women had a card on wich they wrote down all the names of the men who had "reserved a dance". all the men had to do was say may i have the next dance or may i have the last dance and etc. then the women worte down the name. sometime you could even reserve a dance with a women days before if you knew she was going to attend a ball
2006-06-23 09:41:44 · answer #5 · answered by topi5389 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depended completely on the situation. First and foremost, the man had to know how to dance.
You need to do some research on old etiquette books. The Library of Congress has many on-line in Adobe format. I've provided the link below.
There are some really funny things in there about personal hygene. (Well, perhaps more gross than funny!)
2006-06-23 09:40:04 · answer #6 · answered by fallenangel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually...Dance cards were used. This is a small booklet of the songs to be played that evening and a blank space beside it for a name. Gentlemen would go up to a Lady and ask to reserve a certain dance on her card. His name would be filled beside the dance requested. He would then wait for that dance to come up.
2006-06-23 09:47:32 · answer #7 · answered by Chantilylace 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Women had 'dance cards' or a list of men waiting to dance with her. He would ask if there was room on her dance card and, if so, could he have the next dance.
2006-06-23 13:48:35 · answer #8 · answered by sexygyrl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The man would grab the woman by the hair and drag her to the cave for some cave shaking loveing.
OHH a HUNDRED years ago, I thought you said 100, thousand years ago.
My mistake.
Ahhh the good old days
2006-06-29 09:14:20 · answer #9 · answered by willberb 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't know, but i heard about a woman that got pulled over by an Alabama State trooper. When he came to her window she asked "Are you going to sell me a ticket to the State Trooper's Ball?"
His reply was, "State Troopers don't have balls."
He thought a second about what he had said, closed his ticket book, went and got back in his car, and drove away.
The woman never did get a ticket.
2006-06-23 09:45:08 · answer #10 · answered by etngapech 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He would ask her to save a dance for him. Or he would ask her parents. She would then put him on her dance card and he would wait his turn.
2006-06-23 09:42:28 · answer #11 · answered by irartist 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋