Question: If I am not mistaken, at balls, etc., dances were done in sets of two. If that’s true, were they the same kind of dance, or two different kinds of dances, such a country dance and then a quadrille? Also, did people follow that same format in less formal settings such as a country ball or dancing after a dinner party or during a house party.
Response: To the best of my knowledge, the general custom was to have dances in sets of two. They were usually the same type of dances. After every two sets there would be a fast single dance like a boulanger, jig, etc. These single tunes were for a change of tempo. Local assemblies could be more informal.
Either the Master of Ceremony in the local assemblies or one of the organizers of the event decided which kind of dance it would be.
Formal balls and court balls still opened with the minuet, but that was otherwise forgotten.
Dancing at a house party would be noticeably more informal than anything held in a public assembly room, even a very small assembly room like that in Jane Austen’s “The Watsons.” If the house party is small enough, and the folks all know each other, I think a writer can do anything he/she wants in writing the scene; ditto with. This would also prove impromptu dancing at a dinner party where everyone knows each other.
For more proof of the paired dances at public assemblies, etc., one might look to our beloved Jane Austen’s Emma. In it, Frank Churchill tells Emma that the party he has been planning and which will be hosted by his father, Mr. Weston, has been moved to an inn because of its larger rooms.
Before the middle of the next day, he [Frank Churchill] was at Hartfield; and he entered the room with such an agreeable smile as certified the continuance of the scheme. It soon appeared that he came to announce an improvement.
“Well, Miss Woodhouse,” he almost immediately began, “your inclination for dancing has not been quite frightened away, I hope, by the terrors of my father’s little rooms. I bring a new proposal on the subject: — a thought of my father’s, which waits only your approbation to be acted upon. May I hope for the honour of your hand for the two first dances of this little projected ball, to be given, not at Randalls, but at the Crown Inn?”
Though, even Austen does not say whether a country dance might be paired with a minuet. It appears to be only a pairing of country dances. Would it not be lovely to be able to ask an expert these questions?
Oh, and if anyone’s interested, chapters 28-29 of Emma have quite a nice lot of details about planning a small private ball and the type of dancing to be expected at such an event.
Other Sources:
Every Woman Dreams... 