"On that Tuesday night in November, as on most Tuesdays, the room was being used as a classroom for Ruzicka and more than two dozen others to learn the dances and social etiquette of the 19th century English ballroom. Ruzicka had dressed for the part. Donning a Regency-era men's tailcoat, waistcoat and ruffled shirt, the theater actor, writer and director from Livermore was cosplaying Fitzwilliam Darcy, the aloof romantic hero of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." More specifically, his outfit was inspired by a suit that Colin Firth wore while playing Darcy in the beloved 1995 BBC series adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice.""
"For the next two hours, Ruzicka danced with a swirl of partners. Some also had dressed up, displaying elegant gowns they had sewn themselves, made with glimmering fabrics and featuring shoulder-baring necklines and voluminous skirts, puffed up with petticoats or crinoline. All together, this combination of costumes and period dance - with waltz music by Johann Strauss I - created a vision of a long-ago time in Europe or America, when balls and village dances provided a key way for people to socialize."
John Ruzicka and more than two dozen participants attend weekly Tuesday classes to learn 19th-century English ballroom dances and etiquette, often dressing in period attire. Participants wear Regency-era menswear and elaborate gowns with petticoats or crinoline, and dance to waltzes by Johann Strauss I. The classes recreate the social atmosphere of historical balls and village dances. Period Events and Entertainments Recreation Society Inc., founded by James and Cathleen Myers, organizes the sessions. James serves as dance master, calling steps and rhythms, while Cathleen demonstrates movements and provides brief historical context during instruction.
Read at The Mercury News
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