Many of the people who have attended previous Civil War Balls have worn period garb. This year’s ball is set for 7 to 10 p.m. April 29 at the Waverly Community House in Waverly.
Period dress for both events admired but not required
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For the Ragtime Brunch, set this year for Sunday, April 30, attendees might want to wear clothing reminiscent of the final season of ‘Downton Abbey.’
“There’s an adage that re-enactors don’t dance, and dancers don’t re-enact,” Jennifer Ochman of West Pittston said, laughing as she spoke because she’s living proof the adage isn’t true.
“I myself am a re-enactor,” she said.
If you’ve ever attended tea at the Stegmaier Mansion in Wilkes-Barre, Ochman may have been your hostess, dressed in period garb to explain anything from the sentiments of Victorian Valentines to the household customs of the Downton Abbey-era.
She’s a dancer as well, and is greatly looking forward to the Lackawanna Historical Society’s 17th Grand Civil War Ball, set for Saturday, April 29 at the Waverly Comunity House in Waverly.
Proceeds of the ball, and of a ragtime brunch planned for the next morning, will benefit the Lackawanna Historical Society.
But, you say, you don’t know the first thing about dance styles of the 1860s?
Don’t worry. Several hours before the ball begins, dance lessons will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Waverly Community House, so ball-goers will be prepared for the Virginia Reel, some quadrilles and other dances that would have set Scarlett O’Hara’s heart skipping.
Speaking of the fictional heroine of “Gone With the Wind,” some of the ladies who attend the ball are likely to be dressed wide-skirted gowns similar to what Scarlett would have worn. And some of the gentlemen who escort the ladies may well dress in Civil War blues or grays.
“I would say the hard-core dancers who have been doing this a long time have either made their own costumes or had someone make them,” Ochman said.
But it’s not necessary to arrive looking as if you stepped off a movie set, or out of an illustration from Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women.”
“I would never want someone to think that if they don’t come in costume we’d turn them away,” Ochman said. “While we get people who rent costumes from Taney’s or find a prom gown at the Salvation Army, all we really ask is that people dress up a little — men with a jacket and tie, and for the ladies, a cocktail dress.”
The dance itself takes place from 7 to 10 p.m., with doors open at 6 p.m.
Music will be provided by Spare Parts, a band from Massachusetts that specializes in music of the 19th and early 20th century. “They’ve done music for movie sound tracks and TV shows along with a lot of dances,” Ochman said. “They’ve done contra dances and played at the Dance Flurry in Saratoga.”
The evening will include light refreshments. Cost is $40 per person, and tickets may be purchased at lackawannahistory.org or at the door. Reservations also may be made at 570-344-3841.
A mere 13 hours after the Civil War Ball comes to an end, the Spare Parts musicians will figuratively jump ahead half a century to provide 1910-style ragtime music 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30, during a brunch at the historic Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton.
“When you call the Radisson to make a brunch reservation,” Ochman said, “be sure to say you want to be seated ‘with the dancers.’ Then the staff will know you want to stay and dance, and they won’t expect you to eat and leave quickly.”
For this dance as well, costumes are admired but not required. If you’d like to appear in historic attire, Ochman said, “think daytime wear for ‘The Titanic,’ or something out of the last season of Downton Abbey.”
Admission to that event is $39 for adults and $19 for children. For reservations, call the front desk at the Radisson at 570-342-8300.
At past dances, Ochman said, women have sometimes outnumbered the men.
“It’s not a problem,” she said. “In group dances, it doesn’t matter if you’re paired with another lady.”
It is a little sad, she noted, “our culture does not necessarily encourage dancing for men. But I always tell young men who are learning to dance, ‘Keep with it, because young ladies will appreciate you for it.’ “