Details
Our next Jane Austen Ball will take place on April 27, 2025. This information is for the most recent ball to give you an idea of the format for our next ball.
Our 15th annual English Country dance weekend in Rochester, NY took place on April 29 & 30, 2023. The weekend included two Ball practice sessions, an experienced English dance, and a Sunday afternoon Regency period ball in a roomy, elegant ballroom, with most of the dancers in costumes reminiscent of Jane Austen’s time. Click here for a printable flyer and registration form.
Tom Amessé will return for a fourth time as our caller and we are looking forward to superb music from Shandy: Eileen Nicholson, Rebecca McCallum & Jane Knoeck. Advance registration is required for the Sunday practice and the Ball. The Saturday events are pay-at-the-door this year.
Preparation: Dancers should have prior experience with English Country dancing and be at least 17 years old. Even though dances at the Ball are walked through and prompted, we strongly encourage dancers to take advantage of our prep sessions, practices, and the Ball instructions & videos provided here. Dancers will give themselves — and their partners — the greatest pleasure if they are familiar with the afternoon’s program before the Ball.
Dances will be chosen from the following list:
Click on dance names to see videos. Dance instructions can be viewed here. Those instructions take priority if the videos differ in interpretation.
Schedule of Events
Sundays, April 2, 16 & 23
2:30 – 5:00 pm: Ball prep sessions, at First Baptist Church, 175 Allens Creek Rd, Rochester, NY 14618. $5 per session. Newcomers to English country dancing should attend all Ball prep sessions. We welcome everyone to also attend our usual beginner-friendly evening dance on those days at the same place. Due to COVID restrictions, there will be no potluck in between as in previous years.
Saturday, April 29
2:30-5:00 pm: Ball practice led by Tom Amessé at First Baptist Church with music by Shandy, $10;Pay at the door, credit cards accepted. Jumble sale fundraiser. We will accept cash, check or credit card as payment.
6:30-9:30 pm: Experienced English dance, at First Baptist. An evening of challenging but rewarding dances and old favorites. Solid familiarity with English country dancing assumed; basic figures will not be taught and walk-throughs will be minimal. Music by Shandy, dances taught by a cavalcade of regional callers. $20. Pay at the door, credit cards accepted. Open to all with the needed skills — you don’t have to be coming to the Ball. No potluck dinner before hand this year.
Sunday, April 30
9:00 am: Welcome table opens at the Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Ave., 14607. Changing rooms are available. Your Ball nametag will give you free admission to the art gallery (a value of $14 – $25), open 11 AM to 5 PM. We will be holding a silent auction featuring some fine items, including several opportunities to have a caller create a dance especially for you, and an autographed copy of “Measured Murder: An English Country Dance Mystery,” by Eugénie West. We will accept cash, check or credit card as payment.
10 am-Noon: Final Ball practice at the MAG Ballroom, led by Tom Amessé with music by Shandy. Included in the Ball ticket price.
Noon – 1:45: Break for lunch (optional) and the opportunity to change into ball attire.
1:45: Minuet demonstration.
2:00 -5:30 pm: The Ball, with multiple breaks and boxed refreshments mid-way.
Further details
Registration: Registration is now closed. There is a slight possibility that a spot will open up if someone has to cancel, so if you want to attend, contact the registrar at about your interest. The registrar can also help with any other registration-related questions. Note that Saturday events of the weekend do not require registration.
If you need to cancel, contact the registrar, so that someone else can use your spot. If you cancel by April 16, we will give you a full refund; no refunds thereafter except for medical reasons, unless we can find someone to take your place.
Dress: Regency period attire is encouraged but anything formal or dressy is fine. Lisa Brown of Regency Rentals offers rentals of Regency era costumes by appointment. Contact her at to inquire. Lisa’s guides to Regency Ball attire for ladies and gentlemen may also be of interest.
COVID Safety: Like many large English dance events drawing people from many different regions, we are requiring masks and proof of vaccination, even if masks are not required at other (non-Ball weekend) CDR events:
- Everyone must provide proof of being up to date with COVID vaccines (full vaccination and at least one booster). See the “When Are You Up to Date?” section of this CDC article for a definition of adequate proof.
- Everyone must wear an N95, KN95, or KF94 mask at every event.
Note that the policy for this event is more strict than the overall CDR policy shown elsewhere on this website.
Your Ball registration is conditional until we receive your proof of vaccination. Please email an image of your vax documentation (showing full vaccination and at least one booster) to the Ball Registrar at or send it by post to Jane Austen Ball, c/o Chris Cassidy, 26 Granite Drive, Penfield, NY 14526), to arrive within 3 days of registration if possible.
There is no pre-registration for Saturday events this year. Anyone coming only to the Saturday practice or the experienced dance should bring vax documentation along in person and present it at the admission table at the first event you attend.
We are asking dancers who have already submitted vax documentation to Country Dancers of Rochester for our local dances to re-submit for this event, as we are not certain that local records are up to date on boosters.
We share your frustration with these measures, but we would rather err on the side of caution than risk our dancers’ health. We will not relax these masking rules even if conditions improve.
Caller
Tom Amessé
Before Tom discovered English Country Dance, he pursued several interests which included both American History, and acting. If he seems a natural on stage, some of the credit goes to his having acted in local community theater! He has been a dance leader for over 20 years in New York City and northeastern New Jersey, and is well known for his entertaining and relaxed demeanor and for his ability to make complicated figures seem easy. That clarity and easy going style has caused him to become a favorite across the USA as well as in Canada, England and Wales. You might also find him calling Contra dances and Square dances, and playing his fiddle at Irish music sessions. Mostly though, he is very happy that dancing has resumed.
Band
Shandy
Eileen Kalfass (violin), Rebecca McCallum (violin), Jane Knoeck (piano & accordion)
The musicians in Shandy have played together in various combinations for years and are now performing as a trio, playing for both English country and contra dancing. Past English events include the 2017 Rochester Jane Austen Ball and a Colin Hume ECD weekend in Toronto in 2019. Rebecca contributed her classically trained violin style to Rochester contra and English dances for many years, until she moved out of the area, and Eileen and Jane, as Sister Haggis, play often at the Rochester English dances.
Eileen has a new (award winning) CD, available on her website. Jane is the doyenne of Rochester dance piano for both English country and contra. Both Jane and Rebecca have played in the nationally known touring band, The Groovemongers, as well as River Bend, New Brew, and others.