” ‘Whom are you going to dance with?’ asked Mr. Knightley.
She hesitated a moment, and then replied, ‘With you, if you will ask me.’ ”
                                     — Jane Austen, “Emma”, 1815

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One would hardly find it forgivable should the gallant Captain Wentworth miss an opportunity to dance in Boston, home of the American Waltz — in the 1830s, the form was simply known as “the Boston”.    

Captain Wentworth’s native kingdom, of course, has a much longer history of balls and dances, of which a glimpse can be caught in the following excerpts:

   “Though I would not have you a dancer, yet, when you do dance, I would have you dance well, as I would have you do everything you do well. There is no one thing so trifling, but which (if it is to be done at all) ought to be done well. Dancing is in itself a very trifling, silly thing; but it is one of those established follies to which people of sense are sometimes obliged to conform. I desire you will particularly attend to the graceful motion of your arms; which, with the manner of putting on your hat, and giving your hand, is all that a gentleman need attend to.”*
— Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, “Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman, 1746-47”

Since that time, Captain Wentworth has learned to enjoy more modern forms of dance as well.

DiscoSwingSalsaTango
Paso Doble

Waltz

*For the sake of matching quotes to posts, sometimes I have taken the liberty of reorganizing sentences. Please see original publication for precise diction and syntax.

** These photos of collectible figurines were found on various Web sites and are probably © Disney