Its been an incredible year for new material. New reconstructions from
period texts constituted about 80 of the dances enjoyed at our Romeo
and Juliette 15th & 16th century Italian Ball in February, our early
18th century Cinderella Ball in March, our regency era Jane Austen
Ball in April, 1860s Gone with the Wind American Ball in May, our late
17th century Restoration Era Ball (together with play and song) in
June and our romantic Renaissance Ball just last Saturday.  We've just
updated our programs page on our web-site so if you want to check out
some of the dance names go to http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/past4.htm

Before introducing even more new fun dances at our planned late 18th
century style Pirates and Petticoat Ball in September, Jane Austen-era
Pride & Prejudice Ball in October and late-Victorian Mad Hatter's Ball
in November, its time for a breather!

The theme for the 4 weeks leading up to Saturday 16 of August is going
to be old favourites from Earthly Delights' eight collections of Lost
Dances (most recently published as Pleasure for Four Seasons - Spring,
Summer, Autumn and Winter, and Favourites for Four Settings - Village,
Country, Town and Court).

As the first published and recorded installments of those dances was
released with a ball at the Albert Hall on John's 40th birthday in mid-
August 1998, and as that launch led us to present many more public
balls at the Albert Hall, start weekly dance classes, create the 3rd
Saturday of the month St. John's costume ball series, and start the
Bordonian Heritage Dancers, this coming August's ball is going to be a
very special 10 year Anniversary Ball!

It might be a 21st Anniversary Ball if we counted from when John gave
his first dance workshop in Canberra in August 1987 (after 7 years as
a keen student of all sorts of dance at home and abroad) but there was
a hiatus of just band work and family life between the public dance
scene he and friends created in the 6 years following that workshop
(captured in his 1992 book, The Country Dance Companion) and the
public dance scene which he was instrumental in starting up in the
late 1990s.

Although John may have called every dance at that ball 10 years ago,
at the upcoming Anniversary Ball he's not going to be calling a single
one! A wonderful new crop of dance leaders are going to be passing the
dancing master's cane between them and leading everyone on dances in
every conceivable formation and to every conceivable rhythm… with John
relaxing with the band or joining revelers on the floor.

To help these new dance callers test drive their choices, do come down
to Dancing on the Lake at the YMCA Sailing Club, Alexandrina Drive,
Yarralumla, this coming Sunday - and the 2 Sundays thereafter.
There'll be, as always, live music, food, refreshments, a great dance
floor with great views and good company. The Sunday afternoon is the
engine room room that makes our costume balls work so well… so do make
a special effort over these next 3 weeks to come and support these up-
coming Canberra callers!

There's no need to dress up for the Sunday workshops, but do get all
your friends and family dressing up in a celebratory way for the ball
itself. There are some folk planning to come in the never-before-seen-
in-this-country Bordonian National Costumes!

Please pass on this message / invitation to participate not only to
all your personal friends but also to anyone you know who has played
or danced with John over the last 10 (or 21!) years. Posters ready for
printing off may be downloaded from http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/upcoming4.htm
.

Cheers4now,
Aylwen Gardiner-Garden