The Hampshire Regency Dancers - HRD

28/09/2026

Saturday 26th September saw a group from Hampshire Regency Dancers making a presentation at the Jane Austen Society Conference in Reading about Jane Austen, music and dance. Our Chairman, Chris Oswald gave the presentation using examples of musical scores that are included in the Austen/Knight/Jenkyns Music Archive. His presentation was about Regency dance and etiquette, referencing music from the Archive plus links to comments from Jane Austen’s letters and quotations from her books.

The attached video includes one set each of the dances used to illustrate points in the presentation.

Lady Mary Douglas: Archive reference: CHWJA/19/12 - music played by Ros Oswald

The Gloucester Waltz: Archive reference: CHWJA/19/2 - music from Dances for Jane Austen (DHDS 2011)

La Rose: CHWJA/19/2 - music by Green Ginger from their album Regency Country Dances. This dance was choreographed by the late Stuart Marsden especially for the HRD Ball 2017 commemorating Jane Austen on the 200th Anniversary of her death.

The Waterloo: also from the Archive - music played by Ros Oswald

La Dorset from Duval’s Lancers Quadrille: Jane Austen talked of quadrilles generally in her letter of 5th September 1816 - music by Green Ginger from Duval’s Lancers Quadrilles

Savage Dance: Archive reference:CHWJA/19/12 - music from Dances for Jane Austen (DHDS 2011)

La Boulanger: referred to by Jane Austen in her letter of 5th September 1796 - music played by Stuart Marsden from her album La Ballet Hollandaise

HRD dancers: David Lawrence, Ruth Carter, Kate Lobb, Adrian Lobb, Daniel Udanov, Aliki Lagoudaki, Christopher Bradbury and Jacqueline Bradbury.

Our thanks to Alison Lawrence for taking the videos.

07/09/2026

We still have a few tickets remaining for our Ball in October, celebrating the life of Ignatious Sancho, at the stunning Somerley House in Ringwood.
Don't miss your opportunity to dance in this beautiful venue. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Join The Hampshire Regency Dancers for our Annual ball 17th -18th October 2026. For more information and tickets, please contact [email protected]

12/08/2026

Photographs of our lovely picnic at Mompesson House:

12/08/2026

On Saturday, 8th August, Mompesson hosted members from Hampshire Regency Dancers for a picnic in the garden. We had a wonderful day, enjoyed a super Cream Tea and danced in the garden. Photographs to follow.

Of particular interest is the Regency era display in the house where a number of scenes from the 1995 film of Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson were filmed. Mompesson featured as Mrs Jennings’ London House.

Step back into a past world at the National Trust's Mompesson House in the celebrated Cathedral Close, Salisbury. Enjoy a peaceful sit in the garden tea-room.

01/08/2026

Dancing ‘Pavilion Waltz’ at Pax Hill. Dancing outside on a paved surface was tricky, we had to adapt the spin turn that we would usually dance with corner partners because of the surface.

Dancers: David & Alison Lawrence, Chris Bradbury, Vara Williams, Adrian & Kate Lobb

01/08/2026

Yesterday, Hampshire Regency Dancers were invited to take part in a Regency themed Afternoon Tea Party at Pax Hill Care Home, Bentley, near Farnham, Hampshire. Pax Hill Care Home is on the site of the Pax Hill estate which was the family home of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Move ment, and his wife, Olave for over 20 years during the 20th Century. We spent a most enjoyable afternoon entertaining the residents and staff with a number of Regency dances and a couple of talks about life in Regency England led by Kate Lobb, followed by a delicious afternoon tea.

The talks were given by Kate and Adrian Lobb; Kate talked generally of the Regency era with specific reference to costume. Adrian talked of the life of the ordinary soldier during this period, given the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.

A short clip of Ramsgate Assembly will follow.

01/08/2026

Join The Hampshire Regency Dancers for our Annual ball 17th -18th October 2026. For more information and tickets, please contact [email protected]

22/07/2026

A team from Hampshire Regency Dancers undertook an unusual commission yesterday- to teach Regency Dancing to a couple of groups of overseas students from Brazil and Spain at a Summer School held in Salisbury. They were an enthusiastic although challenging group occasionally because of the language difference which meant we had to simplify dance notations on the hoof. We led a couple of workshops followed by a mini-Ball and dinner in the evening. An enjoyable day for all.

19/07/2026

It is with great sadness that we heard of the sudden passing of Andrey Schildbach. Andrey was a long-term member of Hampshire Regency Dancers, we shared many happy times on the dance floor, and those memories will always be treasured.

He had been absent from dance classes for a few months but his sudden passing came as a great shock; only recently he was talking of rejoining us soon. We mourn his loss with a sense of deep gratitude — gratitude for a friend whose presence was impossible to ignore, whose spirit was generous and unmistakable, and whose larger-than-life personality, full of colour and character, left a mark on everyone lucky enough to know him. We will remember him with great fondness.

Our thoughts are with Natalia, his wife, and family and all who knew and loved him at this very sad time.

03/07/2026

https://youtu.be/RP6TfFGrpRc?si=PF9RM1Y8jWpVqNXe

Mr Turner's Academy Cotillion from Turner 1783 into La Violette Bul...