Lexington Vintage Dance Society

Music and dance were an important part of Mary Todd Lincoln’s education and social life. With the UK Symphony Orchestra, dancers will let us experience this part of Mary Todd’s youth and her courtship by Abraham Lincoln.

photo by: Joseph Rey Au

From the Kentucky Arts Council’s Performing Arts Catalog:

Ladies’ dresses swirl gracefully and gentlemen’s tailcoats fly to the music of romantic waltzes and robust mazurkas when the Lexington Vintage Dance Society takes the stage. Specializing in the ballroom and social dances of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Lexington Vintage Dance Society captures these eras with verve and historical authenticity: Regency (1800-1830), the time of Lewis and Clark and Jane Austen; Romantic (1840-1875) with dynamic polkas, waltzes, and mazurkas; Late Victorian (1875-1905), with the glorious Viennese waltz; Ragtime (1910-1917), when people moved in new ways to new music; and Jazz Age (1920-1935), era of the Charleston.

Audiences love the interplay of dance, history, music, and beautiful costumes. People say they didn’t realize dances of the past were so lively and so much fun.

One of the few performing vintage dance groups in the nation, the Lexington Vintage Dance Society also offers workshops, classes, and demonstrations.