SALEM — Locals can party like the dickens at a Dec. 11 dance at Old Town Hall.
Charles Dickens, that is.
Dickensian costumes are encouraged — but not required — at a Victorian-style ball Saturday at Old Town Hall in Derby Square. Named for a Christmas dance attended by a youthful Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," Fezziwig's Ball will have all things Victorian — from the music and dancing to the food and Fezziwig himself, played by an actor.
The event is a collaboration between the Gordon College Institute of Public History, which leases Old Town Hall, and the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, a nonprofit with a focus on education and the performance of 19th and early 20th century social dances.
"If you've always wanted to experience that traditional Victorian Dickens Christmas, this is as close as you're going to get," said Nicole Carlson, a member of the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers.
The evening will begin with caroling through Derby Square at 7 p.m. and dancing at 8 p.m. Lessons will be given throughout the night.
The evening's quadrilles, waltzes and contra dances have been chosen to closely reflect a 19th century ball program, Carlson said. Spare Parts, a band that specializes in 19th Century music, will provide the evening's music.
Although costumes add to the evening's charm, attendees without Victorian garb are encouraged to dress in evening wear.
"Costumes are so much fun, but we don't want to scare people who look in their closets and don't see anything that would remotely work," Carlson said. "The dancing is our first priority."
The dance is family-friendly, and children in upper elementary grades and older are welcome.
Old Town Hall was build in 1816, three years before Queen Victoria was born. With an elevated stage and wide, open floor, the upper floor of the hall is perfect for a dance, said Kristina Wacome Stevick, artistic director of History Alive, a branch of the Gordon College Institute of Public History.
"(Events like this) help people remember history in a way that reading about it in a book or reading it online wouldn't really do," Stevick said. "You're surrounded by the total atmosphere, the hall, the costumes, the period food. It helps people time travel."
The Gordon College Institute of Public History also has a five-year lease with the city of Salem to oversee Pioneer Village, a re-creation of Salem in 1630.
Last year's Fezziwig's Ball, the first ever, came together because a member of the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers is friends with David Goss, the institute's director. Roughly 100 people came, but the evening was cut short by an impending snowstorm, Carlson said.
Commonwealth Vintage Dancers membership ranges from stay-at-home moms to college professors, all with a penchant for the social dances of yesteryear. The group hosts dances and educational events, including regular workshops at Old Town Hall.
The group is planning a Jane Austen-style dance for Old Town Hall in February.
"We have dancing that fills part of the social realm in the 21st century," Carlson said. "(But) it's not really about dancing as a series of steps and graceful music. It's more loud music and clubs.
"(Years ago,) dancing was something that everyone knew how to do. It's something everyone learned, and maybe you weren't great at it, but everyone did it. To go to a ball was the highlight of the week, the season."
"(Social dancing) really is something that is lost now, the social interaction in a place where you go simply to dance, enjoy being with other people and enjoy the movement of the dancing."
IF YOU GO
Fezziwig's Ball
Saturday, December 11
Salem's Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square, Salem
Caroling starts at 7 p.m. and dancing, with lessons, at 8 p.m.
General admission is $35, $20 for students; tickets available at the door or online
For complete details or to purchase tickets, visit vintagedancers.org/fezziwig.html or call 617-819-4283.
