The Grand March

Do not forget, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow we have a pre-Halloween Ball at the premises of the Pearl. It will be a costumed ball, and the ladies will do their utmost best to look scary and sexy (yes , I know gentlemen, you prefer the last). I decided to go for the scary accent this year, so be aware of my entree. The faint of heart are best advised to grab a Lady and let her hold your hands. We expect nothing less from our admirors, by the way. Do not flout tradition and show up in "Peeled Banana" costume, or worse "Newbie in Freebie". Make an effort, scare the other gents so the ladies can offer appropriate solace.

As Victorian Balls go, SL is not well endowed, because the majority of the dances that are most commonly practiced at similar occasions, are in fact post Victorian and way to lewd for the tastes of the time. Even the majestic Walz was originally received as the 'Dirty Dancing' of the age, and only gradually accepted. Of course, we at the Pearl do not particularly mind being subjected to the horrors of a lascivious dance, even a futuristic one like the Tango, but it wouldn't hurt either to re-enact the decorum of our more restrained brethren. And , yes, I am extremely tempted to explain some of the grueling facts of the Walz to our esteemed, but demure sisters of Antiquity, hereby proving, as some have maintained, that I am quite a vicious person.

But I digress. Re-enacting the Victorian dances is difficult as SL does not have equivallents. With some tools, however we CAN enact the opening dance of a Victorian ball : the Grand March. Basically, it was all the couples at the ball walking up and down the ballroom. On the internet , one can find several schemes for the dance, proving that there was quite some diversity. Wich allows us the interpret this with some leeway and adapt it to our needs.

I took the liberty to make a brief choreografy for the Grand March, which is to be held in our Garden. The picture shows a top view of the garden and two landmarks, marked with A and B. These landmarks you will find on the dance schedules that follow after.
Three colours are used : orange represents the ladies, blue the gentlemen and Green is for couples
to form couples, you will use the couple ball rezzers that will be available at the appropriate places

the first figure starts at point A. We form couples and walk calmly (to allow other couples to mount their poseballs) to point B. There the couples split up and ladies and gents separate , walking in diffrenet directions around the garden. Both lines cross roughly at the dancing floor and end up and the lower corners, from where they march back to point A

The second figure also starts at A. Couples walk again towards point B, where every couple goes either left or right (1st left, 2nd right, etc..) . Roughly near the dancing floor, the couples split. The ladies cross the dance floor , the gents kep on walking the same direction

both meet at the lower corners , meaning that different couples must be formed here. These couples walk back to point A

The final figure, once more starting at A, has the couples walk a bit in the direction of point B, and then turn right, for a stroll over the docks. There is a hole in the fence that will allow to re-enter the garden grounds, from where you walk toward point B
Here ladies and gents separate and form two lines, facing each other.
Ladies and gents wait until the line has settled and then they greet each other formally
This is the end of the dance.
I am aware that this is quite simple, as the real Grand March had a whole list of figures, but I gathered that 3 will be enough for a start, and that we will probably end up in giggling confusion anyway.