Come Fill Your Dance Card

AN IN PERSON EVENT WITH UCL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEBREW AND JEWISH STUDIES. 

UCL venue to be announced when you register

TICKETS ARE STRICTLY LIMITED!

 Ballroom dancing was a favourite form of entertainment in the long nineteenth century–and a crucial way for upper class British Jews to show they belonged in high society. By looking at dance cards, such as those found in the Rabbi Moses Gaster papers, we can find out which dances were popular at Jewish balls. In this special event, we will learn about the Gaster papers and about how to party like British Jews around 1900. Internationally-acclaimed historical dance teacher Susan de Guardiola (USA) will teach us social dances from a 1909 dance card in the Gaster papers. Dr Sonia Gollance (UCL HJS), a leading expert on Jewish social dance, will share insights from her research about London Jewish balls and Hebrew & Jewish Studies Subject Liaison Librarian Vanessa Freedman will introduce us to the Gaster papers. This event coincides with the bicentennial of UCL, the first English university to admit Jewish students.