Public invited to annual Evening of English Country Dancing

The public is invited to celebrate Regency England during the ninth annual Evening of English Country Dancing, Friday, April 6 in the gymnasium of Horace Mann Laboratory School, located in Everett Brown Education Hall on the Northwest Missouri State University campus.

The evening will include dance instruction, beginning at 6:30 pm with dance caller Jerome Grisanti leading participants through the steps, and dancing from 7 to 9 pm.

The event is free and sponsored by Northwest’s department of language, literature and writing. Participants are invited, but not required, to dress in period costumes.

English country dancing dates back to the Renaissance and was popular during the Regency period. English country dancing is often portrayed in Jane Austen movies.

Grisanti began dancing in 1977. He moved to Maryville in 2006 and dances in Kansas City and Lawrence, KS. He began calling in 2001 in Louisville, KY, and enjoys calling square dances and English country dances.