Gaskell Ball



The Gaskell Ball was a Victorian-styled ball held by Ye Gaskell Occasional Dance Society in Oakland, California, United States, popular among historical re-creationists and vintage dance enthusiasts.

The ball began over 40 years ago, as an offshoot of a dance space known as "Mr. Fezziwig's Warehouse" of the Great Dickens Christmas Fair held in San Francisco. At "Fezziwigs" dozens of people were engaged by the producers to dance with the public all day long.

The Gaskell Ball was held at Oakland's Scottish Rite Center on the shore of Lake Merritt every two months through the end of 2014. Due to the increased costs of the hall, the event has become less frequent; only one ball was held in 2015, in October.

Music for the event was provided by "Brassworks", a popular local band. The evening included a basic vintage waltz lesson for early attendees and some small potluck refreshments. Dances were taught during a brief course before the ball begins, and include vintage waltz, schottische, polka, mazurka, and several English country dances. Occasionally, groups will form on the sidelines to dance alternate arrangements to the English Country songs; previous examples include Irish four-hand reels, the Scottish country dance "Petronella", the Virginia reel, and various Contra dances. Full Victorian dress is not required; the dress code is formal wear of the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. A minimum of semi-formal attire is requested by the ball staff. Although seldom exercised, the staff reserves the right to refuse entrance to those who are inappropriately attired. There are occasional performances by local dance troupes during the intermission, however there is no official dance group affiliated with the ball.

The Gaskell Ball is a favorite among dancers from the Stanford, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz social dance circles, and is widely credited for popularizing John Hertz's Congress of Vienna Waltz and Richard Powers' Bohemian National Polka choreographies.

Decreasing attendance and other venues providing similar experiences, the Gaskell Ball committee decided to stop holding the Balls in 2016. As of 2024, the producers are working to revive it.

History
The Gaskell Ball is named for the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell. The Gaskell Ball originated in 1979, when the troupe playing the Gaskell family at The Great Dickens Christmas Fair decided to hold a ball in her honor. The first official ball was held at Mills College, a women's college in Oakland.

Unofficially, it germinates from a 19th century dance party held in 1976 at Mills College because the Dickens Fair didn't happen that year. A Mills College student who had danced at Fezziwigs at the Dickens Fair's Army Street location in 1974 and 1975, hosted the event because with no month-long Fair, she and her friends were "going into dance withdrawal." These students and others would go on to continue working at the Dickens Fair where Carol Teten (Teton) was engaged to teach for the 1977, 1978 and 1979 seasons.

Following Mills College, Gaskell Ball moved to the Veterans' Auditorium on Lake Merritt in Oakland. In the 1990s the Ball outgrew the hall and was moved to accommodate the increased attendance at the Scottish Rite Center on the other side of Lake Merritt.