Netherfield in November: Modern Day Balls?

When I think Netherfield, I immediately think, balls! And dancing! (Obviously, I’m not the only one.) One of my favourite things about Austen stories are the balls, especially seeing them played out on the movie screen. There’s not a Pride & Prejudice lover out there who can’t picture Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy verbally sparring while dancing at the Netherfield Ball. I especially love in the 2005 version where the other dancers disappear and it’s just the two of them as if no one else is in the room, showing how focused they are on each other, the intensity of their feelings.

My favorite ball scene though, has to be from Becoming Jane, when poor Jane has to dance with Wisley (*yawn*), then suddenly Tom Lefroy is there. Her breath catches. He smiles at her, and she tries so hard not to show how excited she is that he’s there. They stare at each other, they touch, they dance. Oh the sexual tension! *dies*

Can you tell I love a dance scene? I’ve put some form of dancing in all of my books, because to me there’s nothing more romantic, more intimate, more sexy without being *ahem* sex, than dancing.

Unfortunately, in Persuasion, Anne doesn’t get to dance with Frederick (correct me if I’m wrong- maybe they do and I’ve forgotten? Not counting the waltz scene at the end of the 2007 movie). But I HAD TO HAVE dancing when I wrote SWAY, my modern Persuasion retelling, especially when there was such a huge musical influence throughout the book.

In one scene, my main character Ava (Anne), goes out to a club with Eric, Lacey, Mari, and Charlie (Captain Wentworth, Louisa Musgrove, Mary Musgrove, and Charles Musgrove). She’s the odd one out, since Mari and Charlie are married, and Lacey and Eric have just gotten together. At first, Ava just sits there watching Eric and Lacey getting close on the dance floor, and feeling a bit sorry for herself. Then she decides to get out there and dance. She does the cliche (but effective) “dance like no one is watching,” except someone is. While the reader assumes Eric is stealing glances (of course he is), another man has noticed her: Gage. This is where they meet, and they soon begin dating.

Another scene features Ava and Gage at a modern-day ball, a charity function called The Heavenly Hearts Ball. Ava has fun with Gage, but is overtaken during a slow dance by a memory of Eric.

There are other dance scenes in SWAY, but my favorite is just a moment, a short dance between Ava and Eric at a party near the end of the book. Here’s a look:Sway

Eric tucked the strand of hair behind my ear, and then his hand dropped to my shoulder, sliding down my arm until he grasped my hand in his. He pressed his fingers into my back, drawing me even closer. I snaked one arm around his neck while he rested our clasped hands against his chest. Our bodies moved together, resuming a dance that had broken off so long ago.

“Great theme,” Eric said, his voice husky.

“Beth’s idea. You fit right in.”

His lips quirked. “It’s my time.”

We swayed, oblivious to everything, as if we’d really gone back to the time of diamonds and cigarettes and music that tugged at the soul. My fingers brushed the skin above his suit collar, toyed with the hair at the back of his neck. Our legs pressed into each other’s as we danced ever closer.

“Being near you is like a forest fire,” Eric said. “Completely out of control.” I stared at him wide-eyed. “It’s from the movie. Brad says it to Jan.”

“Oh.” I deflated a little. “Good line.”

He studied my face. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, his eyes trained over my shoulder into the hallway behind. We stopped moving. The music continued but our dance was over.

It’s not long. Just a taste. A moment of dancing, but a moment that conveys so many thoughts and emotions. To me, it’s the pain of their past and a hope for their future in just a few seconds of slow dancing. To me, dancing is magical. And if I can’t go to a modern day ball, you can bet I’m going to write about them!

What’s your favourite Austen ball or dance scene?

 

17 comments

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    • Sophia on November 23, 2016 at 3:42 am
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    Oh *sigh* what a wonderful little snippet!! Now I’m dying to know if Eva and Eric do end up together?!
    I do love balls, the dancing, the anticipation and the idea of seeing that special man you want to dance with enter the ball room!
    My favourite ball scene has to be the Pride and Prejudice 2005 ball scene between Darcy and Elizabeth where they see only each other, it’s so powerful, intense and intimate and of course the ball scene from Becoming Jane, I almost always start smiling like a Cheshire Cat when Tom suddenly appears and starts to dance with Jane! It’s such a good scene! *sigh* to be fond of dancing was a certain first step towards falling in love!

    1. I agree with you 100%. There’s something intensely romantic about a dance.

    • Anji on November 23, 2016 at 10:02 am
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    Your memory is correct I think, Melanie. I can’t remember Anne and CFW dancing together in Persuasion, either.

    When P&P 1995 came out, our son was only three and every time there was a dancing scene, he insisted that we all had to get up and dance in a circle holding hands. Happy memories, and for that reason, the Meryton Assembly and Netherfield Ball from 1995 simply HAVE to be my favourites.

    1. I love that your son insisted on dancing! Adorable! The ’95 P&P was my first exposure to Jane Austen so the Netherfield Ball will always have a special place in my heart.

    • Carole in Canada on November 23, 2016 at 11:26 am
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    Oh the tension between Elizabeth and Darcy in the 1995 Netherfield ball! But then I think of the dance scenes in ‘Bride & Prejudice’ and what fun they were! Loved ‘Sway’!

    1. Thanks! I’ve only seen Bride & Prejudice once- I’ll definitely have to rewatch sometime.

    • Glynis on November 23, 2016 at 1:21 pm
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    I also enjoy a good dance scene and love both 1995 & 2005 Netherfield Balls as well as Becoming Jane. I read P&P many many years ago as a teenager and have since read the rest but P&P is by far my favourite. I loved the 1995 series and can’t count the number of times I have watched both that and the film. I also like Persuasion and enjoyed your excerpt from Sway. I usually only read Darcy and Elizabeth books but I do have this on my wish list as I have read many excellent reviews.

    1. Thank you so much! P&P is a fave of mine but I’ve always really loved and connected to the angst of Persuasion. 😉

  1. I adore Persuasion, and I also love the dancing scene between Fanny and Edmund in Mansfield Park. It’s Fanny’s “coming out” ball, and Edmund comes to dance with her, angry at Mary Crawford’s meanness of spirit. He finds his rest and repose with Fanny; they can enjoy “the luxury of silence” together as he can with no other.

    Although this is reading between the lines, I think Edmund finally sees Fanny as more than just his cousin; she’s a beautiful young woman, more authentic and true-of-heart than Mary Crawford could ever hope to be. And we see glimpses of his change toward Fanny when he gives her the chain for William’s cross pendant for her to wear to the ball.

    Thank you for a lovely post, and I will have to look into Sway.

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    1. I forgot about Fanny and Edmund’s dance! And you’re so right, I also think it’s when he starts to see Fanny as more than just his cousin, and all the feels Fanny has for him is heartbreaking.

    • Mary on November 23, 2016 at 3:25 pm
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    The ’95 version of the Nethetfield Ball,I think is so well done. The tense atmosphere between Darcy and Elizabeth is so profound,I almost feel that they will instantly combust if it doesn’t end soon.
    She is the only lady he is not acquainted with,that he chose as his dance partner,yet all she can see is his wish to deride her,disdain and find fault with her.
    Be still my aching heart!

    1. Totally! The tension is so intense. P&P has got to be one of the original enemies to lovers stories from which all others sprang!

    • Carol on November 23, 2016 at 3:51 pm
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    1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle finally dancing. The only Darcy and Elizabeth out there. As I reread Pride and Prejudice, or any of the variations, those two are the only two that appear. There are other dance scenes in other Austen films, but the 1995 version is the only one that I have not only multiple copies of on, but multiple formats: VHS, DVD, and BluRay. Actually, wore out a VHS tape! 😍

    1. Lol, I think my mom wore her VHS tape out too! I bought my first copy on DVD so didn’t have that problem, although mine is getting on in years now!
      I prefer the ’95 version as well, although I liked how they did the dance in the ’05 with the rest of the dancers disappearing. It was a nice touch.

    • Sheila L. Majczan on November 29, 2016 at 12:27 pm
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    The scenes mentioned here are all good in my book as is the first dance in Bride And Prejudice. But from a modern JAFF you must watch this tango below sent to me by Cat Gardiner for her book, Denial of Conscience. Elizabeth and Darcy first “meet” when she goes to a dance studio to learn a dance for the wedding…they dance a tango together in silence. Dances can bring so much sexual tension, unfulfilled, to the story…as bodies touch and hands wander and eyes meet and hold. I also like the movie in which Edmund and Fanny dance (1999) and I agree that in the movie we feel the relationship from his side change – yes, Fanny looks beautiful and she is more than a cousin.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0QHcUSGYY Assassin’s Tango

    • EvelynTost on December 7, 2016 at 11:47 pm
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    Sheila,
    The tango you linked above made me think of the tango in the movie “Easy Virtue” with Colin Firth. If you haven’t seen the dance, you should try to take a look at it. There are posts of it on YouTube of just the tango from the movie. It really is something, and we can try to imagine him as Darcy and the woman as Elizabeth–perhaps. Colin is really something, boy can he dance!!

    Thank you!

      • Sheila L. Majczan on December 7, 2016 at 11:50 pm
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      I have not seen that movie so thanks for letting me know about the You Tube postings. I will check it out.

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