Here are photos and videos from our Playford-to-the-Present 2022 English Country Dance Ball. It was a wonderful return to (almost) normalcy, with good friends, gorgeous music, and exquisite dancing. We had attendees from all over California and even a few from across the country, creating a beautiful feeling of community.

The ball was held on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Pasadena, California. Dance leader Val Medve of Vermont presided over the event, while Persons of Quality (Jon Berger (violin), Jim Oakden (various), and Rebecca King (keyboard)) provided live music. It was a wonderfully full weekend of dancing and music as Val, Jon, and Rebecca oversaw our Friday night final review too.

Want to know more about the history of our ball? Check out our page A Brief History of CCECD.

(Click on an image to enlarge.)

Playford-to-the-Present 2022 Program of Dances (in program order): Well Done Jack (S-I), Doctor Who (S), Dance of a Lifetime (S-I), The Potter’s Wheel (I), Huntington’s Maggot (C), Saint John’s Meeting House (S-I), Ruby Crowned Kinglet (FTWK), The Collier’s Daughter (I), A Trip to Provence (S-I), Blythe Company (I), Sherry at the Ball (I-C), Benjamin’s Birth Day (I), Mrs. Hill’s Dance (FTWK), Flora and Phaon (I), Highland Farewell (S).
(S=Simple, I=Intermediate, C=Complex, FTWK=For Those Who Know.)

All images used with permission as noted. CCECD thanks Alex Bradley, Kate Fitzgerald, Jacqui Grennan, Cara King, Christine McKay, Val Medve and Tom Medve, and Alice Williams for sharing their photos with us.

Playford-to-the-Present 2022 Videos

Here are videos of two dances from the Playford-to-the-Present 2022 ball.

Saint John’s Meeting House

This dance, Saint John’s Meeting House, is a 2013 reconstruction by Andrew Shaw of a dance from 1708. “Note: This is the figure of the dance Kelston House, published by John Walsh in Twenty Four New Country Dances for the Year 1708, the original tune for which is problematic,” Shaw wrote in the book of dances and tunes edited and arranged by Rebecca King. Thanks to Val Medve for the video.

Blythe Company

Blythe Company was written by Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett in 2012, to the traditional English tune All Among the Barley. Thanks to Val Medve for the video.

Want to see more of our videos? Check out our Videos page, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Did you miss the ball this year? Be sure to join us next year!

See more Playford-to-the-Present photos.