BACDS' 1726 Ball
A Choice Selection of Country Dances from the Year 1726
Historical English country dancing for modern feet
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Albany Veterans Memorial Building,
1325 Portland Ave,
Albany, CA
Dancing 6:45p–10:00p
EXPERIENCED DANCERS ONLY*
We on the 1726 Ball Committee are excited to welcome all *experienced modern English country dancers to this unique event. Kalia has chosen a program from dances published in this year, including the famous Neal collection from Dublin and volumes published in London from Pearson and Young. Modern interpretations are from Jackson and Fogg, Charles Bolton, and Andrew Shaw. It’s a great program of quirky versions, old favorites, and exciting baroque fun, with storylines!
The music will be brought to life by some of the finest baroque musicians in the country. Check out the Talent page for their impressive bios.
There is now a video for every dance on the program. Click on the Dances tab for complete dance instructions, videos, and sources for the tunes and dances. Be careful! Some well-known titles are not what you expect! These are not The Collier’s Daughter and Portsmouth that you know, but they are fun to dance, with slightly different tunes. We will have ball booklets available at the dance, and possibly before, for your reference and as a keepsake. The dance order will be posted at the Ball.
There will be some costumes on the floor, but danceability is key. Feel free to dress up if you like or wear your spiffiest comfortable dance clothes. Shoes? The floor was refinished about a year ago. The surface is good, clean hardwood, and the hundred year old hall has a good feeling, neither too fast nor too slow.
There are Work Trade tickets available for half price if you can help with some of the bigger jobs.
Make it a weekend! In addition to the ball on Saturday, there will be a Friday night dance for all called by Kalia which will include previews of the more challenging ball dances, and a Sunday afternoon dance in Petaluma on October 18 called by Rachel Pusey and Dilip Sequeria from Seattle. We will use positional calling at all the three events. Friday night and Sunday afternoon dances will be a mix of historic and modern dances.
We cannot guarantee to meet every need, but some hospitality can be provided for out of town guests. Please let us know on your registration if you can put travelers up at your home or help with transportation in the area. Travelers, we look forward to meeting you. Let us know what you need.
We look forward to dancing with you in Albany, California on Saturday, October 17, 2026!
Seventeen-Twenty-Six!
Dance Leaders: Kalia Kliban, Sharon Green, Mary Luckhardt.
Music by: Judy Linsenberg (recorders), Robert Mealy (violin), David Morris (cello/gamba), Katherine Heater (harpsichord).
*Experience: The 1726 Ball is for experienced English Country Dancers, so instruction will be streamlined. We expect dancers attending this ball to be completely comfortable with heys for three and four, double figure eights, and triple minor progression. They should also be able to maintain their sense of orientation within the set. This is not the time to bring your friends who are new to English country dancing. At the ball there will be one walkthrough, with prompting only as needed.