York Regency Dancers

The Regency era lasted from 1811 to 1820, and was named after the man who ruled society, the Prince Regent. The Prince of Wales was named Regent in place of his father George III, who had been made mad by a disease called porphyria. Later known as George IV when king, the Prince of Wales presided over a very hedonistic period in history. The Prince Regent’s own extravagant lifestyle and tastes can be seen in buildings such as the Brighton Pavilion and Carlton House. This time period was made famous by the likes of Beau Brummell, Lord Byron, Ann Radcliffe, Horatio Nelson, and Jane Austen. The Regency era has come alive in the modern world through movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s works, and the novels created by Georgette Heyer’s extensive research.

Articles & Websites
About the Prince Regent — Jane Austen
The Napoleonic War Series — The War Times Journal
Historical Maritime Society — The Naval Re=enactors

The War of 1812 (1812-1814)

Interested in seeing us dance? We we typically perform at these events, however, sadly, due to Covid-19, all performances have been cancelled until further notice.

For more information about the annual Queen Charlotte’s Birthday Ball, click here.

Interested in booking us for your event? Check out our Bookings page.

The York Regency Dancers are a performance group based at Fort York in Toronto, Canada. The group strives to demonstrate historically accurate social dances from the 18th and early 19th centuries to show the public how soldiers and their families amused themselves during this time period. The dances performed by the York Regency Dancers are researched and documented examples from historic dance manuals.

The York Regency Dancers were formed by Heritage Toronto in 1992 as a volunteer organization. The group debuted at the Heritage Showcase at Sherway Gardens in 1993. Over the years, the York Regency Dancers have grown in number and repertoire into a respected resource for Regency dance and costume. Newcomers are always welcome. Please see the membership page.

The 200 Dances Project

There is a wonderful new project afoot for the Regency dance world! English country dance repertoires are often limited to the few great CDs of English country dance music on the market, meaning hundreds of fascinating dances are not performed for the public. Regencydances.org and historic music trio, Ensemble ad Libitum,  are endeavouring to record over 200 English country dance tunes. Should the project receive ample funding, they will be able to produce 16 CDs and mp3 downloads for historic dance groups all over the world – they would be grateful for some financial support.

This is a time sensitive matter, however, as there are only 60 days and counting to raise £12,500! The final date for contribution is September 28, 2013. It will be great to have this resource available to the historic dance community if we all contribute. Please spread the word to any and all contacts who would be interested in preserving and furthering the repertoire of English country dance!