Grand Bal (1847)

One of the oldest documents in this series is an announcement by the club La Concorde in Ghent for a "Grand Bal". Balls were a favourite form of entertainment in the 19th century, and costume balls were particularly popular.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/21978930

Grand Bal (1847)

The flipside of this porcelain card lists the programme of the evening. The polkas and waltzes are taken from the hits of the day, most of which are now completely forgotten opera and ballet repertoire. Adam's "Le diable à quatre" and Halévy's "Mousquetaires de la Reine", however, were recent premieres from Paris. Note that the organizers were planning a long evening, as the order of dances was to be repeated after the first run.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/21978930

Dancing lessons

Those who needed dancing lessons knew where to go. Our collection of porcelain cards includes several business cards of mainly French professionals offering dance and music lessons.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/21949134

Students ball (1913)

Announcement for a festive evening organised by the Cercle des Etudiants Wallons Libéraux of the University of Ghent (27 January 1913).

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/1233881

Ballet school (1929)

The girls of the ballet class of the Arthur Van Praet gymnastics club in Baasrode pose with their teacher.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/1434637

Balinese dancer (1930)

A young dancer performing on a market square of Denpasar on Bali. Louis Varlez, lawyer and professor of sociology, and his nephew Lucien Brunin visited Bali, then part of the Dutch East Indies, in January 1930.

Photo by Louis Varlez (18/01/1930).
https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/29171490

Children's ballet

Children performing a ballet for the charitable organisation Kindergeluk (1920s-1930s).

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/1701442

Pointed feet (1938)

One of the dance groups performing for Kindergeluk in 1938 was "De Jeugd" from Malines.

Photo by Edw. Cluytens
https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/1718495

Dance class (1939)

Children rehearsing in the dance class of Kindergeluk.

Photo by Jan Buyse.
https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/1697234

Talent in the making

Duet of young Marc Hertsens and an unknown dancer in a school performance by Diesterweg's Hulpkas (1930s).
Antwerp-born Marc Hertsens went on to have a successful career in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s as dancer and choreographer of ballets and musicals. Hertsens also published books on ballet technique.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/4588530

Bal du Rat Mort (1954)

The Bal du Rat Mort is an annual fundraising event organised since 1898 to this very day by the charity "Cercle Cœcilia" in Ostend. Inspired by the famous Café du Rat-Mort in Paris, the Rat Mort is usually a themed ball requiring a certain dress code and masks.

Photo by Emile Michaël (8 March 1954).
https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/2826453

Hitting the floor at work (1958)

Employees of the printing house Hoste are having fun at the annual decoration event of the company. After the co-workers had received their badges of honour, a brunch and a bit of dancing were always part of the proceedings.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/43199256

Excellencies can dance too

Minister of Public works and Reconstruction Omer Vanaudenhove (1955-61) dancing with his wife Elisabeth Eatough.

https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/14249419

Independence ball in Leopoldville

People in Leopoldville are celebrating the independence of the former Belgian colony. As is well known, however, the amicable and carefree mood depicted here was very short-lived and the young republic of Congo had to face a difficult start.

Photo by R. Stalin / Congopresse (30 June 1960).
https://hdl.handle.net/21.12117/3810626