Southern Styled Ballrooms

Southern Styled Ballrooms Media Rooms have replaced the Ballroom in most Southern Homes

Ballroom dancing as a social event was popular in the South at the turn of the 19th Century through the Antebellum period to the turn of the next century. Formal events, such “subscription” dances were a form of entertainment for the middle and uppercrust classes. (Folk dancing was reserved for the lower classes.) Traditionally, most ballroom dances were held in private residences, and this fact would have been true for the mostly rural orientation of the pre-war South. To some aristocrats, public balls would have been considered in poor taste, even though in some areas of the country, public balls were quite common.

Even though many have survived in historic homes, most formal ballrooms actually were found in only the largest and most elaborate Southern mansions. Ballrooms typically were generous, highly decorative, and featured tall ceilings—perhaps even taller than most of the other rooms in the house. Ideally, ballrooms were fashioned in a large square or rectangle, avoiding a long and narrow layout, which would have been confining for dancers. The floor typically consisted of polished wood. Spaciousness was important; it helped ensure that the dancers would have sufficient room to move about and that the orchestra’s sound would fill the entire room. If a home didn’t have a ballroom, then a large room in the house, such as a grand front hall, could suffice, as long as it was spacious enough to accommodate a large group.

As other forms of private and social entertainment became popular, ballrooms fell out of fashion as entertaining rooms in private homes. Ballroom dancing gradually shifted to public venues where most ballroom dances are still held today. The desire for social entertaining in private residences, however, has never fallen out of fashion. In the larger homes of today, the entertaining space that once may have been reserved for a ballroom is now reserved for a media room or a home theater— areas where friends can gather for entertainment of a more relaxed nature.

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