A ball is a formal dance event often characterised by a banquet followed by a social dancing. Ball dancing emerged from formal dances during the Middle Ages and carried on through different iterations throughout succeeding centuries, such as the 17th century Baroque dance and the 18th century cotillion. Several variations exists such as the masquerade and debutante ball as well as the more modern prom.
Two ladies are presented to Emperor Franz Joseph at a ball in the Hofburg Imperial Palace, painting by Wilhelm Gause (1900)
A ball at the Russian imperial court in the 1910s
A Finnish author Väinö Linna (left) and his translator Nils-Börje Stormbom (right) in the middle of a ball at the 1968 Independence Day reception at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland
Five partner dance at a Colonial Ball in the Albert Hall Canberra (circa 2016) (sepia)
Social dances are dances that have social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competitive and erotic functions.
A social dancing or ballroom dancing group class taught at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in The Woodlands, Texas.
Khigga is the most common social folk dance among Assyrian people.
Eighteenth-century social dance. Translated caption: A cheerful dance awakens love and feeds hope with lively joy, (Florence, 1790)
