Regency is a lot of fun!
I do a lot of folk dancing (Morris, English Country, Contra, etc). I love it but it is hilarious how many people "expect" dancers to be thin.
Let me rant a little about the contra community.
For those of you who don't know, contra is a very flirty form of folk dance. It's like square dancing (ick) in that it is called (there is a caller who gives directions to the dancers on the floor) but way faster and more athletic. It's done in long lines and the social etiquette is that you don't really dance with the person you came with. You dance with whoever, as many people as possible. It is very common (as part of the dance) that you will "travel" down the line and dance with other people before returning to your partner (for that dance). It is fast and a LOT of fun. Also, when you get good at contra, you fill up your dance card because advanced people like to spend most of the evening with other advanced people because there are more "flourishes" that you can do.
Anyway, I can't tell you how many times I have NOT been asked to dance at a contra because I'm fat. People just assume that I can't dance. And I'm an advanced dancer! What usually happens is this. Some guy feels sorry for me and asks me to dance (it is all social etiquette that you dance at least once with a beginner or stranger). He is shocked that I can dance. Then, during the "traveling" down the line I dance with other people who are shocked that I can dance. And then suddenly my dance card is full because WHOA they figured out I can dance. SO annoying.
My Cute Boyfriend, who is WAY more outta shape than me, doesn't have this problem because there are usually more women then me (and yes, I usually ask a woman to dance with me if no one has asked me!).
Anyway, I totally get this. Swing dance clothes are the exact same way. So irritating.
Here's a clip if you want to see more. You'll notice it's a 13 minute video! That's typical for one dance. And in the beginning you'll notice is mellow and slow and it progressively gets faster. Although in this one, it's a little silly because they're doing some weird robot song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t71Ui...eature=related