Tea and dancing have long been happy partners. When the pleasure gardens of 18th-century London lured people through their gates with music, firework displays, masquerades, and dancing, tea with bread and butter was included in the ticket price and provided welcome refreshment. When wealthy Georgians made their annual visits to spa towns such as Bath, Buxton, and Harrogate, tea was always available at evening dances held in assembly rooms and in winter gardens. Jane Austen highlighted these entertainments in many of her novels.
As afternoon tea gained importance through the latter half of the 19th century, hostesses organized a variety of amusements for their tea-party guests. The Etiquette of Modern Society, published by Ward Lock in 1881, states, “Refreshments, both at ceremonious teas and At Homes are served in the…
