On Tuesday, March 4, attendees will don their best and step back in time. They’ll taste French-themed refreshments, welcome the Marquis de Lafayette into their midst, and dance the night away as part of the Lafayette Society’s Farewell Tour Ball. It’s one of a series of events celebrating the Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour.
Jeremy Gershman, who describes himself as a “professional actor and theater person,” and goes by the stage name Charles Steplively, will lead attendees in English Country dancing, drawing on his extensive experience in both theater and dance.
Gershman visited Fayetteville in November of 2024 when he conducted an English Country dancing workshop. Sylvia Bisbee, a local dance instructor, has continued holding practice sessions with people who attended the workshop in preparation for the upcoming ball.
For those unfamiliar with English Country dancing, Gershman said the easiest comparison is dances seen in many Jane Austen film adaptations as well as modern-day square dancing, which descended from a Regency-era dance formation. He explained that the English Country dance style started around 1760-70 and was popular up through 1830.
Gershman shared that with 20 years of dance instruction under his belt, and 14 years instructing English country dancing, there’s something unique about instructing these events that keeps him going.
“It's obviously much more immersive than a traditional theater night where someone goes and sits in the audience to watch a play,” he said.
“The idea,” he continued, “is so that people have this immersive experience entering into the world of Regency dance. And although I do it, of course, with a modern twist and flair, it really is about creating and being an early 19th century dance master on the floor and engaging with people with English dialect and references and speech and all that.”
He said that he has always enjoyed watching BBC and PBS period productions that include ball scenes and wants to recreate that so people feel as if they’re walking into one of those scenes. That love of immersive historical experiences in turn inspired the creation of his character, Charles Steplively.
“I knew I couldn't just be myself as a modern American. I had to be one of those characters in one of those ball scenes that was introducing people into that world and helping facilitate the dancing,” he said.
Another unique aspect of the dance is its social nature. Unlike ballroom, swing, and salsa, Gershman said that English country dancing gives people the opportunity to dance with many people throughout the evening. In fact, according to him, it was considered rude to dance with the same person throughout the night back in the day.
Instead, English country dancing is considered “social” dancing.
Gershman explained, “A particular couple will continue to progress and move down this line formation, so that they're continuously dancing with someone new. It makes it especially social because you're constantly interacting with different people throughout every song, and then that multiplies the number of people that you're directly interacting with throughout the night.”
He encouraged people of varying abilities to attend but added that he strongly recommends attending a Pre-ball workshop beforehand. The workshops will be held Feb. 20 and 23, and March 1 and 4.
Tickets and information about the Farewell Tour Ball and Pre-ball workshops can be found at lafayettesociety.org 

(Photo: Guests attend a ball held in Lafayette's honor in 2024. The Lafayette Farewell Tour Ball will feature period dances and dress, as well as food and drink from the 1800s, all to pay homage to the Marquis de Lafayette.)