Charles Worsley and Ruth Evans have been dancing amateur championship level, modern ballroom together at competitions for the past eight years, and showcasing their unique then-to-now ballroom choreographies for the past five. Their combined experience adds up to over half-a-century’s worth of dancing and includes English country dance, English ritual dance (Morris and sword), American contras & squares, Middle Eastern dance, Swing, Modern ballroom and Historic ballroom. Charles has been dancing modern ballroom for eighteen years, and researching and dancing historic ballroom for twenty-five. He has performed both Civil War era and Ragtime era dances at such varied venues as Boston’s First Night and The Museum of Fine Arts. Ruth’s own résumé lists a performance at the National Folk Festival and a stint as a professional belly dancer among her accomplishments.
As a husband and wife team, Charles and Ruth bring their own special chemistry to every performance and the pleasure they take in the partnership resonates with their audience. Ruth, a professional seamstress with thousands of wedding gowns and costumes to her credit, has mastered the art of creating ballgowns that capture an era’s essence without sacrificing the movement and sparkle that are so much a part of today’s ballroom attire. Charles brings a quality engineer’s eye for detail to each choreography as well as the high standards of his trade. Working together, they strive to infuse their presentation with creativity and musicality. To insure the historical accuracy of their vintage dancing they rely on an extensive library of period dance manuals and film clips. To achieve, maintain, and polish their modern ballroom moves they receive regular coaching from world renowned Suzanne Hamby.
Each of Ruth and Charles’ choreographies is arranged to show their audience one or more historic dances before transitioning into a related modern dance. So far these combinations have included 1800’s Mazurka to Viennese Waltz, One-step & Charleston to Quickstep, Ragtime Tango to modern Tango, Fox’s Trot from 1914 to today’s Foxtrot, and Four Eras of Waltz: 1815, 1860, 1914, & 2008. In the works is a 1914 Maxixe to modern Samba pairing.
Here’s some of what has been said about Charles and Ruth’s shows:
To date, Ruth and Charles are considered non-professionals and perform at competitions or at parties for their own amusement and/or for charity. For more info contact Ruth at Evans-Worsley@comcast.net
To see Fox's Trot to Foxtrot, click here.
For more info contact us at Evans-Worsley@comcast.net
Photography by Peter Alcivar: www.peteralcivar.com
Last updated December 2008