"Mr. Mason's ball, on Friday last, at the Hotel assembly-room, was attended by a very large assemblage of the beauty and fashion of this city and neighbourhood, all of whom were highly gratified by the elegance and grace displayed by his fair pupils, in the various evolutions of the mazy dance. Great credit is certainly due to Mr. Mason, for his attention to the improvement of his pupils, the judgement he evinced in the arrangement of the dances, as well as in the selection of the music."
The Castle-street dancing master,'s, Mr. Joseph Edward Mason's, 'Pupils' Ball' was, for decades, an annual treat for the beauty and fashion of Exeter. Only the Nobility and the Gentry were invited but I dare say some lesser citizens winkled in! The ball started at seven o' clock but Mr Mason was obligingly at the Hotel at lunchtime to give any information that may be required relative to the Figures. Later one drank tea. There was usually also a General Quadrille Ball so that everybody had the chance to hop about, not just Mr. Mason's girls. The latter, however, were the exponents of the mazy dance, with its various evolutions, which was the highlight of the evening.
Mazed in the South West, as every Exonian knows, means crazy, but I don't know where the mazy dance originated. It's popularity was widespread.
Source: The Exeter Flying Post, 7th April 1808.
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