The Refusal to Dance

Etiquette provides us with guides for behavior, rules to general acceptance to fall back on. While many of us may rail against the Man and his ways , the Ballroom community still adheres to some of these traditions. To not follow them, may have the same effect as wearing orange to a GA game...
Here are some tips for Etiquette Mistress herself Ms. Emily Post:

THE REFUSAL TO DANCE

If [a girl] is sitting in a group, he [the man] can go up and ask her, "Don't you want to dance some of this?" She then either smiles and says, "Not just now-I am very tired," or if she likes him, she may add, "Come and sit with us!"

To refuse to dance with one man and then immediately dance with another is an open affront to the first one- excusable only if he was intoxicated or otherwise actually offensive so that the affront was justifiable. But under ordinary circumstances, if she is "dancing," she must dance with every one who asks her; if she is "not dancing," she must not make exceptions.

...In certain communities, a girl dancing with her eyes shuts is recognized as signaling that she does not want to be "cut in on." This is an excellent practice but not one to be followed either often or for too long a time. This is done sometimes in order to give thise who dance well together a chance to enjoy at least one long dance.
At a public ball or cabaret- or wherever "cutting in" is not practiced, it is always the priviledge of the girl to stop dancing; a man is supposed to dance on and on, until she- or the music- stops..."

Thanks to Rachel Holland in providing the research for this post