The Pride And Prejudice dance revival Balltrotter.com gets around 5,000 hits per month, and details the balls which happen "every single weekend in all the big London hotels." The majority of these, he tells me, are extravagant events run for charity purposes, where the onus is on raising money rather than dancing. However, Barthe tells me, "there is another kind of ball, run by historical dancing fans, and their aim is very different." There are around 10 Regency-specific balls per year in the UK - and more across America. Barthe recons that "almost every town the UK has a small Regency dancing society," and a handful of these put on balls at least once a year. The Pride and Prejudice bicentenary has given an even better reason to party like it's 1819. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyden) at the Netherfield Ball in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice. The organisers behind the annual Jane Austen Festival are dedicating 2013 summer ball to the novel. Festival Director Jackie Herring tells The Telegraph: "This year it will be Netherfield-inspired. I'm hoping to have some of the major characters recreated and we'll be dancing Mr Beverage's Maggot, which is the forward-facing dance performed in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. The ball, which will have up to 140 attendees, charges around £50 per ticket and takes place in June. September sees the Festival's third masked ball in Bath's Pump House - an altogether more glamourous affair with last year's tickets costing £82, for 130 people. The Jane Austen Dancers, a Bath-based volunteer group who share their love of Regency rollicking through classes, demonstrations and balls, describe re-enactment as "an escape from the cares of today." Founded in 1996 the group precedes the city's annual balls. Outside of Austen's homeland, Hampshire Regency Dancers have been hosting balls since 2005 in Chawton House - the grade II-listed country pile where the BBC will be shooting. The ball now has an international following and the limited tickets for the event are hot property. Elizabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) in full swing as at the Netherfield Ball. The events are popular. While practicality has something to do with their appeal - in comparison to Victorian and Georgian balls the style of dancing is more sociable (in a line, rather than in pairs), and the costumes are less elaborate, making them easier and cheaper to recreate convincingly - the romanticisation of the Regency period has a lot to answer for. Herring explains, "it was a time when ladies were ladies and gentlemen were gentlemen. There was a slower pace of life, and the balls were the one time where there was an opportunity to meet the opposite sex and dance with each other. We all like dancing. And when you're in an 18th century room, wearing 18th century costume and listening to 18th century music, it feels amazing," Herring continues. We like to re-create as much as possible - and we're in the locations that Austen wrote about 200 years ago. It makes the back of your neck tingle. Will the BBC's efforts be able to evoke the same magic? Given the impact of the mid-90s TV series from the broadcaster (which was a "huge phenomenon" in the video sales stakes when released), there's a chance that Having A Ball at Easter may reignite more than some historic candles.