What were Victorian balls *really* like? ( & I went to a 19th century ball)

I attended my first historical event: an 1850s-1860s Victorian Ball in Bath. For the ball, I made a complete 1860s ball gown, alongside a hair accessory and a little capelet (you can see those videos here: https://youtu.be/FXCVmdEF-gA and here: https://youtu.be/9ESKFbzSjNI). However, I hadn't really known what to expect from this event, as I had never been to a ball or a historical event, and my notions were all made from portrayals of balls in film and tv. So after I returned to the ball, I wanted to share my experience so that anyone out there contemplating attending their first historical event could have a better idea of what to expect. But I also started looking into how primary sources, 19th century books, magazines, paintings, etc, actually described a ball. And here we are! Now, a few disclaimers. The main source for my summary of an evening at a 19th century/Victorian ball comes from etiquette books. These books are often written with the middle class in mind, so that they can move into the edges of elite society. While looking into these, I found two books by distinct authors and different publications that actually included identical passages, which implies some publications might have just copied existing literature. Additionally, I have often referenced Jane Austen here - it's worth pointing out that Austen wrote at the end of the 18th century and into the early 19th century, very much during the Regency, and actually died two decades before Queen Victoria was