In 'Dancing in the time of war', Alasdair White looks at the social side of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and tells us why there were so many expatriates, notably British, in Brussels at the time, attending the numerous balls, dinners and picnics on offer to the social elite. The Duchess of Richmond’s Ball is famous the world over because this is where Wellington received confirmation that Napoleon and his army had entered the Province of Belgium.