The Grand Ball
Jul. 23rd, 2005 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
learnteach...it's a pity.
The closing ball for this week of the Prague-Paris dance tour was held in "the historic" Zofina, a victorian dancing pavilion (and bar and restaurant) on the Slavonic Island. http://www.zofin.cz/zofin_e.htm
(we were dancing in the Small Room, which is pretty large. About 10 feet more in each dimension than St. Mark's.)
(note: The aircondition isn't that good.) A small (16? member) youth orchestra played for us, waltz, polka, gallop, polka shnell, mazurka, Czech dances, etc. All the members of the company were dressed in Victorian finery, with myself being the only man not in tails, and every woman in a victorian ballgown. The orchestra had practiced to play the tunes at a dancing pace, and was very, very good. We were provided with dance cards, and made use of them. The hall itself was a butter yellow with cream accents and gilding.
The pity? I'm too jaded, and also not prepared enough. The music was delightful (although since the waltzes were all Strauss, we rested during the _polkas_, an amazing switch!) The floor was smooth and fast wood parquet. The dancers had just spent a week training.
And I? I've been to enough of these that my sense of wonder never triggered. It was a nice ball, but...it was just another dance ball. I'm so spoiled by the quality and quantity of dancing at home that this was an extension of that, rather than a new adventure.
The other contributing factor in my lack of wonder is of course a lack of sleep and possibly fighting off a cold. The weather has turned chill (yea!) and slightly rainy. I also spent the non-dancing parts of yesterday walking through Prague looking for studs, only to find none--connected up with the wrong jewelers. Although if I wanted antique or russian pocket watches, aiee! Many good ones.
Never got to the pool. Observed many interesting buildings. Gave money to Supplicants. (Beggers who beg by kneeling and kowtowing, arms forward, on the cobblestones.)
Today: two more classes, the possibly a play, then pack to leave for Paris tomorrow. I'm getting in late enough to miss the Tour, thankfully!
The closing ball for this week of the Prague-Paris dance tour was held in "the historic" Zofina, a victorian dancing pavilion (and bar and restaurant) on the Slavonic Island. http://www.zofin.cz/zofin_e.htm
(we were dancing in the Small Room, which is pretty large. About 10 feet more in each dimension than St. Mark's.)
(note: The aircondition isn't that good.) A small (16? member) youth orchestra played for us, waltz, polka, gallop, polka shnell, mazurka, Czech dances, etc. All the members of the company were dressed in Victorian finery, with myself being the only man not in tails, and every woman in a victorian ballgown. The orchestra had practiced to play the tunes at a dancing pace, and was very, very good. We were provided with dance cards, and made use of them. The hall itself was a butter yellow with cream accents and gilding.
The pity? I'm too jaded, and also not prepared enough. The music was delightful (although since the waltzes were all Strauss, we rested during the _polkas_, an amazing switch!) The floor was smooth and fast wood parquet. The dancers had just spent a week training.
And I? I've been to enough of these that my sense of wonder never triggered. It was a nice ball, but...it was just another dance ball. I'm so spoiled by the quality and quantity of dancing at home that this was an extension of that, rather than a new adventure.
The other contributing factor in my lack of wonder is of course a lack of sleep and possibly fighting off a cold. The weather has turned chill (yea!) and slightly rainy. I also spent the non-dancing parts of yesterday walking through Prague looking for studs, only to find none--connected up with the wrong jewelers. Although if I wanted antique or russian pocket watches, aiee! Many good ones.
Never got to the pool. Observed many interesting buildings. Gave money to Supplicants. (Beggers who beg by kneeling and kowtowing, arms forward, on the cobblestones.)
Today: two more classes, the possibly a play, then pack to leave for Paris tomorrow. I'm getting in late enough to miss the Tour, thankfully!
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On behalf of your grand ball..
Date: 2005-07-27 06:33 am (UTC)Sigh.