Unmasking the dance
USU’s Dance United club will be hosting the second annual Masquerade Ball this Friday at the Bullen Center, 43 South Main, from 6:30-11:30 p.m. Dinner will be catered by the Bluebird restaurant, followed by waltz and ballroom dance lessons and social dancing, as well as contests and awards throughout the night.
This is the club’s general fundraiser and plans on more than 200 people attending said event coordinator, Brandie Fanjul. She said seating and food is limited, therefore they will be selling tickets left over from this week’s sales at the door the night of the event.
Manuel Carias, a junior in engineering, attended the Masquerade Ball last year and performed with the ballroom team and taught lessons.
“It was a blast,” Carias said, “I loved the costume contest, and dancing the waltz. Everyone was dancing and having a good time.”
Carias said he thought the only downside to the night was the limited amount of space, but Fanjul said there will be plenty of room this year since the club rented out a larger venue. She said this will allow more tickets to be sold so more students will have the opportunity to attend. She said the club is selling a total of 175 tickets and each ticket is good for one couple to have dinner, lessons, dancing and a free dance photograph.
“We’re expecting this to be a very formal event,” Fanjul said, “Everyone will be in masks, although not everyone has to be. We do have some people coming in costumes, and that’s what why we’ve got the costume contest for.”
Fanjul said the Masquerade Ball will have raffle prizes as well. She said the club is trying to create an event where everyone, whether they know how to dance or not, can come have a good time and go away thinking about what a magical night they had.
Loraine Joyce Berner, a senior in music therapy and the president of the Dance United club, said, “What we want is the Masquerade Ball to not only be the highlight of the semester, but the entire year.”
Berner said the club and the council members have put a lot of thought into the decorations, food, venue, location and lessons so they can create an event that will feel like a fairy tale.
“We’re hoping this sparks a bit of romance and creates a night where magic can happen,” said Eva Kammeyer, a junior in elementary education and Fanjul’s assistant in coordinating the event. “Everyone has their dances, the balls, their events – this is ours.”
Berner said the event will not just let experienced dancers have a good time, but will open up to all the students on campus and create an atmosphere where people could come to learn to ballroom dance, socialize and have a “magical” night at the same time. Berner said Dance United wants students to come to gain friendships and relationships, and create a community of friends that shared the common leisure of dancing together.
“How often do students get to dress up and just have fun?” Berner said, “We really want to have a night people can walk away from feeling fabulous, just let the magic happen.”
– jessica.black@aggiemail.usu.edu