Well, it's been a while since I posted and officially a year since I left for Vienna, Austria. However, my reminiscences and reflections on the city won't be abating any time soon, and here's a long post to make up for it.
Christmas is over, the New Year is in full swing, and the Balls have begun in Vienna. Ball Season officially begins each year with the Kaiserball on Dec 31 and continues through the Fasching season until Ash Wednesday.
Fasching, known elsewhere as Carnival, is a period of celebration and indulgence before the somber time of Lent. The Carnival celebrations in many cities culminate with the days just before Ash Wednesday, such as Rosenmontag in Köln and Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday in New Orleans and the Caribbean. Vienna's celebrations stretch through the months of January and February, hosting hundreds of balls, each unique with their special name, dress code, invitees, etc.
The tradition of Ball Season is usually traced back to Austria's beloved
Empress Maria Theresa. Famous for her reforms, she observed the wild debauchery during Fasching and resolved that her imperial city would not participate in such vulgarity. She banned the wearing of masks in the streets of Vienna, though she permitted the upper class to have masked parties in their homes. Her son Josef II later extended this privilege to the masses, and masked balls became a popular yearly tradition.
This article presents a bit more of a detailed history of the progression to the modern balls (who knew that the waltz was once considered obscene?). Today, very few balls are actually masked, and the waltz is a staple component.
The balls range from elegant celebrations for students and universities to extravagant and exclusive (and expensive!) festivities hosted by specific groups. Many of the balls are open to anyone, provided that you can afford the cost of the ticket (ranging from 20€ to 1000€). Most are held in the
Hofburg (the Habsburg's winter palace in the first district), but others are held in the
Rathaus or
Musikverein. There's the Flower Ball, the Ball of Army Officers, the Pharmacists' Ball, the Russian Ball, and even the Kaffeesiederball (Ball of the Viennese Coffee House Owners). The Rudolfina-Redoute is a masked ball, held on the last Monday of Fasching, whereas dancers attend the Hunter's Ball in Austrian ethnic costume,
dirndls and lederhosen galore. The Lawyers' Ball is respected as one of the oldest, always held on the last Saturday, and the Opera Ball (on the last Thursday of Fasching) as one of the most extravagant (complete with televised red carpet gown-critique akin to the Oscars). Here's a full
List of the 2009 Balls (pdf), with date, cost, and location.
Nope, there are no mirrors in this room. Those are all chandeliers. I attended the 2008
Ball der Technik, aka the "TU-Ball", in the Hofburg Palace on the same night as the famous Opernball. (We passed a number of other gowns on the subway, many of whom were headed to Karlsplatz, the central subway stop in front of the Opera). Though the ball was officially sponsored by the Technical University, there were guests of all ages, not necessarily with any direct association to the university. There were at least 50 people from my program, with more than a thousand present over all--all ages, all dancing. I've never seen anything like it.
The main ballroom was mostly devoted to the waltz, with a full orchestra playing much of the night (a small jazz band would relieve them every few hours and play foxtrots and boogie woogies instead). Boothed tables on elevated platforms lined the ballroom's walls for the honored guests. Everyone else had to find their tables in a maze of rooms around the main ballroom--the Habsburgs built a very extensive chain of rooms; they just keep going and going, and there is always another room of tables somewhere ahead. Additionally, there are smaller ballrooms and other dance venues throughout this maze. A swing band was playing in what I like to call the Chandelier Room (above), another jazz band played in an adjoining room further in the maze, and across from the coatroom downstairs there was even a modernized room made to look like a club playing techno and hip hop.
However, before any dancing started in any room, first the debutantes were given the floor. This is an Austrian tradition that is upheld at any ball that you might attend. Young women and men, attending their first ball, prepare for this moment months in advance as they take dance lessons at any number of ballroom schools throughout Wien. On the night of their ball, they don long white gowns and gloves or black tuxedos and enter the ballroom in a
polonaise procession. The first dance, a waltz, belongs to these young people. However, the main ballroom is usually packed with onlookers trying to catch a glimpse of this elaborate ceremony, so arrive early and pick a good spot or you will be unable to see or even get into the room--there are thousands of people attending, remember? The picture below, taken shortly after the debutante's waltz, is borrowed from a friend of mine who was able to get into the main ballroom; note all the lovely white gowns. After the debutantes have waltz (and often are congratulated with applause), the dance master calls "Alles Walzer!" and the dance floors are open to everyone. (It was only after this point that I was actually able to make it inside the main ballroom, due to dispersing crowds).
Dancing continues throughout the night, without noticeable pause. Generally, the etiquette is that the gentlemen are expected to ask the ladies to dance, and ladies should not casually decline. However, sometimes an hour is designated "Ladies' Choice", during which the roles are reversed; for this hour, only the women can ask the men for a dance, and the men (if they are indeed gentlemen) should accept. At the TU-Ball, I believe that this hour began at 1am. In order to accommodate a Line of Dance, slower dancers should always stay to the center of the ballroom, while faster couples dance the perimeter in a counter-clockwise direction. Here are some more guidelines for
Ball Etiquette.
However, my favorite part of the night was at midnight. With the stroke of 12, the regular dancing stopped and all the guests flooded into the Grand Ballroom for the quadrille. (This time I had advance notice, so I was able to secure a good spot to watch). Dancers line up beside one another, alternating male-female. Each dancer faces his/her partner (who is in the opposite line) with about six feet of space between them. These long rows of dancers stretch from one end of the ballroom to the other.
The orchestra strikes up the chords to the Fledermaus
Quadrille, an energetic six-movement piece from Johann Strauss' operetta
Die Fledermaus (though usually not all the movements are performed). The steps are complicated, so the Dance Master calls out each step from the stage and demonstrates, such as spinning once with the person to your right, to your left, with your partner across from you, etc. At certain points, couples at the end of the rows dance a galloping dash through the tunnel-like passage between the rows of dancers; but these rows are so long that the dash to the other end takes dancers to the far side of the huge room! During a later movement, I recall some lyrics that everyone shouted in time, but I was unable to make out what was said. This traditional midnight quadrille, a cornerstone of any Viennese ball, is often a situation of laughter, chaos, and just sheer fun.
Immediately after the quadrille, the
Galop begins. This country dance also dates to the 19th century. Dancers grab their partners and
chassé wildly in a counter-clockwise direction around the room. The dance master will call "Reverse!" and the entire room must quickly change direction. This patterns continues a few times, and then "Tunnel!" is called. Couples form long rows again, and couples on the end (by the orchestra) galop through quickly, most likely laughing the whole time.
Dance Master and helpers demonstrating the quadrilleShortly after the midnight's break, the orchestra resumed it's waltzes with the most famous of all--
Strauss' "Blue Danube". The floor was so crowded for this song that even those that did know how to waltz could not properly move. Yet still, it was an amazing experience--waltzing to "The Blue Danube" in Vienna at an authentic Viennese Ball! It made all the stubbed toes worth it.
Viennese balls do not end until almost dawn; however, a number of the guests left shortly after "The Blue Danube". Sadly, I was among them, due to the need to sleep before an exam the next morning. On the way out, as per tradition, all the ladies were given a Damenspende. This gift for the ladies is like a party favor. It might be a simple piece of jewelry, a waltzing CD, or something similarly small and simple; the TU-ball gifted a baked good, some sort of chocolate gingerbread cake in nice wrappings.
I missed out on only one Viennese Ball tradition (that I am aware of)--the Katerfrühstück, the junk food breakfast afterwards. Most young people dance the night away until the ball ends around 5am; then, walking home in gowns, heels, and tails, they stop for food at the only places that are open--the Imbiss stands. Many of these fast food counters are open 24 hours, providing pizza, kebab, and wurst to any late night (or early morning) wanderer, regardless of their formal garb.
Overall, what an incredible experience. If you are ever in Vienna during January or February, be sure to bring a gown or suit.
Here's what the NY Times has to say. I rank the experience of going to an authentic Viennese ball up there with the other grand travel To Do's of Life: See the Taj Mahal. Be in NYC's Times Square for New Years. Go to Rome for Easter. Attend a Ball in Vienna and dance the night away.
It's time for the Superbowl! (Yes, this is a pro-Steelers blog. Sorry Cardinals/Patriots/Browns/etc fans)
