White ball gowns, tuxedoes and dance cards.
Panache, style and elegance are back in youth social events – and perhaps a little of the spirit of Jane Austen.
The Chivalry Ball, organised by young Catholics and held in the hall of St Kieran’s Parish in Osborne Park with the blessing of parish priest Fr Michael Gatt, astonished many parents who turned up at midnight last Saturday to pick up their teenage children after a night of dancing.
It has also gone down among the 100 or so participants as the best night of their lives – so far – and the standard by which future social events will be judged.
Meanwhile pages on Facebook, the popular social networking site, are full of photos of stylishly and elegantly dressed young people enjoying a night of fun in what was, in an earlier era, considered one of the central rites of passage for youth
to adulthood. The sold-out ball had been organised by young Perth woman Montana McCann and her friends
Instead of seeing youngsters suffering the first after-effects of a night of drugs and alcohol, parents managed to catch a few glimpses of the last dance of the night – a waltz.
They also saw couples gliding around the dance floor while young men paid attention to their dance partners and young ladies considered their last dance for the night from the dance cards worn tied to their wrists with a ribbon.
It was, as they say, a hit with all concerned. Parish Priest Fr Michael Gatt, whose parish hall was booked for the event and who had earlier led participants in grace before supper, was so impressed he invited all back for a repeat next year.
Gemma McCann, mother of Montana, told The Record she was flooded with congratulations and amazed compliments from parents turning up to pick up their children; while many had an idea of what their children were going to all were delighted by the return of concepts such as elegance, manners and charm at an event such as this.
“All these parents couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The whole night just went so well,” she told The Record later.
The evening began with a waltz, Strauss’s The Blue Danube, and ended with a waltz, but the whole night was a mixture of more formal dance steps such as the quickstep and contemporary music and dancing. There was something for everyone.
Earlier in the evening opera singers Bianca Hurley and Jeremy Ryan entertained dancers with four duets, while co-organiser Joseph Laundy acted as Master of Ceremonies.
Every detail had been carefully planned by Miss McCann and her friends. On arrival girls were presented with a dance card with a ribbon and a pencil to write the names of partners for various dances.
Candles and fairy lights decorated the hall adding their own special atmosphere and it was not hard to imagine that, somewhere, that most faithful devotee of dance season, Miss Austen, was looking down upon the evening with pleasure and begging to be excused for not being able to be present.
While the ball was christened The Chivalry Ball, it came as a pleasant surprise for girls on the night when the young men proposed a toast to the ladies, followed by a toast to Mary, the Mother of God; the date for the ball was the Feast of the Assumption and a statue of Mary was given a place of pride for the evening while the ball had been given to her as a gift for her special day.
The evening has been considered so much of a success that if you are planning on getting tickets for next year’s event you had better get in early.