Oh yes, the talk will be about the annual Ball of the Faculty of Arts. What can I say? All of us have certainly noticed the posters announcing it in the wide corridors of Celetná and the main building, but not all who saw them chose to come.
This is understandable, considering the fact that most of the philosophically minded male population prefers to go to a pub for a chat than to follow the call of the ‘higher entertainment’ which means dressing up in something you don’t want to wear, remembering the dance steps from taneční and looking cultured in an environment where a drink is “a bit” more expensive than at that cosy place around the corner where you initially wanted to go. For the female population the idea of the Ball is a lot more intriguing as it presents the perfect chance to wear that dress that’s hanging in your wardrobe or buy a new one (careful about the colours though, or you’ll end up buying a size smaller shoes because they are the only pair in Prague that matches your outfit and trust me, that hurts) and take your other half out (this part is not necessary, but it is advised if you don’t know how many of your classmates are going). But ignoring the formal aspects (the clothes, the dancing, the atmosphere…) the Ball serves the one function we all know and enjoy: socialization. There are a few people in your course that plan all of your get-togethers, but how active are they? This is the one event the school organizes for you to meet students not only from your group, but from different years and various departments. The Ball is the place to mingle and to chat (unless you intend to dance all night) and while you will probably stay in your group of friends, you may also meet someone that will become part of that group. This collective can only be school organized, so why not take advantage of it?
And what are my memories of this year’s Ball? Loud music, painfully small shoes, pleasant conversations with people whom I had no time or opportunity to chat with for a while as well as with those I saw just the day before, and a mystery which dominated a number of conversations: …where on earth did the second dancer from the introductory dance of the evening take her fans from? (Seriously, this one’s been bugging me for a while, answers or theories are welcomed!) So, it was an absolutely ordinary ball, but the company was great. After all, one goes because of the people.
