The Versailles mirror room. That was the first image to cross my mind when I entered the reception area of the Dionysian Ball last Saturday. It was a luxurious room, full of mirrors reflecting the masquerades sipping champagne and discussing the last fallen angel of the NASDAQ. By that point I remembered my last Dionysian Ball, priced almost as much as a Yahoo! share, showing that as the stocks go down, the quality of the Party goes up! The crowd (if I can call such a selected and well dressed group of people a crowd) really invested in the masks. The inspiration went from the French Revolution to the Carnival in Venice, from “Eyes Wide Shut” to Bugs Bunny, from birds to cats. But neither photos nor descriptions can actually portray the ambience, only the chosen ones present at the Copley Plaza will retain this memory forever.
A few minutes after 9:30 pm, the doors to the main room opened, presenting us with a rich buffet with three different chefs serving samples of the world cuisine. The first station had pasta, freshly prepared in the best Italian way. Moving just a few feet, the masquerade guests traveled thousands of miles to Asia and its amazing flavors, and a couple of feet more made them cross the Pacific to the land of opportunity and good meat. There they had the choice of an exquisite beef prepared in combination with a tasteful pastry, or a similar version where the beef gave way to a superb salmon (my personal favorite). Don’t be mistaken however; the party of Bacchus was just beginning.
After a nice meal and a few glasses of champagne, Californian wine or a first class spirit, the masquerades were ready to dance. Dance Anything. We had classics from the 70s, 80s, and 90s to the over-demanded Chicken Dance. It was one of the last opportunities to enjoy the aristocratic HBS environment (in the sense of no work, parties, or Shad Hall) before going to the Revolution (work, summer, lack of work etc.) that will face us all when the summer arrives. Dionysius is certainly proud of the Wine and Cuisine Society.
