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Masquerade Ball
The setting for the 2008 ball was a masquerade ball taking place in London at the Haymarket Opera House between the years 1710 and 1800. All of our balls are costume balls. So all guest wear a period costume appropriate to a masquerade ball taking place during this time.
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The Guest list is limited to all students currently enrolled in the World View
Classes, alumni of the Classes and Parents are also welcome, but remember the
costume!
The Assignment:
Each student that is currently enrolled in the classes is required to research
and recreate a historical character that actually lived during this time period
and could have possibly attended one of these balls. The character must be between
the ages of 15 and 90. Therefore, the character would have to be born between
1624 and 1785. All students researched a character and wrote a one-page biography
of their character.
Alumni and Parents attending the Ball are asked to conform to the guidelines
of the characters, but they do not have to turn in any biographies.
Time and Place:
The Ball was at the Eldorado Country Club in McKinney, located at 2604
Country Club Dr., McKinney, TX 75070.
The evening consisted of dinner, period dancing and live music.
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A History of Masquerade
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Masquerade balls first became popular in the fifteenth century Renaissance in
Italy, especially Venice. Members of the upper class would dress up and wear
elaborate masks and dance. The balls were elaborate public spectacles associated
with the tradition of the Venetian Carnival.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, masquerade balls spread through
Europe and eventually the American colonies. Sometimes the balls were semi-public,
while other times they were completely private, held in grand ballrooms built
into homes of the day. The Swiss count John James Heidegger is credited with
having introduced the Venetian fashion of the semi-public masquerade ball to
London from the year 1710 on, the first being held at Haymarket Opera House.
Types of Masquerade Costumes
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Appropriate costumes for the ball can be inspired by the heyday of the masquerade,
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. For that reason huge, fancy ball gowns
and old-fashioned tuxedoes with long coats or tails and top hats would be appropriate.
Attendees during that time would have drawn their inspiration for costumes from
the Renaissance era, other European cultures (Spain, for example, with ruffled
dresses) even Chinese culture, since there was a lot of trade with China in
those days. Other popular choices for masquerade costumes could be king and
queen costumes or jester outfits.