This year, for the first time, I attended the ball. My cousin Melanie did my hair - teased it and sprayed it within an inch of its life. I added more hairspray after she left, too. (To her credit, my 'do lasted all night and looked fabulous, if I do say so myself. She's quite a talented gal.) Gram and Ava came over to see me in all my finery - a gown made to fit by the spectacularly talented Annie Shepard of Stages and inspired by this classic gown designed by Cecil Beaton and worn by Leslie Caron at the end of Gigi, one of my very favorite films.
My mother, disappointed that she would not be able to see me off (despite my protests that it wasn't prom), enlisted a friend of hers to text her a photo of my date (Justin) and me. So here we are, just arrived at the cocktail hour:
Justin had to play violin for the cocktail hour and parts of the ball so I mingled with the other attendees, many of whom I know from working in the symphony office. The gown was quite a hit. Peter J. told me I looked like something out of Hollywood. The aforementioned Cheryl forbid me to wear the gown again for five years because everyone will remember it. Christina T. wanted the birds.
Dinner was an adventure in things I'll probably never eat again (and didn't each much of that night). The mango-coconut sorbet was delicious.
Of course, my favorite part of the evening was the dancing. While we didn't dance every song, we did enjoy a fair few, and fellow swing dancer Hugo stole me away for a tune. During one number, as Justin and I were dancing, a lady leaned over from her escort's arm and asked if I had played "Drusilla." I laughed and said indeed I had. (She was my viciously flirtatious character in my most recent stage adventure.) She recognized me from both Towngate's and the Strand's productions of Cinderella - a lovely, diverting moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment