Faculty of Arts Ball












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            * Faculty of Arts Ball
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            Despite having been in the Czech Republic for over six months, it has taken me until now t

            as well as being lovers of beer, many Czechs are also lovers of dancing. When first asked 
            ball and write an article on it, I was both excited and apprehensive. My confession to nev
            before was met with surprise from some Czech students, for whom it is common to learn thes

            dances when they are around the age of sixteen or seventeen. Not wanting to turn up withou
            knowledge, I was able to arrange a crash course on how to dance the Waltz, Blues, Rock n R
            Foxtrot and more with one of the Erasmus coordinators who used to be an assistant dance te

            past.
            In England, ballroom dancing is something that is seen as the domain of the older generati

            students would be pushed to find someone who would know how to do little else but shuffle 
            of these situations. A good percentage of young Czechs, however, eagerly take these lesson
            get the impression it is much more popular amongst girls than it is with boys. The buildin

            ball was hosted is also used to host dance lessons, and according to the website it receiv
            young students and 600 adults each year.
            There are several other places around Prague teaching this style of dancing (Žofín, Munici

            Obecní dům, National House in Smíchov, etc.), but this seems to be one of the main ones. A
            learning the classical steps associated with these dances, it is also a lot of fun and it 
            girls a chance to dress up nicely and interact with each other in a sophisticated environm

            common at these classes for the young people to start dating.
            Naturally, when having taken dance classes, there must come an opportunity to show off wha
            learned. Most of the faculties at Charles University host their own ball at the end of the

            around February or March. These are for both Czech students and international students, an
            never experienced a ball like this before, I would highly recommend it.
            The ball I attended was on Thursday 21st March 2013 and was hosted by the Faculty of Arts 

            House / Národní Dům na Vinohradech at Náměstí Míru. The building was built in 1894, is ver
            used for many different things. Inside the building is very impressive with big, sweeping 
            beautiful chandeliers. The main hall is called the Mayakovsky Hall and it is spectacular, 

            decorated and with a balcony all around the top to look down onto the dancing (or whatever
            below).
            On the night of the ball there were also two other rooms in use, the Rais Hall and the Soc

            were smaller and offered different types of music and dancing. I listened to a different b
            of these, each playing a completely different style. If classical dancing isn't your thing
            still something for everyone. I even managed to partake in a salsa class hosted by Salsa4W

            consequence have been attending their lessons on a Monday.
            In the Mayakovsky Hall, there was a band on stage who played music throughout the night. A
            started, people jumped up to dance. This was a perfect demonstration of the confidence tha

            classical dances teaches you. There were all levels of skill, some were beginners like mys
            watch other people and pick up the steps, some looked like they'd been doing it for their 
            the rest were somewhere in between. It was a great atmosphere, and felt like a really spec

            with the men wearing suits and the women in dresses and heels. This seems to be one of the
            Czechs don't mind going all out to impress.
            When needing a break to catch a breath, there were tables around the edge of the hall to s

            the other guests, and soak up the atmosphere. The audience were treated to several perform
            variety of different dancers. Drinks were served to the table, there were some speeches an
            half way through, with a variety of prizes. Everybody joined in and seemed to have a reall

            was taught the phrase 'smím prosit?', meaning 'would you like to dance?', as it is standar
            different people even if you come with a partner. This makes it a really good social activ
            the chance to dance and meet many people.

            Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening that I would recommend to anybody who gets 
            and wants to learn some more about the Czech culture.