Photo: Emily Silk

Cheers to Opening Ball 2018

By Events Editor 5 years ago

The Stand reviews the first black tie event of the academic year: the Kate Kennedy Club’s Opening Ball.

The first Saturday evening of October saw dottings of besuited students loitering around North Street, the shelves of Tesco bare of prosecco: evidence of the run up to the first black tie event of the academic year. At the end of Week Three, the Kate Kennedy Club’s Opening Ball historically sets the tone for a string of formal events in the weeks to follow, and is considered an unmissable event for any new St Andrews student. 

This was my third year as a guest at Opening Ball. A seemingly experienced third year, I remember attending as a fresher: a little more naive, bright eyed and unexpecting. Now a little tired of the black-tie culture in this town, I had my doubts, however I was struck as usual by the enchantment of a lit-up Sallie’s quad before making my way towards the stone steps to the main event. Dominated by hubbles of champagne-armed first years posing in front of professional photographers or extravagantly introducing mutual friends, the ball was very much the same as I remember it attending two years ago: as stereotypically “St Andrews” as you could imagine.

Photo: Emily Silk

 

The main action of the ball took place in a large, high ceilinged marquee, dazzling with fairy lights and rolled out in red carpet. A piper and champagne reception greeted early arrivals, whilst free treats of candy-floss and popcorn were available for the majority of the night with many students helping themselves to several servings. The bar, busy at times though efficiently run by the Union, was thoughtfully set up in a cube arrangement, allowing for even dispersal of the many, many ticket-holders in the wide marquee space. As in previous years, the drinks came at very reasonable prices, and the surrounding area remained a popular spot for people to mill around before dispersing onto one of the two dance floors.

Inside, the main stage hosted ‘Ryzy’ and Expats, which appeared to cater to the younger crowd. Although slow to start with, the production was impressive, with workings of light and smoke creating a charged atmosphere which compensated for the relatively mediocre music. Outside in the so-called open air tent, student music collective Bpm hosted the smaller stage to a comparably more hyped crowd which remained busy until the end despite the rather harsh lighting.

Photo: Emily Silk

Away from the music, guests could rest their dancing feet on aesthetically lit-up seating alongside much-needed outdoor heaters. Whilst a few students mourned over the absence of previous years crowd-pleaser Blackhorn, the food vendours Wild Fire Pizza and La Creperie remained busy throughout the evening, providing drunken scran for all hungry party-goers.

Undeniably, the ball was very well managed, and overall, a good production. However, in my third year attending, it seemed to lack sparkle and really did not have any stand out features which differentiated it from one year to the next. This may in part be down to my own personal disenchantment with the ritual of black-tie events: but looking to the future, it certainly would be refreshing to see some sort of interesting upheaval or creative innovation to keep returning students interested. I understand that Opening Ball has established itself as an iconic event and that it is its seemless structure which ensures its success each year: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. However, with the many, many black tie events which we have on offer, a little change wouldn’t go a miss.

Photo: Emily Silk

Regardless, Opening Ball succeeded in supplying its target crowd with a dazzling first taste of traditional St Andrean nightlife. Ball convenor Yasmina Souaid did an excellent job – and as always, the money from ticket sales will go towards the benefit of the KK’s three chosen charities: Autism Rocks Fife, Toby’s Magical Journey, and Home-Start East Fife.

Comments

comments

Tags: , , , ,

82 thoughts on “Cheers to Opening Ball 2018”

  2. Pingback: turners
  13. Pingback: บ้านมือสอง

  28. Win a new set of wheels on July 1, only at Gold Strike Casino Resort! You have successfully signed up to receive more information from Bally’s Dover Casino Resort.  Earn Unity Points on qualifying spend every time you game, purchase food, buy merchandise, or stay the night at one of our Hard Rock hotels. To put it simply, Hard Rock’s browser-based online casino looks great and plays great. The graphics are crisp, clean, and modern, plus it’s easy to navigate. While most iGaming sites rely heavily on menu bars draped across the top of the screen, Hard Rock has created a convenient display along the left side of the screen. You can log-in there, browse games, jump to the sportsbook, check your rewards, and more. Are there any promotions, complimentary drinks or free play for first timers at the casino?
    https://foxtrot-wiki.win/index.php?title=Top_mastercard_online_casinos
    Talk about old school. Casino War can be found at some of the best MI online casinos, as well as Dragon Tiger, which is a variation of war. Baccarat and craps are also offered at several Michigan casino sites. The majority of online casinos have live dealer baccarat as well. There are some nefarious online casinos out there; that’s the cold hard truth. Luckily for you, we’ve vetted every casino on this list and you can be confident in your safety playing at them.Can I Win Real Money Playing at Online Casinos? More than 65% of all gambling fans disclosed these gambling products as their favourite. We are happy to report that each casino will be able to excite you with some of the hottest and most exciting table games you can find in the realm of online gambling in the Netherlands. Below, we have outlined the best Dutch casino games for real money and their respective RTP in a categorised manner:

    Reply
  42. Pingback: เครดิตฟรี 100

  67. It houses the headquarters of the most important institutions and is also an influential cultural center. Extensive and manicured parks and gardens How Retiro Park or the House, to enjoy the sun and stroll through one of the greenest capitals in Europe. It also has excellent means of transport, the metro Being the second most extensive in Europe and Barajas Airport, one of the busiest of the Old Continent. Search for rental property and rooms for rent directly from landlords, without a high street agent. The agent is a member of the Property Redress Scheme and Propertymark, which is a client money protection scheme. Here at Village House, all of our apartments are available to foreign residents. We provide a variety of foreigner-friendly apartments in Japan. Not only do we offer apartments for rent with no broker fee, but we have options of varying apartment sizes from two bed room apartments, small but comfy one-bedroom studio apartments and even mansions for rent.
    https://midi.org/midi/forum/profile/144449-granfieldestat
    All paperwork included (build license, habitation license, 10 year build guarantee, etc.) plus weekly reports and drone photos. Find your new home A gated development over 4 buildings which offers ground-floor homes with private gardens, first-floor apartments with sea views. Because the energy bills saving in your new home is next level The lopsided situation prompted Higgins to set up the HomeOwners Alliance in 2012, to champion the interests of buyers and campaign for better quality new-builds. One of its suggestions, a new-builds ombudsman, was finally taken up in 2022, but many are cynical about its impact. In May, having been established for over a year, the ombudsman service said it had received only one eligible complaint. Receive the latest news and be the first one to know when new lots are released.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

THE STAND