CMLLC's third annual Winter Ball draws largest crowd to date
The Global Language Forum's third annual Winter Ball, held on Friday, January 26, was the biggest yet. Nine student organizations representing some of the many languages taught in CMLLC invited the campus community to join them for an evening of dancing, food, and education about some of the many, diverse cultures of celebration practiced in countries around the world.
The Global Language Forum is an umbrella organization comprised of representatives from CMLLC's various student organizations. This year's event was supported by the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, the Dean of Students Office, the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, and the English Language Institute.
The Student Center Ballroom was transformed into a global banquet hall, where representatives from the student organizations taught revelers dances, sang songs for them, and presented information about global party culture.
The Polish Club kicked off the evening by performing a Polonez. A traditional entry waltz practiced by royalty, this dance stemmed from the Polish walking dance and evolved with influences from the French. Next up, the Deutschklub taught the crowd a variation of the Kettentanz. Translating directly to "chain dance," this is a traditional style of dance performed in a circle or semi-circle that incorporates large groups of people. This ancient style of dancing is commonly seen at German festivals, weddings, and special occasions.
The Slavic Klub hosted dancers from St. Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Church, who performed and taught traditional Russian dances. The Circolo Italiano explained a wild Abruzzese graduation ceremony and discussed the burning of the "vecchione" in Bologna, which takes place every year on New Year's Eve. They also taught audiences a traditional Italian dance known as the Tarantella.
The Lebanese Student Association spoke about party culture in Lebanon and the Arab world. Then, they taught the audience how to dance a traditional Arabic folk dance known as the Dabke. The Cercle Francaise and the Romanian Students Association both presented dances and music and then the Chinese Club offered a presentation on the Chinese New Year. As they explained, this year is the celebration of the Earth Dog and will take place on Friday, February 18th; a guitarist sang traditional songs for the guests. Finally, El Club Hispano addressed popular celebrations in a few Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia, and taught a Colombian dance called the Cumbia.
As is the Winter Ball tradition, the evening ended with a photo documenting the evening's "final finishers" and Donna Summer's "Last Dance." More pictures and a video featuring some of the evening's fun are available on our CMLLC Facebook page.
