Ritual has been a major driver of upper-class marriage in Britain and the United States for several hundred years, but it has never been taken seriously by scholars. When I started studying the origins of the ritual, I was surprised that they were so difficult to locate. Historians have merely described when it began, but have not been interested in investigating why. Elitist rituals are easy to dismiss, and when they shape the lives of young women, it`s even easier. But when we do that, we miss an important part of the history of women and also the history of marriage. The handing over of the Debutantes to the sovereign at court marked the beginning of the British social season. The presentation of the debutantes to the court was also an opportunity for young women of marriageable age, suitable singles and their families to be introduced in the hope of finding a suitable husband. Singles, in turn, used the presentation of the farm as an opportunity to find a suitable wife. Although the practice is abolished in the UK and little practiced in Australia, the early stage is thriving in the US today.

More than ever, more and more young hopefuls are signing up for the chance to perform at a beginner`s ball. In the United States, beginner balls are also known as Cotillion (they are called that in Gossip Girl!) Of all the Cotillion Balls still in progress, the most prestigious is the one taking place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. The Vienna Opera Ball takes place in the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera, which is transformed into a large ballroom. The day before the event, the rows of seats will be removed from the parquet floor and a new floor will be built at stage level. The ball does not begin until around 10 p.m., when the Austrian Federal President and his guests enter the imperial balcony. Their arrival is announced by trumpets. The Austrian national anthem is played, followed by the European anthem. There are performances by the State Opera Ballet Company and classical arias sung by opera stars. It is usually a small selection of Italian operas and famous Austrian plays. The highlight of the opening ceremony is the presentation of 180 beginner couples.

These are carefully selected young women and men who have successfully completed an application program organized by the Elmayer Dance School and a strict classical dance choreography. To the sound of Carl Michael Ziehrer`s Polish fan, beginners are led to the opera. The dress code is the evening dress: white tie and tails for men; Strict dresses of the length of the floor for women. White opera gloves are still mandatory for beginners at the Vienna Opera Ball. [4] In Britain, beginner balls existed for centuries before being abolished. The time of year when the debutantes` balls were held was known as the “London season”. Nicknames like this meant that the elite institution was regularly ridiculed by well-read publications (including Harper`s Bazaar). A beginner is usually a rich girl whose parents want to introduce her into society on a large scale – in “a beginner ball” that looks like something from a scene in Gone with the Wind. The 1992 film The Addams Family revolves around the reconciliation of Gomez and Fester Addams. You argued as a teenager at a beginner`s ball. In the film Little Women (1994), a “coming out” party is given. Aunt March tells Marmee about when Meg will be introduced to the company.

Unlike the UNITED Kingdom and the United States, however, beginner balls are not about “high society,” but about a high school prom. In fact, schools, churches, and youth groups typically organize “Deb events” as fundraisers for charities. These young women, introduced to monarchs who were engaged to declining aristocrats, or whose fathers were looking for money to be able to walk through a stage and go see a small town mayor or rodeo clown, were united by an intractable dilemma – the only respectable career for women was marriage, and the best weddings were made by beginners. In dance, the girls were introduced to society, especially to the social and professional network of the family. The goal was to prepare girls to find husbands. During a training phase, they practiced good behavior, learned food etiquette, basic dance steps and how to dress. Training, dancing and presentation turned the girls into beginners. “Beginner.” dictionary Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debutante. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Before marrying the Queen, Philip dated social beauty Osla Benning, a Canadian debutante he met in 1939. The exact reason for the ban on deb balls? Corruption.

In the 1950s, many women wanted to be considered “high society” but had neither the connections nor the means to be officially invited to beginners` balls. As a result, a number of ball organizers began charging large sums for tickets, which damaged the system. The Officers` Ball is considered the direct successor to the Vienna Imperial Court Ball. The modern version was founded in 1919 by the Alt-Neustadt Association, an association of graduates of the Theresian Military Academy. They have been organizing the ball publicly since 1926. [1] The ball takes place on the third Friday of January in the twenty-three salons of the Hofburg in Vienna and includes nine groups of different musical styles, military formations and dance troupes from all over the world. The boss is the President of the Republic and he is welcomed by the Chief of the Defence Staff. [2] The entrance and presentation of the 80 Debutantes is the highlight of the opening event, followed by the presentation of the Ministers of State, then the diplomatic corps, and ends with the beginners leading the first formal Viennese waltz to the music of the “Blue Danube”. The ladies come from the nobility, daughters of high-ranking military officers or female officers in the Austrian army. They are submitted to the Minister of Defence. [3] The dress code is the evening dress: floor dresses for women and white tie and tail or mass uniform for men.

The closing ceremony is the breath of the hunting horns and takes place at 4 a.m. Debutante-themed films include Metropolitan (1990), Whit Stillman`s feature film, a comedy of manners set in Manhattan during the season of Deb, and What a Girl Wants (2003), in which Amanda Bynes plays an American teenager whose separated father is a British lord and who is introduced at a coming-out party.