Societies editor Vanessa Platt casts her eye over the end-of-year Dusk Till Dawn Ball.
On the evening of Friday, June 15th, the Students’ Union opened its doors to the biggest, the longest and easily the most anticipated Cardiff student event of 2012.
This year saw our annual ball brought to its spiritual home at the heart of student life – previous Summer Balls having been held in Bute Park to dubious success – and, fittingly, it saw the physical Union building revamped into a first-class venue, one complete with champagne reception, garden, BBQ, Casino room and live music performed throughout the evening, inside and al fresco.
The music was courtesy of Cardiff UniversityÔÇÖs Big Band & Jazz Society – the UniversityÔÇÖs excellent 10-piece band Giles Room Jazz performing superbly in the International Lounge, transformed for the occasion into a relaxed and comfy cocktail bar.
Big BandÔÇÖs Musical Director Jeremy Meddows-Taylor shared his thoughts with gair rhydd: ÔÇÿThe band and I really enjoyed our night at the Dusk Til Dawn Ball and wish to congratulate the Union on the success of the event. We had a great stage to play on in the impressive VIP Garden and a large and appreciative audience around us – that always makes a good gig! Personally, I found it a very fitting end to what has been a very exciting and progressive year for the band. We have taken part in a big band festival in Sunderland, played the BBC Hoddinott Hall, and this August (Sunday 12th) we have been invited to perform at the internationally-renowned Brecon Jazz Festival. To be part of a line-up that will feature some of the greatest jazz artists in the world is a real honour and privilege!”
The state-of-the-art third-floor Lounge demonstrated the true versatility of its space, festooned with swathes of swagging – as were three floors of the Union in an Alive in Wonderland theme. The transformation was masterful and the contribution from JazzSoc and Big Band indispensable: thanks must go to Jeremy and all the musicians, who gave of their time, their talent, and not to mention their evening at the Ball to give others such superb entertainment.
The end-of-year Ball is a feature familiar to a substantial number of Sabbatical Officer candidatesÔÇÖ manifestos every year, and it can seem that each hopeful is willing their event-themed words full of pre-election zeal to help rake in the votes and propel them into the role of Union officer. It is notable that, for the first time in years, those who promised delivered, and we put on a party to be proud of. It is a success reflected in the figures: the total income of the Ball, ┬ú26,523, outdid the total cost of ┬ú25,024, making a total profit of ┬ú1,499. Ticket revenue totalled ┬ú15,083 and revenue from the bars ┬ú11,439, helping to push this event into previously unexplored realms of success.
Adam Curtis, our newly-elected Societies Officer, shares his thoughts on this ÔÇÿincredibleÔÇÖ event with the gair rhydd: “These statistics are pretty impressive considering the fact that the last few Balls have only ever lost a lot of money. Personally, I loved the society input into the Ball: I thought the Jazz band was one of the best acts of the night and really gave the garden a sense of class. They made it fun and enjoyable, and were a little bit different from the main headline acts, which is always a good thing. The headline Lady Gaga tribute act was very cheesy, but greatly enjoyable; the Casino room was so much fun and all the extra bits around the Union, such as the henna tattoo area made the event incredible.”
But the Ball should be more than a party-themed election ploy, as Adam has been keen to emphasise. In the April 23rd edition of gair rhydd (Issue 976), he commented on his use of the Ball as a ÔÇÿcampaign strategyÔÇÖ, sharing that “people seemed to think it was an easy policy, a cop-out – but I seriously think we can do a good summer ball. People want a good summer ball [and] I would do it differently: I would combine the universities ÔÇô Cardiff, UWIC, Royal Welsh. Swansea University managed to get a great act ÔÇô Florence and the Machine ÔÇô as a headline, which obviously attracts attention and is expensive, but [ÔǪ] if we combined with all the other universities, weÔÇÖd definitely have enough people interested.”
Looking back, many will agree that Cardiff Students’ Union (CSU) has now certainly delivered the goods and produced that ÔÇÿgood summer ballÔÇÖ by itself, although one may well echo Adam when he observes that “itÔÇÖs a real shame that more societies did not get involved with the ball, even if it is understandable that members probably just wanted to go and have a good time.” We anticipate along with Adam that “next year the society involvement will hopefully increase – thus making the ball bigger and better.”
Even at the beginning of a new academic year, we can surely still look forward to our end-of-year event, coming as it will on the watch of new CSU President and former Societies Officer Harry Newman, and the latest enthusiastic team of Sabbatical officers. I, for one, look forward to another great night out made particularly memorable by the involvement of our many societiesÔÇÖ members.
Add Comment