Spending a night at the ball with a touch of mystery
Published: Monday, February 18, 2013
Updated: Monday, February 18, 2013 00:02
 "Photo: Aaron Balmer and Marissa Balough dance a nightclub two step. Both are active in the ballroom dancing")
Aaron Balmer and Marissa Balough dance a nightclub two step. Both are active in the ballroom dancing
Jackie Seus
 "Photo: Jackie Seus")
Jackie Seus
Kelsey Zephyr and Lucas Teeter dance a rumba. The dancers have been part of OSU’s Cool Shoes, a group performing choreographed ballroom dance routines.
Masked revelers and music filled the Memorial Union ballroom Saturday night as the Oregon State University Ballroom Dance Club held its 2013 winter formal.
The lavish event was tied together with a masquerade theme, and attendees were encouraged to dress up and wear masks, but it was not required. President of the Ballroom Dance Club, Davis Weymann, said that while the choice of theme is usually arbitrary, there was a reason behind the choice for this event.
“For this evening we often try to have a winter formal during winter term, and every handful of years we do a masquerade and they are always really popular and we’re like, ‘You know what? We haven’t done a masquerade in a while and we should do that,’” Weymann said.
An hour before the start of the official dance, the Ballroom Dance Club led a lesson to teach the basics of the foxtrot to those who were willing to learn. The Ballroom Dance Club often tries to hold these informative dance lessons directly prior to their events. This one was taught by Mark Baker, an instructor here at OSU. Weymann thought that this was an interesting opportunity.
“With Mark teaching, we knew it would be a different type of foxtrot than we normally get to teach,” Weymann said.
At 8 p.m., the lesson ended and the masquerade began. The lights dimmed, music began to play and people paired up to dance.
When asked if he had any hopes for the night, Weymann responded with the following:
“We always hope to get a lot of people,” Weymann said. “A good mix of people who are returning, because that means they liked it, and we always like to get an influx of new people because that means it’s an interest.”
One returning attendee was Kyra Nicholas, a freshman in environmental engineering. When asked why she was there, she said that it was because she liked dancing.
“So far, it’s just as good [as prior events],” Nicholas said. “I like the theme this time.”
More information on OSU’s Ballroom Dance Club, as well as information on upcoming events, can be found on their webpage, groups.oregonstate.edu/ballroom/.
Emmet Sleipness, contributor
news@dailybarometer.com
is a member of the 
