balls, balls and more balls

[burningdownthehouse]

Q: Why should this be a problem?
A: For various reasons...

Firstly, what could one expect from the Hispanic society ball apart from a superb night with a LATINO THEME? Am I correct? This year’s ball will be held in the Golf Hotel on the 20th March with the theme of LA RUMBA LATINA. And, of course, I am positive that the society will not fail in any way to live up to the previous excellent standards.

Opposingly, the New Hall Committee has also decided to stage their annual ball on the following day. The theme? HAVANA NIGHTS. Isn't this an affront to the Hispanic Society on many different levels? I may seem harsh but let me reason with you. Starter for 10: What was the theme for last year's Hispanic ball? Yes, you guessed it and you got your points- HAVANA NIGHTS. So why the lack of originality on the theme? Was this an attempt to, and excuse me if I sound 'playground' when I say this, to 'pinch' the idea and theme of one of the most successful societal balls in St Andrews? There are thousands of themes that could have been chosen whereas the Hispanic Society faces a more limited choice given the specificity of the society.

My next point: Why should a societal student run society have to compete with such a sizable hall that has a huge budget allocated especially to the ball?

Moderator edit: The whole post smacks of free advertising, but I'll let you off with it. Giving the price at the bottom is not on though.

[burningdownthehouse]

The sub title of my message seems not to have appeared here.

It should be:

20/21 March = Hispanic Soc Ball V New Hall Ball???!!

[Eiken]

Oh, boo hoo.
Get over yourself.

The DRA's theme was "All Snowed In."

BUT WAIT!
I also attended a ball where the theme was "Snowed in."
Strangely enough, I managed NOT to get my panties in a twist and enjoy both.

There are only so many feasible themes for balls, some of them are bound to clash.
Did it occur to you that perhaps the organisers of the New Hall Ball were at the Hispanic society ball and thought the theme would work well?

There's a plethora of possibilities here. I still say you need to calm down a little.

[Guest]

Come on, Burningdownthehouse certainly has a point here. I think we can all agree that admiring the theme of ball and choosing to incorporate aspects of it into another event is one thing, but pinching the EXACT name/theme and using it as your own is very cheeky indeed. As a student of Spanish, I know that I'll be attending the Hispanic Ball.

[munchingfoo]

and are therefore completely unbiased on the issue...

P.S. Your points will have more of an impact if you register, it's free, quick and easy. People mostly ignore the opinions of guests.

[Bizarre Atheist]

This topic is implying that there is a large section of the student population unaffiliated to anything just gagging for a ball to go to, and, faced with the heart-wrenching choice between the New Hall Ball and Hispanic Soc Ball, may callously choose the big-budget ball to which free tickets are easily acquired rather than the lower-budget society ball for which they'll definitely have to pay.

I would disagree. Hardly anyone goes to a hall or society ball to which they have no affiliation or other reason for going. I wouldn't go the Hispanic Ball because I don't know anyone in the Soc, nor do I speak Spanish, or really have anything to do with Spain whatsoever. I won't go to the NH Ball either, because I hardly know anyone living there and that would just be odd. The two events are not competing for business.

[James B]

Little confused about this thread, why does it start with: "Q: Why should this be a problem? "?!

Reading on though, I kinda see the original poster's point here, whoever came up with the original Havana Nights theme must be pissed off. Being from a small society myself, I can certainly empathise with the worries with societies competing (and it is competing when you need people to go to earn money after all the effort you've put in). People won't go to two balls in one weekend and will choose the cheaper option.

I don't think the "Snowed in" point really makes sense, it's not a very original idea to call a ball something to do with snow when it's winter, whereas there are many Hispanic-style names to choose from if you're gonna do a Latin theme... Actually, now that I think of it, New Hall stole the Under The Sea theme from someone else in year 05-06, haha.

[David Bean]

This is hardly an example of unfair, cuthroat competition. Indeed, if the Hispanic Society wanted to be enterprising about it, they'd turn the situation to their advantage by having a word with the Hall Committee and try to find ways to work together. They could easily co-promote the two events as some sort of Latin weekend, offering a special deal on tickets for the two balls; New Hall, being better funded, could probably take most of the hit on revenue (though with the potential increase in demand they would likely end up doing better out of it even so), and the Hispanic Soc people could lend their expertise on creating an authentic feel to the New Hall event. Surely that would be a more pro-active and constructive course of action than simply bitching about 'competition' on The Sinner?

In fact, it's not too late to do exactly that, so perhaps someone who knows Hispanic Soc and/or the New Hall Committee (formerly including my academic granddaughter, but I'm pretty sure she'll have moved on by now) could pass this suggestion along? Anyone who makes this happen will have a wonderful story to tell their potential employers in the future when they come to apply for jobs, I can promise.

[Un Latino]

Al parecer voy a tener dos oportunidades para poder disfrutar la música y la fiesta de mi tierra, pero siendo honesto quien podría organizar algo mas "latino" alguien que sepa o alguien que no sepa del tema... mmmmmm
Parece que ya me decidí a cual ir.

Nos vemos allá...

[munchingfoo]

Un Latino, why do you say that? Surely there's someone in New Hall and the hispanic society who know a bit about the "latino" theme?

[johnjohnjohn]

Might I address this issue given that I'm on the New Hall Committee...

Firstly, 'Havana Nights' is actually the title of the second, awful, Dirty Dancing movie, so I hardly think you can lay claim to it. Whoever came up with the 'idea' is most likely a Hollywood producer. Secondly, our Ball Convenor is himself an avid Salsa dancer, and teacher I believe, so he chose the theme on his interests - I wasn't aware this was a crime.

The events are hardly conflicting, except maybe to those in the Hispanic Society who are living in New Hall - at a push. However it's nice to see that my publicity is working, and all this free advertising is quite nice.

If you would like to raise any issues with the Committee in a more civilised manner, please feel free to contact us and nhcom at st andrews dot ac dot uk. Otherwise, if you have any decorations left over, please drop them round on Saturday morning

[johnjohnjohn]

And just to be cheeky...

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=58238925924&ref=ts

[Guest]

A few things.
Before criticizing maybe one should learn a few more facts. New Hall committee, is hiring members of the hispanic soc (more exactly their salsa group) to come and do some demonstrations, also one of our DJs is a bona fide cuban and salsa teacher, they've actively involved a few key members of the hispanic soc in the events planning, as mentioned before, the ball organizer is an avid latin dance/salsa enthusiast who has been dancing for over 5 years now.
What does all this tell us? even if their is competition, the New Hall ball is offering the Hispanic Soc free advertisement time to an audience of over 1000 people, maybe helping them recover any of the losses they might incur from competition.
The authenticity of the 'latin' feel is not that questionable. Of course the night will involve things not necessarily latin, such as a ceilidh, and live jazz/rock music. this does mean that I would suggest that anyone going to a ball, solely for the latin ambience is probably better off at the hispanic ball, but anyone out for a good time should either choose, or go to both, neither event is expensive.
And the DJ is one of the guys who organized the 'original' Havana Nights ball, and if he hasnt voiced any complaints yet, why should anyone else.

[David Bean]

Seriously, guys, do a co-promotion. I promise, you can only benefit, both as groups and personally.