Spectacular Spring and Winter Ball’s are announced for Liverpool 2010

BILL ELMS ASSOCIATES

Spectacular Spring and Winter Ball’s are announced for Liverpool 2010

A double announcement for ballroom dance lovers, Liverpool is to host not one, but two spectacular Ball’s in 2010.
Liverpool City Council and St. George’s Hall have announced two magnificent Ball’s in the Great Hall for the coming year

The Spring Ball 2010 will take place on Saturday 17th April 2010 with tickets on sale on Friday 18th December and a Winter Ball 2010 date to be confirmed shortly.

The Ball’s follow the much-loved sell-out events that took place in 2009 and the very first unique and exciting Viennese Ball in 2008, which became one of the highlights of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year.  The Spring and Winter Ball’s also link with Liverpool’s Year of Health, Wellbeing and Innovation and the LEAP 2010 year of dance programme.
These magnificent and prestigious events will have all the attributes of the glittering Balls that have taken place in 2008/09 with guest singers and swing orchestra and a special host for the evening.  The undoubted highlight of the evening will be the award-winning dance champion couple, direct from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ who will perform to the audience and showcase their talent and flair with dancing throughout the evening. However, the stars of this glittering night will be the public as they step through the TV screen and onto the same dance floor to show how they can trip the light fantastic.

Councillor Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool City Council said “These Ball’s are rapidly becoming some of the most sought-after ballroom dance events in the UK, a testimony to Liverpool’s strong and diverse cultural offering.  The Spring and Winter Ball’s planned for 2010 will yet again be experiences to remember”.

Strictly Come Dancing professionals said…

“It was such an honour to dance at the magical Summer Ball this year and what a wonderful building! It’s great news to hear these special events will continue in 2010”Vincent & Flavia

“I will never forget performing our romantic Rumba there, it felt like the perfect setting for it, the beauty and atmosphere in the hall was sheer magic and truly an experience worth repeating!”
Camilla Dallerup

The magnificent Great Hall, run by Liverpool City Council is one of Europe’s finest neo-classical buildings and will yet again be the perfect backdrop for the Spring Ball which will attract dance aficionados from all over the region and the UK.  Television programmes such as ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ have seen a massive increase in public interest in ballroom dancing and St. George’s Hall anticipates another sell-out success.

Ticket holders will show off their moves, style and glamour dancing the night away in sumptuous and grand surroundings, and becoming the strictly stars of the night. Early bookings will get the best table seats closest to the dance floor and the orchestra.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Dress Code: Black Tie and Ladies Evening Wear

Date: Saturday 17th April 2010
Time: Doors 7.00pm, dancing begins at 7.30pm, carriages 11.30pm
Prices: £39.50 Reserved Seat, £29.50 Unreserved Seat
VIP Upgrade: £10 per person (please inform the operator at the time of booking)

How to Book: In person at Liverpool Echo Arena Box Office, ACC Live Hotline on 0844 8000 400 (Mon–Sat 9am-9pm and Sun 10am–4pm) or online on www.echoarena.com*
Tickets on sale for first Ball: Friday 18 December 2010. *Tickets subject to booking fee

For more information visit www.stgeorgesliverpool.co.uk

St. George’s Great Hall,
North Entrance,
William Brown Street,
Liverpool,
L1 1JJ

St. George’s Hall – Great Hall

Read more about St George’s Hall, Liverpool

Inspiration for the interior design is Roman, complete with doors that include the letters S.P.Q.L which is an adaptation of ‘Senatus Populusque Romanus’ and means ‘To the Senate and the People’. The interior of the Great Hall is based on the reconstruction of the Tepidarium (the warm baths) of Caracalla in Rome. The Great Hall is the buildings central masterpiece; it is 169’ long including recesses at both ends and 74’ wide including balconies. The long sides are divided in 5 bays by columns made of polished porphyry. The magnificent ceiling, being the largest barrel-vaulted ceiling in the UK, features representations of the coat of arms of Liverpool and Lancashire, images of St. George slaying the dragon, mermaids and symbols of Roman authority.  Below the ceiling, winged angels occupy the spandrels and represent Prudence, Fortitude, Science, Art, Justice and Temperance. These are lit by magnificent chandeliers, suspended from representations of the prows of Greek ships and featuring representations of Neptune and Liver birds. The stained glass window to the north side, above the organ, shows the Arms of Liverpool and the one to the south side shows St. George slaying the Dragon.  The ‘Minton’ floor is made of 2 sections: central sunken section (normally covered by a wooden floor for dancing) and the outer rim which looks considerably older as it was unprotected. The famous Minton tiled floor includes 30,000 hand-crafted tiles depicting tritons, sea nymphs and boys on dolphins as well as the Liverpool Coat of Arms.

The Viennese Balls 2008
In August 1838 Johann Strauss (1804-49) gave six concerts at the Royal Amphitheatre in Liverpool, inspiring some local imitators who, aware of the huge appeal of the new Viennese-style music, lost no time to turn Strauss waltzes into ‘Scouse’ waltzes. In 2008, inspired by the Gustav Klimt exhibition at Tate Liverpool, the Viennese Balls returned to Liverpool to great acclaim, becoming one of the highlights of the city’s year as European Capital of Culture. St George’s Hall’s stunning architecture is the perfect setting for a ball in the grand style.  Klimt lived in Vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century at the same time as the psychiatrist Freud, the philosopher Wittgenstein and the composer Schoenberg. These four great men exerted a profound influence on the century that followed them.  However, in the nineteenth century, Vienna was known around the world for the creation of something much more sexy and daring …the waltz. The Viennese Balls in Liverpool harked back to this period while connecting with the current popularity of ballroom dancing. The Spring Ball 2009 looks forward to continue the growth of the city’s cultural activity.

For further information please contact:

Bill Elms at Bill Elms Associates on 07930 454376 (mobile) or email bill@billelms.com

Postal Address: Fenwick House, 2nd Floor, 15 Fenwick Street, Liverpool, L2 7LS.

Visit www.billelms.com for more information.