What a fantastic night!
University of Michigan’s quidditch team surely put on a show. The Rogel ballroom looked positively gorgeous in it’s Harry Potter attire, transforming into something almost as magical as the great hall itself. Quidditch hoops lined each opposing end of the room, decorated in twinkling lights, serving as a popular spot to to take pictures. A banquet table full of appetizing delights, tempted witches as wizards alike with different cheeses, fruits, cakes, and bread, as well as water and lemonade. A playlist of catchy dance music was constantly playing throughout the night encouraging guests to strut their stuff out on the dance floor, and of course being the enthusiastic dancer that I am, I complied, much to the despair of the dancers around me. I’ll tell you, dancing in full robes and high heels is harder than I thought it would be.
Although I enjoyed the Yule Ball very much, it did have it’s shortcomings. One of which is that the entertainment that was provided was a bit of a hit or miss. Of course, I have to take into consideration that this is an event put on by a student organization, hence budgets are always limited. However, when you see a sorting hat hanging from a string off a sagging wall-like structure that is falling over at times…you start to wonder how much was left until the last minute. Of course, I would never claim that that was the case and I’m sure they worked hard on all their props, but if a prop is every failing, it’s better to just cut it out entirely. Another problem with the sorting hat was the performance itself. As my friend sat down to be sorted, it seemed as though the quidditch team had a series of sorting questions that were printed out a sheet of paper. However, the person in charge of the sorting hat only asked my friend two of them before abruptly sorting her into Gryffindor, a rather disappointing turn of events. As well as the sorting hat, there was also a divination booth which produced a better experience overall. The person in charge seemed very willing to put on the best performance possible and gave both my friend and I a very enthusiastic prediction of our futures.
Overall, I’d say it was a successful night in the long run. It was fun to see fellow fans of the wizarding world of Harry Potter enjoying time together under the same roof. No duels broke out and no one got turned into a ferret. I would have liked Dumbledore to make an appearance, but I guess that was too much to hope for.
Oh well, there’s always next year!
