Le Petit Bal au Petit Palais

A week ago on Saturday I packed my bag again and travelled to Tampere to attend le Petit Bal au Petit Palais, a little ball in the Little Palace, that the local re-enactment and dance group L'Amusette had organised. The venue was amazing - if a little futuristic for us 18th century gentry - a neo-renaissance/art nouveau house in the middle of Tampere, restored beautifully to its late nineteenth century glory. The house created a wonderful atmosphere for the party and it was nice to have several rooms instead of just one big hall.
At the ball there was dancing, of course, accompanied again by the old music group Muskotti. We were also entertained by a solo dance performance, and a reading of the scandalous adventures of Fanny Hill. A soprano sang some popular songs and I played the harp. All in all it was a lovely evening and truly a succesful event.

Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

Music room waiting for dancers

The Red Drawing room

In the hallway

The dance master surveying the venue

Gorgeous wallpapers and paintings in the red drawing room

The first dance was Hole in the Wall

Merja and Sanna looking fantastic

L'Amusette being photographed

Gaming table

Baron and Baroness von Mannheim being photographed

Sanna, Maija and Merja displaying different 18th century styles to perfection

Our singer Pia performing

Ida dancing a solo variation

Something very interesting going on at the gaming table

Pia shocking/entertaining the society by reading excerpts of Fanny Hill

This is maybe my favourite photo of the evening; I love how the chandelier light makes it look like a painting and there are several things happening at the same time.

The artist at work

Ida in the Blue Salon

At it again; more historical harp playing, photo by Markku Arvonen

Admiring my surprisingly succesful hairdo. I managed to produce a passable Georgian do all by myself!

What the artist drew during the evening

Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

I was pretty happy with my anglaise and it was comfortable. The chinoiserie stays performed well and the hair never ceases to amaze me. I did it, even though I first felt that It would never work out :) Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

Stripy ladies; we did another group shot too, with all the ladies in stripes that evening. Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

The dance master giving a welcome speech. Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

It was lovely to meet up with Merja and Sanna again! This time we really had time to talk, which was great. Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen

Photo: Teemu Laukkarinen