hall_monitors: (Default)
Clarion Mods ([personal profile] hall_monitors) wrote in [community profile] clarionprep2016-01-16 03:07 pm

[open] PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES

who | Everyone, students and staff alike!
what | An opening mixer to celebrate the beginning of the school year.
when | Friday, September 16th, 1921
where | The Great Hall.
summary / warnings | Everyone is invited to put on their glad rags and strap on their mary-janes for a night of music, dancing, light refreshments and polite socialization. Please warn for language, etc in individual threads.








It's a beautiful, crisp September evening, and outside the wind blows gently, rustling crisp leaves and sending piles of them scattering across the stone courtyard. It might be chilly outdoors, but inside, the Great Hall is warm and inviting.

The crystal chandeliers overhead have been lit with hundreds of candles, sending warm light dazzling over the walls and the marble floor, and up on the dais at the far end, a jazz band is playing lively music, the trumpet and saxophone underscored by steady drums and the thrum of the upright bass.

Students and staff alike have turned out in their best fall fashions; hair has been pin-curled all afternoon in preparation, the ladies' dorms abuzz with hot irons and hairpins and pressed powder--the gentlemen's, with spit-shined shoes and starched bow-ties and the scent of hair grease.

The cooks have been hard at work in the kitchen; along one wall are lined table filled with fancy canapés, bowls of sweet punch (non-alcoholic, of course!), sweets, and various other fancy foods. Students stand near these tables making chitchat while taking a break from dancing, mingling with their classmates and maybe making new friends while they're at it.

The center of the room is filled with lively dancers, rich and poor kids alike showing off the newest dance craze--mainly the Charleston, though it's yet to earn that name as the song won't be released for another two years--as well as the foxtrot and the waltz, when the music allows for it. Shoes click smartly against the marble floor, beads and tassels fly, and curls bounce as students let off the last bit of steam before the semester begins on Monday.

As the night goes on, the punch and canapés are gradually replaced by hot chocolate and cider and slices of pie for dessert, as a last treat before the evening inevitably draws to a close and students are shuffled off to bed--though some may choose to linger, or sneak around the empty school after-hours, if they're daring and not quite ready to sleep.
splendid_roman: (Smiling)

[personal profile] splendid_roman 2016-01-18 09:39 am (UTC)(link)
"I'll wait until they think they know me, then let them find out. It's more fun that way." He grinned, then waved towards the table. "Can I get you anything?"
burgeoned: (❧ 13)

[personal profile] burgeoned 2016-01-19 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Another glass of the punch wouldn't go amiss." She holds out her empty glass. "But only if you're getting one for yourself, too."
splendid_roman: (Sitting and listening)

[personal profile] splendid_roman 2016-01-20 01:04 pm (UTC)(link)
He was, but if it wasn't he'd be too polite to say so. When Ian returned with two full glasses of punch, he sat beside Violet, after passing her hers. "What sort of music do you like?"
burgeoned: (❧ 06)

[personal profile] burgeoned 2016-01-21 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Classical music has always been more to my tastes." She'd feel disloyal saying anything else, with all her years of becoming proficient with the piano and violin. "I have quite a few Enrico Caruso records in my room here, I've always been fond of him." Her expression changes so subtly to a small smile, as though she's admitting a guilty pleasure as she adds, "And you can never go wrong with a little Gilbert and Sullivan."
splendid_roman: (Smiling)

[personal profile] splendid_roman 2016-01-23 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
"You can't," he agreed, his smile less small. "I was in The Pirates of Penzance at school. The songs are hard to learn, but great fun. They had a way with words."
burgeoned: (❧ 15)

[personal profile] burgeoned 2016-01-26 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Her own smile widens in response, surprised and pleased. "I imagine that must be a great deal of fun to perform." She'd never had the confidence when she was younger and offered the opportunity to appear in Iolanthe, even in the back row of the chorus, something she regretted now. "I know quite a few of their songs for the piano, so if you're ever inclined to a sing then I'd be glad to accompany."
splendid_roman: (In a shirt)

[personal profile] splendid_roman 2016-01-28 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
"I haven't done much singing since I was a child." He was worried she'd think him a good singer, whereas these days he wasn't at all sure. There hadn't been much opportunity to sing recently. But in principle, he liked the idea. "Maybe I should practise a few first."
burgeoned: (❧ 04)

[personal profile] burgeoned 2016-01-31 05:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course. If the semester leaves time to practise, that is." She gives a slightly exaggerated sigh. "We've a busy time ahead of us."
splendid_roman: (Smiling)

[personal profile] splendid_roman 2016-02-01 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
"I hope so," Ian said with a smile. "I'd far rather be busy than bored."