Rondelet dance to return in spring
After a year without Rondelet, Rice Program Council decided Tuesday to bring back the dance. Rondelet has been the traditional spring formal since 1947 usually held after Beer-Bike, but RPC cancelled it last year to concentrate on Esperanza after they noticed a decrease in attendance in both its formal dances in past years.
But because of Esperanza’s recent success, RPC President Maggy Taylor said she thought holding Rondelet was feasible.
“We feel like the Rice community now embraces formals more than they did a few years ago,” Taylor, a Will Rice College junior, said. “So we want to embrace that and have formals every semester like we used to.”
Taylor asked council members to collect opinions about hosting Rondelet at their residential colleges. RPC representatives found out that most students would be interested in attending Rondelet only if it were off-campus, RPC Formals co-Chair Michelle Kerkstra said.
Taylor said RPC discussed hosting Rondelet last year, but did not have enough time to organize the event by the time they made the decision. RPC approached Esperanza this year with the hopes that its success and their overall budget would allow them to host Rondelet in the spring, Taylor said.
The budget is pending, but the maximum expense for the venue will be around $4,000 and the total amount spent on the dance will likely be approximately $7,000, Kerkstra said.
Plans for Rondelet are also still underway, but Kerkstra, a Will Rice sophomore, said possible locations include the Angelika Film Center, the Hard Rock Cafe and Magic Island, an entertainment venue with magic shows located on Greenbriar Drive.
Kerkstra also mentioned that the attendance goals for the semi-formal dance will be less ambitious due to the cheaper venue and smaller budget: RPC hopes to have at least 300 attendees.
Lovett College sophomore Natalia Salies, who attended Esperanza this year, said she will consider purchasing a Rondelet ticket.
“I think people at Rice just enjoy dressing up,” Salies said, comparing her experience at Esperanza to a more formal on-campus party. “That’s the one [party] that makes people put clothes on instead of taking them off.”
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