The Crystal Ball

I wanted to start off this post with an apology for being so lax about my contributions of late. The usual suspects are to blame: work, work, and work. I've also been musing over exactly what to write about Crystal Ball 2011. I wanted to say something different than what Kell already has covered and I didn't want to be kitsch or predictable…resisting phrases like 'it was wand-erful' in spite of the fact it kept coming to mind.


It's really hard to describe an event like the Crystal Ball from the point of view of a pair of dancers who went to a Harry Potter festival. Obviously it'd be unfair to complain about the dance floor or the dancers on that floor because…it's a Harry Potter event, not a dance. Yet, at the same time, the organizers did a pretty darn good job throwing a dance! In fact they did a lot better than a few dance clubs we've visited! The floor at Landoll's Mohican Castle's event center was adequate, linoleum over concrete is rough on the feet but resists the eventual baptism with beer (or in this case butter beer) well but it's very unforgiving. Still the atmosphere was literally magic.

I also wanted to dwell for a moment on the attendees. In the past I've used this forum to vent about 'floor manners'. Many people, and I'm talking about people who have taken dance lessons, don't have an inkling of how to dance socially. They overreach, they take up too much room, they are overly aggressive, and they ignore the people dancing around them with the end result being a lot of mashed toes and bruised feelings. However, at the Crystal Ball, pretty much everyone had wonderful floor manners. They made room, danced small, and were respectful to those around them. This got me thinking about manners - maybe having good floor manners depends on avoiding arrogance. Maybe having some small portion of yourself know that you're not 'all that' makes you more humble and respectful. Maybe the sin of mashed toes and the sin of hubris are one and the same? I don't know, I'm probably reaching as I'm want to do but it's worth thinking about! All I can say is I wish more people who dance were like the folks at the Crystal Ball. It'd make maneuvering the floor a lot less stressful!

As for the venue, Landoll's Mohican Castle in northern Ohio is an amazing place. I searched without luck for history on the crenellated oddity just outside Loudonville, OH but without any luck. Even the hotel website doesn't provide background information on why Mr. Landoll decided to build his castle in the American hinterland. Maybe the idea stemmed from a European trip or a trip to the local cinema to see Sleeping Beauty, your guess is as good as mine. What I can say is that the collection of towers and cottages amid the rolling, wooded countryside formed the perfect backdrop to the fantasy of Harry Potter. As we strolled to the evening's event a sparkling snow filled the frigid air, dusting everything with a magic glitter.

The Crystal Ball Aftermath

Sigh. The Crystal Ball, hosted by the Ohio Harry Potter Group was fabulous. The people were very friendly, the costumes right out of the movies, the decorations to DIE for, the food great, and the castle setting…oh my. Not sure how they arranged it, but snow was gently falling as we wound our way down the enchanted path to the dance. Maybe they used Harry’s wand. But anyway, a perfectly magical evening. Here's a pic of the castle:



We both love Harry Potter, well, me probably more than Gary. But I wouldn’t say Harry Potter is part of my daily life. This group feels about the Harry Potter books and movies the way Gary and I feel about dancing, so the event was less dance and more Potter-esque activities, but we knew that going into it. It was fun to dance with such a group of fascinating people. Our favorite was dancing to the Deatheater’s Tango. Wickedly delicious. :-) We even saw a waltz demonstration that was different from the waltzes we know; essentially it was the cross step waltz without the cross in front. Very pretty, with a bow after each basic. Here it is:



One of the many cool things about dancing is that it causes us to venture to new places. We would never in a million years have found Landoll’s Mohican Castle if we hadn't of found the Crystal Ball. And we would never know about Wizard Wrock, either. (Music based on all things Potter…really fun.)

Essentially, we stepped into another world for an evening; an evening of enchantment and magic, but also another social world with its own language, culture, and dress. Some people do this kind of exploration by other means: world travel, reading, movies, etc. And though we do some of those too, dancing is the usual way we stick our toes into foreign waters.

Wrock on, Whomping Willows. The Luna song was my favorite. :-)

Gary and my birthdays are in January, rather nice, because we usually decide to do something together along with our separate celebrations. Now that we dance, that something usually is a dance, hopefully a destination dance.

We both search the web often for unusual or historic venues; as much as we love the tried and true, venturing out to new places hold a shivery excitement. If you’ve read our blog long you’ve realized we’ve managed to find quite a few interesting venues, even within the confines of the Midwest. However, you’ve also probably seen how I’ve longed for a fairy ball, coming to understand that most of those were on either coast, or in the UK.

Well. I was scouring around for something unique, and low and behold, I found the Crystal Ball, modeled after the dance of the same name in the Harry Potter books. I read on rather morosely, thinking how cool, if only there’d be something like this in our neck of the woods when lo, I saw where it was... Ohio!!! And in a castle!! Who knew? Here it is, Landoll’s Mohican Castle:



So next weekend we are off to the Ball. I’m so excited. The dress code is either Muggle formal or Wizard-ish. We decided on Wizard. :-)