Masquerade ball

Saturday, Luis and I, along with his friends, went to LA for the 12th annual Labyrinth of Jareth masquerade ball. We checked into rooms at the Renaissance Hotel that was next door to the Kodak Theatre. It was quite pretty. They had lots of artworks in the lobby as well as the different floors.

The girls took a few hours to get ready. Mostly makeup and costume. And here's mine:

Frontal view.



Right-side view.



Left-side view.


Back of head. Pretty gold leaves.


Posing for Sprite in the hallway.

And here's Sprite, the masked lunatic who escaped from the insane asylum:



Watch out! He's almost within range! And he wants to take me to a shooting range. Ha!


View from hotel window. Crane and liquor store. I think someone's in the way. =)



Together at the dance.



Close-up of his eye. I love his eyes.

I will post some group pictures once I can get copies of them.

Overall, the ball was a good experience. Though, it was more exciting getting ready than actually being there. We got there around 8ish, when the door opened. People mostly dressed up either as ladies and lords in ball gowns, or in fantasy costumes. Some were really elaborate with tons of feathers and piles of hair. Others were more creative. We saw Kermit the frog and Miss Piggy together. There was one guy dressed up as a dragon. There was another dragging a canon. There are lots of references that I am sure I didn't get. Sprite is probably better at pointing them out. Fantasy.

In the end, it evolved to more of a clubbing experience without the modern music. Most people can't dance, but who cares, everyone looked like they are having a good time. The dj music was punctuated by live band and theatre troupe performances. I think what would've made it stand out more is some kind of organized teaching of masquerade ball dancing where everyone's involved. Since most people can't dance the modern club dancing anyway, whether because of costume or ability, why not get everyone together in a line or circle and do some "civilized" dancing? That would've been more fun and unique.

Though I loved dancing with Sprite, I don't think I will go again. It will not be worth a second experience. However, the costume part was lots of fun and I wouldn't doing that again.