Willa was encouraged by some pieces of his letter (he seemed amenable to her musical suggestions, though they had been largely manufactured in order to get an excuse to write to him) and discouraged by others (the only good opening he had left her for a response was to talk about parties he hadn't attended, and she feared it would make her sound vapid and vain). But she was not ready to write the acquaintance off yet, not when he was somewhere as exciting as Germany. She put quill to paper with an air of determination. Mr. Echelon-Arnost would like her. She was delightful; she would delight him. Somehow.
The Midsummer Ball had an interesting magical twist; clouds appeared and spirited some couples away to dance above the dance floor rather than on it. I don't know that it's likely to catch on as the latest ballroom trend — one young man looked very much like he would be sick while he was up on one of the clouds — but I do always appreciate when a hostess makes at least an attempt at novelty at their events. The Dashwood debut was, on the other hand, a debut (but these are never especially novel, in my experience; no one wants to risk having some fancy illusionwork be more memorable than the debutante). I dare say neither of them will hold a candle to the philharmonic. Though we do have a night of ballet upcoming that promises to be quite interesting — Swan Lake performed on the Black Lake. I'm not entirely sure what the mechanism is to make the production and the audience float but I'm quite looking forward to it — assuming we can get the tickets, of course, they're apparently quite limited. Are you at all a fan of ballet? I have only seen three performances, but have enjoyed all that I've seen. Such a pity that England doesn't have a dedicated ballet company and we're left at the mercy of these touring productions.
I expect opera is more the trend in Germany than ballet? I have no particular basis for thinking so except that I happen to have heard an opera in German (at the de Montfault theater here locally; unfortunately I've never been abroad) and haven't seen a ballet with German titles in the program.
Gorgeous Set by Bee <3
12 July 1892
Dear Mr. Echelon Arnost,
The Midsummer Ball had an interesting magical twist; clouds appeared and spirited some couples away to dance above the dance floor rather than on it. I don't know that it's likely to catch on as the latest ballroom trend — one young man looked very much like he would be sick while he was up on one of the clouds — but I do always appreciate when a hostess makes at least an attempt at novelty at their events. The Dashwood debut was, on the other hand, a debut (but these are never especially novel, in my experience; no one wants to risk having some fancy illusionwork be more memorable than the debutante). I dare say neither of them will hold a candle to the philharmonic. Though we do have a night of ballet upcoming that promises to be quite interesting — Swan Lake performed on the Black Lake. I'm not entirely sure what the mechanism is to make the production and the audience float but I'm quite looking forward to it — assuming we can get the tickets, of course, they're apparently quite limited. Are you at all a fan of ballet? I have only seen three performances, but have enjoyed all that I've seen. Such a pity that England doesn't have a dedicated ballet company and we're left at the mercy of these touring productions.
I expect opera is more the trend in Germany than ballet? I have no particular basis for thinking so except that I happen to have heard an opera in German (at the de Montfault theater here locally; unfortunately I've never been abroad) and haven't seen a ballet with German titles in the program.
Miss Willa Kensington
Gorgeous Set by Bee <3