Paris and Vienna—with Rome as a third and heavily religious and classical partner—are without doubt the two centres of European civilisation. The houses of Habsburg and Capet/Valois/Bourbon often vied with each other to claim the title of successors of Charlemagne, from whom, in the female line, they both descend. But even this rivalry, however violent and occasionally disastrous it could be, sometimes resulted in great things. Such couples as Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and latterly Bl. Emperor Karl and Servant of God Empress Zita demonstrated the best of their legacies in both war and peace. Indeed, the interplay between France and Austria was always enormously fruitful in culture and the arts—not least in the dance. If the minuet spread eastward from Versailles during the 18th century, the favour was returned in the 19th when the waltz came west from the Congress of Vienna with the returning delegates of the victorious allies—to include Restoration France. Throughout the century it expanded its reach, to become the hallmark of cultured and civilised life on every continent.
To this day, despite some decline elsewhere, Vienna remains the stronghold of the waltz. During the ball season (roughly New Year’s Eve to Shrove Tuesday, though some few appear before and after those magical dates), seeming every imaginable group, from student societies to fire brigades, in the old Imperial capital and surrounding country has a ball of its own. These are stately yet fun affairs, coupling a regal opening dance by professionals with a wildly exciting quadrille.
The Maison de la Valse has made a long practise of importing the best of Viennese elegance to add further glamour to that of Paris—a city with its own ball season. They have a number of fascinating programmes; but most alluring in terms of bringing together the mingled glamour of Vienna and Paris is their annual bal viennois de Paris. Charles and Hélène de Lauzun are the directors of the school—and Hélène is a distinguished historian in her own right (and the The European Conservative’s Paris correspondent). She points out:
There is a long tradition of musical and cultural dialogue between Paris and Vienna. At the time of the Congress of Vienna, it was a Frenchman who encouraged the development of the waltz by using parquet flooring in his dance hall to make the step glide and give it a more aristocratic character. A few years later, it was in Paris that the famous waltz, Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube, was launched. It was performed at the 1867 Universal Exhibition and was a resounding success. This emulation was obviously reflected in the friendly rivalry between the French and Austrian courts at the time of Napoleon III and Franz Joseph, but also among musicians such as Johann Strauss II and the French musician Jacques Offenbach. It is this dialogue between Paris and Vienna that the Parisian Viennese Ball or Bal des Parisiennes, founded by Charles de Lauzun in 2015, is seeking to revive.
At one time, Paris ball culture was quite as robust as Vienna’s is to-day. Hélène continues,
Up until the 1950s, Paris still had an extremely lively and powerful tradition of grand balls, at the opera and in the many ballrooms that can still be found in operation in Paris. Unfortunately, the 1960s and above all the coup de grâce of May ’68 put an end to this extraordinary tradition of festivities combining elegance, music and dance.
The 7th edition of the Bal des Parisiennes will be held on Saturday, June 8 at the Pavillon Dauphine, one of the superb pavilions in western Paris. On the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, the venue itself has a fascinating history. Originally built as the Pavilion of the Chinese Delegation for of the Universal Exhibition of 1878, it was designed by the Chinese Imperial architect the architect Sun-Ksing-Keng. In 1881, it was moved to Porte Dauphine, (hence its name), and transformed into a hotel-restaurant. Its main room, the Salon Dauphine, was designed as restaurant space in 1912 by the architect Guillaume Tronchet and inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. Its large bay windows provide extraordinary natural lighting, enhanced by the reflections in the multiple mirrors facing them. During the interwar years, the facade and interior architecture were redone in Art Deco style.
For the first time, an orchestra specially set up for the occasion will be performing: the Orchestre des grands bals de Paris, specialising in French light music, a perfect example of the grace and joie de vivre that the French capital has embodied for so many years in the eyes of Europe and the world. The opening ceremony in Viennese style will feature dancers from the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris.
It may well be asked what importance such a light-hearted event would have for ‘serious’ conservatives. Well, important as the fight for our values is in the religious and political spheres, it is no less so in the cultural area. This includes not only preserving the beautiful in terms of art and architecture, but in such intangible customs—albeit often with visible results, as with hunting and the dance. This ball is not just about anecdotes; it is a public showcase for the values we hold dear: elegance, the complementary nature of dance between men and women, highlighting the extraordinary legacy of musical culture and dance, at a time when the Left has taken over all forms of celebration and sociability in the public space. Conservatism is not just a set of intellectual ideas; it is also a manner of living life.
Several different packages are available for this ball; the most extensive including a gala dinner commencing at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. Details are available at the website: https://www.baldesparisiennes.com. If you go, have a glass of champagne for me!
