Quarrels about controversial awards and then Corona. After turbulence, a reorganization followed and now the Dresden Ball Club is giving fans of glamorous ball nights a foretaste of the next edition.
Dresden (dpa/sn) – There should be more dancing again: With a festive matinee, the Dresden Semper Opera Ball presented its new ideas and plans for the 16th ball evening next year. “It’s very clear. Everything has to develop somehow. You can’t stand still,” said the first chairman of the ball club, Wolf-Dieter Jacobi, on Friday in Dresden.
The club dealt a lot with the expectations, comments and criticism of the ball guests and decided to focus more on the ball experience again – instead of award ceremonies. On February 23 of next year, the organizers are expecting prominent figures from politics, culture and show business. Under the motto “Let’s dance!” the ball club announced an international show for around 2,500 guests and the 15,000 people expected for the open-air ball in front of the building.
The Mexican opera singer Rolando Villazón will be there. The ball will be moderated by “Game of Thrones” star Tom Wlaschiha, who claims to have taken part as a guest at the Dresden Semperopernball twice before. In addition, the President of the Saxon State Parliament, Matthias Rößler, and the Vice-Chairman of the ball club, as well as the Managing Director of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, Tillmann Blaschke, announced that only a maximum of three prizes would be awarded in the future. These include a prize for young artists and one for life’s work. According to Roessler, no prizes should be awarded to politicians in the future.
A scandal about the award of a ball medal to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi almost three years ago triggered outrage and protests from many people. Two co-moderators of the ball and several artists canceled. Al-Sisi came to power after a military coup and has been cracking down on opposition figures and critics. At the end of last year, the club finally reorganized itself when long-time ball impresario Hans-Joachim Frey was replaced by former MDR program manager Jacobi.
The Sempeopernball is a non-profit, privately organized and economically active association. He has organized the balls in the Semperoper since 2006.
