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KEEP THE BALL ROLLING FOR CHARITY

As the first strains of the music fill the air, tiaras dip and heads bow. And the murmuring voices of the onlookers dwindle and fade away. As the music gains full tempo, the couples elegantly waltz across the floor, together in time and pace and romance. This is the glamour of the Vienna Opera Ball.

But this is not Austrian recall, it's a vision of the Dubai Opera Ball to be held in Joharah Ballroom at the Madinat on March 16. Brainchild of Mrs Mahshid Amir-Mokri, herself a previous debutante in Vienna, this is the second year that Dubai will 'go to the ball'.

"Of course we can't bring the Opera House to Dubai but this is a good compromise. People love glamorous, glittering events and that's what this is: just the right touch of culture with the orchestra, ballet and sopranos providing the perfect ambience," says Mahshid. "And all the people dressed up, looking forward to a romantic evening. Dubai is still seeking for cultural events and this is a highlight. People like to be there, to have a wonderful evening. It takes you back to earlier times when romance was in the air. That was the feedback from last year."

The Vienna Opera House is sending the very orchestra that opens the Summer season in that fair city together with professional dancers. But this year only 20 Austrian couples will be opening the ball; in the main, our bright new debutantes and their beaus will come from Dubai.

"Last year we had 85 couples who are coming from Vienna because they know how it is and they knew what they were doing, so they opened the opera. But this year we are selecting debutantes from Dubai and have been auditioning young people between 16 and 25 and coupling them up. It is very exciting for them because it is the first time that they will have done something like that. And this year we have also selected 5 couples from Dubai to open the Vienna Opera Ball. Can you imagine the tears and screams? It was so nice and I was really touched buy them. But we don't take anybody unless they have the right attitude. We want to have them in authentic attire because it makes a difference so people must like to dress up, feel the importance of it all and everything that comes with it."

Mahshid and her committee already have 20 couples under the tutelage of dancing instructors from the Vienna Dancing School. But they're looking for 40 more romantic pairs to open the ball and the ladies get to keep their Swarovski crystal tiaras as souvenirs. (Check www.dubaioperaball.com for more details.)

Behind the beau monde of ballgowns and tails there lies a darker theme: the shadow of a woman freezing on the ground.

"At night the weather is so cold that the mother wasn't even aware that her baby had fallen from her arms and died," says Barbara Castek, CEO of Dubai Aid and Humanitarian City. "Seeing something like that never leaves you. You say that a Dh20 blanket can't help, and then you have to remember that sentence. It's such a simple thing."