Those students looking to dance the night away Saturday at the Restoration Ball may not realize they are prep-stepping in the footsteps of a centuries-old tradition.
This Restoration Ball, co-sponsored by the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and the University Guide Service, carries on a long tradition of year-end dances that stretches back to the earliest years of University history.
"The Ball is a really unique event in that it is open to the entire University community," said Rebecca Crawford, the 2000 Restoration Ball Chairwoman and third-year College student.
According to a 1964 edition of The Cavalier Daily, the Restoration Ball began in 1964 as a means of raising funds for the restoration of the Rotunda and as a way of carrying on the 19th-century custom of a Finals Ball.
After a fire destroyed the Rotunda in 1895, architect Stanford White restored the former library in 1898, dramatically changing its original interior design, University Historian Raymond Bice said.
White removed the entire second floor to create one large room for the library, often called the "cavern of books" in later years. But, in 1938 the construction of Alderman Library forced the removal of the Rotunda's books, reducing the landmark to temporary office space.
Because of these changes, in 1964 University students and faculty knew a Rotunda that was true to neither its original designs nor purposes, Bice said. Students expressed a desire to restore the Rotunda to its original design.
Then-University President Edgar Shannon appointed a faculty committee to raise money, Bice said.
The committee was "very effective and quick" to raise the money, according to Bice. But Bice emphasized the importance of the student initiative in the project.
"If it hadn't been for the students' interest, this may have never happened," he said.
A large number of couples attended the ball each year, in addition to several chaperones and a few lone "stags," who suffered the humiliation of having their names printed in the school newspaper the following day, as can be seen in College Topics, the fore-runner of The Cavalier Daily.
In keeping with tradition, the inaugural Restoration Ball was held in May of 1964 in the Rotunda Dome Room to raise awareness for the Rotunda's restoration. According to 1964 issues of The Cavalier Daily, over 150 couples attended.
Thanks in part to the Ball, restoration was completed in 1976, with the Ball's committee donating their funds to exhibits and furnishings in the Dome Room, Bice said.
The restoration almost caused the demise of the elegant year-end ball, as can be seen from personal letters in the Restoration Ball file, a binder that Restoration Ball Chairs pass down through the years. Due to construction in the Dome Room, the 1976 Ball underwent a last-minute move to the Newcomb Hall Ballroom, where it has been held for most years since then.
Lately, the funds raised by the Ball have been put toward a different purpose. Money raised by tickets in recent years has gone toward the Mary Hall Betts Award, a $500 grant given each year at the Ball to an individual or group who has proposed a project for the improvement of the University community, Crawford said.
"We give the award to a group that is focused on a specific project so that we know where the money is going," Crawford said.
This year, according to Crawford, the committee will present Hillel with the grant, for a program entitled "Music Suppressed by the Third Reich," which will be presented in the fall.
Despite changes in the historical reasons for holding the Ball, it is still a popular event among students.
"The Ball attracts a diverse group of people who can all come together and enjoy themselves for an evening by partaking in a fun and beneficial tradition," Crawford said.
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