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China's 1st Int'l Debutante Ball held in Shanghai
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CNTV, January 11, 2012
Shanghai played host to China's first International Debutante Ball on Saturday as thirteen girls from across the globe charmed audiences at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel next to the city's historic Bund area. Let's check out who's "coming out."
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Decked out in white gowns and tiaras, the girls made their social debuts on the Shanghai scene as event organizers trumpeted the glitzy event for the city's rich and famous. |
Decked out in white gowns and tiaras, the girls made their social debuts on the Shanghai scene as event organizers trumpeted the glitzy event for the city's rich and famous.
The International Debutante Ball is a traditional event where the well-bred daughters of elite British families, royalties or celebrities make their first appearance on the social scene.
It started in 1780 as the Queen Charlotte's Ball after King George III used the event to raise funds for a new maternity hospital to be named after his queen.
Since then the concept has been transplanted to cities across the globe, including New York and Paris, as an annual social gathering for the wealthy elite.
The organizer for China's first International Debutante Ball said it was less about social class and more about an event for girls to be the princesses they want to be.
Vivian Chow Wong, exec. director of Shanghai International Debutante Ball, said, "I think girls will be girls, and they want to be princesses. Debutante ball is about looking like a princess or pretending to be a princess for a day, for some girls. And it's not just a classist thing, debutante balls are being held for instance in Australia or New Zealand in high schools."
Organizers described the thirteen girls as coming from good family backgrounds and aspiring to develop their confidence and networking skills.
17-year-old British girl, Larissa Scotting, was crowned the "Debutante of the Year" at the event.
And she said she was thrilled to be bestowed the honor in Shanghai.
Larissa Scotting, "Debutante of the Year", said, "I feel very honored. It's so wonderful to have been chosen and I am very excited and very happy. I am thrilled to be given this award here in Shanghai. So it's been great. It's been a really wonderful experience."
The thirteen debutants included two Chinese girls, one from Hong Kong and one from Taiwan.
Despite the lack of a representative from the Chinese mainland, organizers were undaunted in their task of promoting the event as a mainstay for Shanghai's social scene.
Vivian Chow Wong said, "The first thing is that we have arrived in China. The reason why our International Debutante Ball had no participants from the mainland is not that we did not include them, but it's just that we have not yet found someone suitable."
The girls had arrived in Shanghai earlier this week and organizers said they have been busy training them on the strict traditions and etiquettes of the ball's 230-year-old history.
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