Rondelet back after two years

By Ruby Gee     1/20/11 6:00pm

Rondelet returns tomorrow at 10 p.m. after a two-year hiatus. While the location of the dance remains at the Trevisio restaurant in the Texas Medical Center, several changes, such as the addition of a winter theme due to a change in event timing, have been implemented in an effort to revive the formal dance.Rice Program Council Social Co-Chair and Interim Vice President Libby Ulman said that they had hoped to bring back the tradition in a slightly different way while maintaining the spirit of Rondelet.

"In the past few years, Rondelet has just kind of died out because of low popularity," Ulman, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. "This year, the idea was to revamp it, bring it back at a different time and hope to get people energized about it."

Tickets sales for the formal dance began Jan. 12, with a regular ticket costing $15. For $25, attendees can get a ticket and wristband for alcohol if of age. Wristbands may be purchased at the door. According to Ulman, RPC had sold approximately 520 tickets out of the allotted 600 as of Wednesday.

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Ulman said that a strength of past Rondelets was the proximity of its location at Trevisio, which is located on top of a building in the Texas Medical Center. Trevisio is an award-winning restaurant that is known by locals for its fine dining and event catering.

"It's a really cool venue within walking distance of Rice, with a really pretty view of the med center and a nice little balcony area as well," Ulman said. "Compared to Esperanza, it's sort of a fancier venue itself, so people should feel comfortable dressing up."

The theme for this year's Rondelet is "Frozen in Time." As a nod to the original event, footage of Rondelets from the 1940s will be playing on a projection screen in a side room of the location. In keeping with the winter theme, decorations include an ice sculpture centerpiece.

Rondelet started in 1947 as a springtime dance that was part of graduation festivities. In recent decades, Rondelet has been held on the night of Beer Bike. According to Ulman, a significant difference this time around is the timing of the event.

"Especially second semester, people get really busy, exponentially so, and it's just plainly more difficult to get people to buy tickets," Ulman said. "The timing of this year's Rondelet makes it really the first major campus-wide event since we've all been back from winter break, so it's a good way for people to catch up with friends from other colleges."

This year's Rondelet will also feature a live band called Tiger Lilly. Ulman said that the Houston cover band will be playing popular music that people are going to recognize, such as Lady Gaga.

"I think it will work out really well. . At Sid Rich we do [the '80s party] with a cover band, and people always like that because it's something different you don't usually get at a dance," Ulman said.

An array of finger foods, desserts and refreshments will be available at the dance.

For students' convenience, there will also be a coat check.

Hanszen College senior Amy Lanteigne will be working as a photographer at the event. She will be posting portraits on Facebook and will have larger portraits available by request.

Ulman said that since Esperanza sold out early, they asked people to buy their tickets for its spring semester counterpart early. To encourage people to do so, RPC created a promotion where if students bought their Rondelet tickets before 5 p.m. on Jan. 14, they would have a chance to win a free pair of tickets to Cirque Du Soleil: OVO that will be coming to Houston in March.

Ulman said that RPC encourages people to walk to Rondelet. They plan to facilitate traveling to the venue by setting up signs that will point walkers in the right direction.

"They won't have to drive; they won't have to look up directions; they won't have to deal with waiting for buses," Ulman said. "Trying to get everyone to the venue and back in a timely fashion . I know it has been a struggle in the past."

McMurtry College senior Nora Xu said that while she does not plan on attending Rondelet, the timing of the dance is not the reason why she isn't going.

"I think the timing is great - it's a Saturday night, so people are going out anyway, [and] it's in the beginning of the semester, so most people are pretty free," Xu said. "The theme sounds really cute, but the downside is that maybe it makes dressing up for Rondelet more of a challenge, especially for the boys."

Wiess College freshman Alexa Juarez said that while she missed the Cirque Du Soleil promotion, she still plans to attend Rondelet with a group of friends.

"[The promotion] sounded cool, but wasn't a huge motivator for me to buy my tickets early," Juarez said. "I'm actually really excited for the event, though. . I think we will all have a great time.

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