VIENNA: It’s her third Vienna ball of the season and Renate Drabek plans to dance till the small hours. Tango, waltz, rumba, boogie: her dance partner can’t say ‘no’ as she’s employed him for the night. Vienna’s well-known ball season, which peaks in January and February, is where hard-headed trade sense meets more than 100 years of custom, whether or not it’s hiring somebody to dance with, taking a crash path in waltzing or handing out promotional freebies.
Some 450 balls organised in the Austrian capital in the course of the winter are anticipated to attract more than 500,000 revellers, mostly from Vienna, and about 55,000 from in a foreign country.
All the whilst, hundreds will earn their dwelling in the flourishing sector, in inns, eating places, fashioning night put on, hairdressing, floristry as well as the all-important ballroom orchestras. Rono Alam is without doubt one of the season’s marketers: several occasions a week he’s a “taxi dancer”, accompanying feminine ball enthusiasts who need a partner.
Fifty-something and impeccably dressed, Alam was previously a willing participant in dance competitions and arrange his personal corporate round 10 years ago when he realised that “many women couldn’t find a partner to dance with”. Working for a rival outfit, 49-year-old “taxi dancer” Edgar Kogler is the quintessential Viennese waltzer: trained in the capital’s dance faculties and a early life spent opening a few of its most famed balls.
A secondary schoolteacher by day, by night Kogler indulges his love of dancing, taking to the ballroom ground and carefully attuning himself to his partner’s degree and tastes.
Drabek feels comfortable with the dancers she “hires” for a cost of round €150 (approx. Rs 12,000) a night, ever because the death of her husband. “I really like dancing, it’s my sort of game,” says the retiree, resplendent in a bold bustier gown.
Some 450 balls organised in the Austrian capital in the course of the winter are anticipated to attract more than 500,000 revellers, mostly from Vienna, and about 55,000 from in a foreign country.
All the whilst, hundreds will earn their dwelling in the flourishing sector, in inns, eating places, fashioning night put on, hairdressing, floristry as well as the all-important ballroom orchestras. Rono Alam is without doubt one of the season’s marketers: several occasions a week he’s a “taxi dancer”, accompanying feminine ball enthusiasts who need a partner.
Fifty-something and impeccably dressed, Alam was previously a willing participant in dance competitions and arrange his personal corporate round 10 years ago when he realised that “many women couldn’t find a partner to dance with”. Working for a rival outfit, 49-year-old “taxi dancer” Edgar Kogler is the quintessential Viennese waltzer: trained in the capital’s dance faculties and a early life spent opening a few of its most famed balls.
A secondary schoolteacher by day, by night Kogler indulges his love of dancing, taking to the ballroom ground and carefully attuning himself to his partner’s degree and tastes.
Drabek feels comfortable with the dancers she “hires” for a cost of round €150 (approx. Rs 12,000) a night, ever because the death of her husband. “I really like dancing, it’s my sort of game,” says the retiree, resplendent in a bold bustier gown.
The ‘taxi’ you can hail to dance the waltz
![The ‘taxi’ you can hail to dance the waltz]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 20, 2018
Rating:
