The Binghamton Ballroom Dance Association, a club offering weekly dance lessons and a competitive team, held its annual masquerade ball last Sunday in the Mandela Room.

This year, the masquerade centered around Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” The space was illuminated with purple lights and classical music was playing as guests walked in. Dinner tables were arranged around the perimeter of the room, with a dance floor in the middle. Each table had two candles and a vase with a singular rose inside. Once everyone sat down, dressed in their gowns, suits, masks and heels, the lights dimmed, and the night began.

The evening was split into two acts, inspired by the events that take place throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy. During Act I, an arugula salad appetizer with a baguette and butter was served. As the audience enjoyed the food, the organization introduced the play’s two feuding families — the Capulets and the Montagues. The dance portrayed the two families and their longstanding grudge through two styles of ballroom dancing — Latin rhythm and standard smooth.

Renzo Guevarra, the organization’s co-programming coordinator and a senior majoring in mathematics who rigorously planned the event, described the artistic themes and choices for the dances performed at the ball.

“The Montagues sported red masks while the Capulets sported blue, and we even represented this color rivalry in the lighting during the group numbers,” Guevarra wrote in an email. “In the merging of the two families, purple lighting represented the conflict and clashing, as well as the secret rendezvous of Romeo and Juliet.”

In dance, the association also depicted the street brawl that broke out between servants of the two families, leading to a fight between the heads. In another dance, they showed the initial encounter between Romeo and Juliet — how the two met at a masquerade feast and fell in love. Romeo’s declaration of love for Juliet was also portrayed when he climbs on a ladder in the Capulets’ garden under Juliet’s window.

Rachel Lastowski, a co-programming coordinator and the treasurer of BBDA and a senior double-majoring in political science and history who played a vital role in planning and narrating the dances at the event, described the diversity of dance styles the Ballroom Dance Association displayed in their performance.

“I really wanted to showcase the diversity of dances that we as a team teach and compete through our performances as well as highlighting the different styles,” Lastowski wrote in an email. “We teach and compete in 19 dances across four different styles. Our performances … covered all four styles and we showcased 10 different dances.”

After Act I ended, there was a brief intermission for the main course catered by Sodexo. Two options were served — a ginger miso-glazed tofu and a hoisin-glazed chicken, followed by pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Once everyone finished their meals, Act II began.

Once again, the two star-crossed lovers waltzed and cha-chaed declarations of love as Romeo asked for Juliet’s hand in marriage. They depicted Romeo sneaking into the Capulets’ orchard, overhearing Juliet’s declaration of love for him.

Romeo and Juliet got married in secret. However, her parents disapproved, and Juliet was forced to marry another man — Count Paris. To avoid the marriage, Juliet drank poison, which put her to sleep. Romeo learned of Juliet’s apparent death, found her and picked her up from her slumber as they waltzed. Romeo drank poison in hopes of being with Juliet, and tragically, she woke to Romeo lying on the ground and proceeded to kill herself with his dagger — sealing the two lover’s fates indefinitely.

After Act II concluded, the night ended with a group dance lesson, where guests learned the tango.

“I truly hope the audience and attendees were able to feel the magic, romance, and elegance from the moment they stepped under the rose archway into Mandela,” Guevarra wrote. “We’re so happy to have given the public an opportunity to wear their most elegant gowns and their most extravagant masks. It was also an absolute joy to see people enjoy the vine-covered roman columns, taking pictures, and I hope they felt immersed in our story of ‘Romeo & Juliet.’”