Preview: Catz Ball

The Catz ball is on it’s way.  Scheduled for February 15th of next year it’s the only major ball to take place in Hilary term.

A triennial ball, the 2011 version was marked out by the fact that someone actually proposed to their girlfriend (Page 5) during the 5-course meal.

Even If you can’t find anyone to marry you (and let’s face it, you probably can’t) we caught up with ball President Ali Adams to find out why it will still be worth the £90.

So the ball is in February and we’re set to have the coldest winter to date…thoughts?

Hey – don’t worry. Everything will be indoors, and heated. We’re the only ball next term and the day after valentines, so there’s plenty to celebrate. Plus – a great way of ridding the February blues – no?

Catz’s very own John Simopoulos has called the buildings ‘ugly.’  How will they add to the ambience?

At Catz, we like to party.  So, we’re doing what we do best – and everyone’s invited. Our design team is completely transforming the Ball site – think UV rooms, LED bars, lasers, mirrored hallways – Catz will be unrecognisable.

The Catz car park quad

How are ticket sales going? What’s the deadline? How much are they?

Sales are going well – we sold over 1000 in our first six weeks, and we’re expecting to sell out around Christmas. Tickets are £90 – half the price of a Commem Ball!

How many people are you expecting?

We’re the biggest ball next year with just under 2000 tickets going.

What is going to make Catz ball different from all the others?

We’re the biggest ball of the year, and there’s nothing pretentious, just a massive party. We’re also a massive College – the largest undergraduate body in the university, and our huge quad is the ideal location for a Ball.

Your theme is “kaleidoscope,” is that even a theme?  What does it entail?

Lots and lots of pretty colours, in lots of pretty patterns. Everywhere. It’s a pretty broad as well, which is good – it means we’ve got a huge variety of things going on.

Presuming the monorail isn’t built by February, Catz will still be so far away.  Why should I make the trip out there when I could just go to Camera for a fiver?

We’re only a ten minute walk from town, which isn’t bad at all – and who would go to camera on a Saturday?

Camera on a Saturday

Can you give us any previews as to who’s playing etc.?

We’ve released our first two headliners – Jack Beats and Swing republic!  There are loads of other great bands and DJs playing, of course – we’ve got four stages of live music throughout the night. We’ve got loads of non-musical entertainment as well – think Laser quest, Shisha, and loads more. Plus, we’ll be announcing our main headliner in the coming weeks…

Who are they?  Is Jack Beats a second year?

Jack beats is an awesome DJ duo from London – consisting of DJ plus one (winner of the DMC world DJ Championships in 2001) and Beni G (From the mixologists). They’ve remixed the likes of Florence + the Machine, rudimental, La Roux, Beyonce….these guys are sick, if you don’t know them, check them out.

Swing republic are an awesome electroswing band – think 1920s jazz swing meets modern day EDM. It’s pretty much impossible not to listen to them without dancing, they’re gonna get everyone on their feet – it’s gonna be awesome.

Will there be the inevitable silent disco from 12am onwards?

Yes and no – There will be a silent disco – but not until 3AM, it’s all live music on all four stages until then.

The silent disco headphones

Please tell me there’ll be something to eat other than Mission Burrito?

Don’t worry about that – as well as Mission Burrito, we’ve got Exotic Burgers (Zebra, wild boar and kangaroo), noodles, and award winning stone-baked pizza – not to mention unlimited pic ‘n’ mix, candy floss, doughnuts with chocolate sauce, Brazilian cheese and chocolate balls, Alcoholic Sorbet, and of course Breakfast for those early morning troopers.

Sounds good – if you want to buy tickets for the Catz Ball you can do it here.