"going to the ball"

Question

I've encountered a number of sentences in KwizIQ about "going to the ball." Is that something that is common in France? I'm wondering because I've only encountered a ball in the Cinderella fairy tale and not in real life. But maybe that's just the social milieu in which I live!

Accepted Answer

Hi Lorie,
Going to the ball is also for me the stuff of fairy tales. In France, it has a very different meaning from the tradition of ball gowns and tuxedos. 
There were such ‘bals courtois’ at the time of the kings , prior to the Revolution but nowadays the only bal is a ‘bal populaire/ bal musette‘ which is just a dance in the street often on the Fête Nationale,  the most important one being Le bal des Pompiers . In my youth, these were often to the sound of accordéon music, very French! But you just wear normal clothes and dance in the street ....
Le bal des Débutantes is probably the closest thing to the idea of the Cinderella bal, where couture gowns are worn but it is a high society event. This, however is a relatively new event dating from 1991.
Hope this helps!

Answer

I don't know specifically for France, but in Austria balls are quite common in the winter. There is the "ball season", where you can choose among many each weekend. I would think it is similar in France?