White opera gloves are still mandatory for female debutantes at the Vienna Opera Ball. The dress code is evening dress: white tie and tails for men strictly floor-length gowns for women. The debutantes are led into the opera house to the sounds of Carl Michael Ziehrer's Fächerpolonaise. These are carefully selected young women and men who have successfully completed an application program and a strict classical dance choreography organised by the Elmayer dance school. The highlight of the opening ceremony is the introduction of 180 debutante couples. These are normally a small selection of Italian opera and famous Austrian pieces. There are performances of the state opera ballet company and classical arias sung by the opera stars. The Austrian national anthem is played followed by the European anthem. The ball does not start until around 10 pm when the Austrian president and his guests enter the imperial balcony. On the eve of the event, the rows of seats are removed from the stalls, and a new floor, level with the stage, is built. The Vienna Opera Ball is held in the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera which is turned into a large ballroom. The final ceremonial is the blowing of the hunt horns and takes place at 4 o'clock in the morning. The dress code is evening dress: floor-length gowns for women, and white tie and tails for men or mess dress uniform for military members. They are presented to the Minister of Defense. The ladies are from the nobility, daughters of senior ranking military officers, or female officers in the Austrian military. The entrance and presentation of the 80 debutantes is the highlight of the opening event, followed by the presentation of ministers of state, then the Diplomatic Corps, and finishes with the debutantes leading the first formal Viennese waltz to the music of " The Blue Danube". The patron is the President of the Republic and it is hosted by the Chief of the Defense Staff. The Ball is held on the third Friday of January across the twenty-three salons of the Vienna Hofburg Palace and includes nine bands of different styles of music, military formations, and dancing troupes from around the world. They have organized the ball publicly since 1926. The modern version was founded in 1919, by the association Alt-Neustadt, an association of graduates of the Theresian Military Academy. The Ball der Offiziere is considered to be the direct successor of Vienna's Imperial Court Ball. However, the two that are best known for their debutantes are the Officer's Ball and the Vienna Opera Ball. Some of these balls also have debutantes. Many are for specific nationalities, like the Russian Ball or the Serbian Saint Sava ball social groups like the Hunter's Ball or Verein Grünes Kreuz ball, or trade groups like the Coffee Roasters or Doctors Ball. From 1 January to 1 March, no fewer than 28 formal balls, with a huge variety of hosts, are held in Vienna. One of those is the most active formal ball season in the world. Vienna, Austria, still maintains many of the institutions that made up the social, courtly life of the Habsburg Empire. Some attendees of the 2013 Vienna Opera Ball
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