Debutante ball a long-standing family tradition

Debutante ball a long-standing family tradition. Lea Janossy, a Roncesvalles Village resident here with her father, was a debutante at the Helicon Ball, March 6. Courtesy photo

Dignitaries from around the world joined Janossy and six other girls for a traditional coming of age ceremony, the Helicon Debutante Ball, Saturday, March 6 in the Brûle Room at the historic Old Mill Inn.

"It's a great bonding experience with my dad," said Janossy at a Roncesvalles Avenue coffee shop Thursday, around the corner from her house. "We're very close, I love my dad. Our family is really close."

The debutante ball has always been a family tradition for the Janossys. Nineteen-year old Hanna participated last year and had a fantastic time, said her sister. Both her parents are Hungarian. They escaped communist-run Hungary to make a life for themselves in Canada.

"He wants us to know our Hungarian heritage," Janossy said of her dad. "Every summer, I go back to Hungary. I'm really involved in Hungarian culture. I'm who I am because of that."

Janossy rehearsed the opening waltz with her dad for three months, every Sunday at the Hungarian House on St. Clair Avenue West. Three professional dance instructors taught the girls the Viennese Waltz, which they danced with their fathers, plus a choreographed routine they danced as a group.

Janossy, a Grade 12 student at North Toronto Collegiate Institute, found the dance training relatively easy because she studied with the Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement for eight years.

After being presented to Lincoln Alexander, a former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the girls glided across the floor to the music of the time-honoured Blue Danube waltz. Guests at the ball, which highlighted some of the diverse traditions of Toronto's multicultural society, included Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, whose wife is Hungarian.

"We walked in and everyone applauded. We curtsied and everyone joined in for the first dance," said Janossy. "I was really, really jittery and excited. It was a beautiful, beautiful experience. I wouldn't have missed it for anything."

The Helicon Ball is known for its elegance and ceremony. The evening is comprised of a champagne reception, followed by the opening ceremonies, which includes a presentation of the Palotás dance - a dance traditionally performed in the courts of Hungary - and the highlight of the evening - the presentation of the debutantes.

Debutante balls date back centuries, when fathers introduced their daughters to society, to the community in which they lived. At the Helicon Ball, family participation is key and the debutantes are introduced to the Helicon Society and to the community at large. The Hungarian Helicon Society was founded in 1951 in Toronto by Hungarians who emigrated to Canada after the Second World War. They wished to maintain their Hungarian heritage in their new home while introducing Canadians to their culture and history. They also wanted to ensure their children would know their roots.

Janossy has both Canadian and Hungarian citizenship. She just returned from a ski trip with her sister in France with Hungarian friends. Although she plans on starting her post-secondary education in Toronto, she has hopes of perhaps furthering her education in Hungary, even moving to Europe at some point. She has applied to the University of Toronto for engineering, a profession that was held by her mother, her grandmother and grandfather. Her sister is currently enrolled at U of T majoring in engineering as well.

Janossy stays busy playing several sports. She is a member of her school's downhill ski team, the tennis and swim teams. She also plays volleyball and rows with the Bayside Rowing Club. She played piano when she was younger and is a member of the North Toronto Symphony orchestra, playing the viola. If this wasn't enough, Janossy also rides the uni-cycle, a sport she picked up from a friend in Hungary, who competed at the European Championships in Paris. It's her goal to compete there as well, as one of the very few women.

North York's Stephanie Willerding and Victoria Auer, from East York, were also debutantes at the ball. Willerding is a third-year psychology major at York University studying speech therapy. She is back in the GTA after a three-year term at the University of Texas. There, she studied on a tennis scholarship.

Auer, a Grade 11 student at Etienne Brule High School, is multi-lingual, speaking three languages. A dancer, she especially enjoys lyrical jazz. She is a seamstress, who recently created a dress for Halloween using only Post-It notes.