More than 400 formal balls are held in Vienna each winter carnival season in a tradition that dates back to 1814, with breaks only for the two world wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly every profession holds its own dance — some, such as the Hunters' Ball, have outlived the imperial-era jobs they were created to celebrate. For the Dial, writer Jessi Jezewska Stevens attended three balls to try and determine: "On a continent that relishes golden-era traditions yet finds itself slipping in the geopolitical world order, how do you face the future without romanticizing the past?"