Sheron Gershelis

November 13, 2013

Dr. Leanna Wolfe

For my project, I decided to do a social interaction of a Russian birthday girl who threw a party at a Russian restaurant. The

restaurant is located in Studio City and is called Romanov. The restaurant includes food, a bar, dancing, and a show. This party

consists of the closest friends and family members who attend to celebrate. The party helps us interact, because we rarely get to

celebrate big birthday parties due to the expenses.

Getting ready and looking your best is of high priority when it comes to doing a birthday in the Russian culture

People are expected to dress and look very elegant and beautiful This is a part of the night that provokes a lot of competition

because everyone tries to outdo each other and look their best Competition is especially prevalent amongst females

People are very excited to get together and see each other

They take pictures, catch up on how they have been, give the birthday girl presents and send wishes her way

Appetizers are served on the table before the party starts to get the people to find their seats and get them ready to begin their meal

The lights are on usually until 10 pm, before the performances and dancing starts

Russians are very family oriented, therefore the party consists of the birthday girl’s family as well as her friends

The family gathers and takes pictures with each other to help them create memories

The birthday girl becomes very happy to see all of the closest people to her arrive at this event

She runs around and tries to greet everyone as well as make sure that everyone is having an equal amount of fun

The restaurant turns off its lights at around 10 pm and the dancing begins

There are singers and a huge dance floor for people to dance to the tunes

People generally dance in a circular formation all surrounded by there own party,due to the fact that there are more than one parties celebrating at the restaurant at a given time

The birthday girl is given special attention because its her day and everyone tries to get to dance with her

Fulfilling the Russian drinking stereotype, the birthday girl receives her own bottle of wine which she shares with her guests

She drinks a little bit but makes sure she is under control in order for the rest of her night to go by smoothly

Even though she is drinking underage, drinking and toasting to special occasions has become a social custom

No one frowns upon the fact that she is drinking underage, nor do they forbid it. They look at it as good luck for her upcoming year of life

People take breaks and delicacies are served all night

They serve seabass, lamb, chicken, pork, shrimp, salads, bread, caviar and many more throughout the night

People are welcome to sit down, dance, interact all throughout the night because dinner is served and food stays on the table regardless of the time of night

Soft drinks as well as alcohol are provided and prepaid for people to enjoy

At around midnight they have a show

People are told go back to their seats and gather around the dance floor as acrobats preform

There are dancers, mimes, acrobats, and gymnasts performing a variety of different things as people watch all around them

The performers all come from the Russian culture and perform to Russian traditional music

They dress as Russian gymnasts would and perform cultural dances

They perform on the dance floor and all around the restaurant allowing everyone to see from any given angle

After the show they bring the birthday girl’s cake out, sing happy birthday, and devote the dance floor to her party

After the wishes are made and the candles are blown out the family and friends of the birthday girl begin to dance to Hava Nagila, a Jewish song of celebration

• The birthday girl then dances with her mom holding hands and celebrating the festivity

• During this part of the celebration everyone in the party is expected to dance and celebrate