Meet the Debutante Girls of Lebanon’s High Society

2 minute read

24-year-old Dima Arabi peers from behind a curtain at 600 guests socializing beneath a glittering chandelier at the Casino du Liban in Jounieh, Lebanon. Nervously giggling with her girlfriends, she retraces her dance steps in a white floor-length ball gown.

They are the Debutante Girls: daughters of the wealthy, connected families of Lebanese high society, college-educated women making an entrance in a lavish evening event.

“It’s a way to present yourself to society,” photographer Natalie Naccache tells TIME. “But it’s also a way to be a princess for a night.”

Known as the Paris of the Middle East, Lebanon was the epicenter of nightlife in the mid-1900s. And then the war hit, followed by an influx of Syrian refugees and sectarian tension. Despite the tense political climate, Naccache says it’s a culture that persists. “This ball is their way of carrying on, no matter what is going on in their country,” she says. “This was them retaining their little Paris of the Middle East.”

Naccache began reporting in Lebanon in 2010. She started photographing glamorous Lebanese weddings, which led to photographing society and beauty culture. A Lebanon native, she was interested in showing a part of Lebanese society that few focus on. She also wanted to combat stereotypes usually associated with the Middle East. “When people see images of Lebanon, they are usually images of refugees or of destruction,” she says. “This is a part of modern-day society that is never revealed. Why is it never revealed and why aren’t people from high society ever documented or photographed?”

Naccache attended every Saturday rehearsal to photograph the girls. As time drew closer to the ball, she would stay late with them as they rehearsed until midnight. “I spent as much time as I possibly could with these girls, getting to know them,” she says. “I came to admire and respect them. They’re not just a bunch of silly, lofty bimbos prancing around and doing nothing with their money. They are college-educated women who work hard to ensure that their money and time goes to a good place.”

 

Natalie Naccache is a Lebanese-British photojournalist based between Dubai, UAE and Lebanon. Follow her on Instagram @natnacphotos.

Rachel Lowry is a writer and contributor for TIME LightBox. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Lebanese High Society
Taline Mansour, (center) poses for a self portait on her mobile phone, while amongst Debutante Ball participants, before the Ball at Casino du Liban where the Ball is held.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Young Lebanese ladies practice their Debutante dance, at the Portemelio Hotel in Kaslik, Lebanon. The ladies have weekly dance practice on Saturdays.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Beatrice Bekhache, 18, a Debutante lady, who is taking the center stage on the night of the Ball tries on a dress by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra. Beatrice and her mother Odette discuss her high heels. George Chakra, and George Hobeika, both leading Lebanese designers requested for only the tallest ladies to wear their dresses for the Ball. Each young lady is lent a designer dress from a Lebanese designer for the night.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Dima Arabi, the oldest Debutante participant, 24, after her hair and make up has been applied, puts her dancing shoes on in the communal dressing room, before the Ball.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
President of the Debutante Ball, Regina Fenianos, gives the sound mechanic directions at a Debutante Dance rehearsal, at Casino du Liban, where the Ball will be held.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Dima Arabi, reacts nervously about knowing the dance steps for the Ball, after her hair and make up has been applied, at Loutfi hairdresser on the day of the Ball.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Dinner of beef steak is served for 600 people, tickets for the Ball ranged from $150 or $200.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Rosy Boulos, (center) part of the Debutante Ball committee, and head of Emergency Medical Services for the Red Cross, at Edgar and Jessica's large wedding at the BIEL center.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
A guest at Edgar and Jessica's large wedding at the BIEL centerNatalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
A lady's diamond ring, at the Dar Al Aytam charity Gala dinner, raising funds for a Druze orphanage in the mountains of Lebanon, at the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon.Natalie Naccache
Paris of the Middle East
Debutante participants have a snack backstage in the dressing room before the Ball.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Debutante ladies dance with their partner at the Debutante Ball infront of an audience of 600 people, tickets for the Ball ranged from $150 or $200.Natalie Naccache
Glamourous Lebanese Weddings
Sara, 22, who graduated five days before her wedding, waits in a holding room before she makes her entrance to her 650- guest wedding in BIEL Center, Beirut, Lebanon. Her dress weighs 15 kilos.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Jessica Obeid and her female relatives fix ther make up in her holding room before she enters her large wedding. Her mother, Leila Obeid, is a famous beauty consultant featured on National television.Natalie Naccache
Lebanese High Society
Lebanese teenagers socialize in Ramadan, on a residential rooftop before the sun comes up and they need to fast.Natalie Naccache

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