By Jennifer Abreu

Beaux Arts Ball did it again on Saturday in the distillery district — a successful night for a good cause.

This year the benefited charities were Chrysalis House, AVOL, Latitude Artist Community and Lex Arts.

Exotic costumes, a fun atmosphere, loud music and a good cause all met at 1200 Manchester Street.

The headliners were Spank Rock and Ana Sia. Also performing were Wick-it the Instigator, Jon Dose, Soulacybin, Corduroy Mavericks, Diminutive Remix, Andy D and FB DJs.

Ashlee Milanich, a UK international relations graduate, was one of dozens of people waiting outside in the long line to enter the Pepper Warehouse.

She has been attending Beaux Arts Ball for three years.

“I love the atmosphere. It’s a different scene and fun opportunity for college students,” Milanich said. “There is nothing like this in Lexington.”

Other than the fun, where the money goes is also important to her.

“It’s fun and enjoyable, and knowing that it’s going to charity, that you’re doing something for someone else, only doubles that,” she said.

There was a large variety of people in the crowd. UK students, Asbury students, UK alumni, people from out of state and Lexington residents all attended.

Mix DJ Ana Sia pointed that out from inside the building.

“There’s such a mix … so many different people,” she said. “It’s very diverse.”

Outside, it was easy to find such diversity.

Joey Bishop, a culinary arts graduate, attended Beaux Arts for the first time this year and had high expectations.

“I’m looking forward to craziness and lots of dancing,” Bishop said.

Other students came a little less prepared, but took Saturday night’s event as somewhat of a learning experience.

Heather Packard, 23, said she saw a poster at a coffee shop earlier last week and decided to give it a try.

She brought her friends from Asbury College along with her, Alice Lee, 18, and Hillary Solvik, 20. All three said they were surprised once they got into the venue.

“We didn’t know what to expect. Now I’m excited for next year, I’m going all out (with the costume),” Packard said.

While Packard made plans for next year’s outfit, Solvik had one goal for the night.

“I just want to dance,” she said.

Lee, on the other hand, had done some research and was excited to see one of the performers, Jon Dose.

“I hear all the performers that are playing tonight and he’s my favorite,” Lee said.

Back inside, Jon Dose was ready to meet the crowd. Performing with Spank Rock, he couldn’t wait for his turn to take on stage.

“We are gonna turn it up,” Dose said.

The boys took over the night when Ana Sia stepped offstage. In the background, the crowd yelled out her name.

With a flight to catch back to San Francisco only a few hours after her performance, Ana revealed her style of spinning.

“I like to challenge people, play different stuff, new music they might not usually hear or dance to,” Ana said.

Ana is well known for staying two steps ahead when it comes to what’s next in music.

She shared it’s not easy to keep up with an energetic, untiring crowd.

“Sometimes I want to play a track that maybe is not so much for dancing,” Ana said. “I need to take a break, something that is good to listen to, and the crowd might not be familiar with that.”

But during her one hour and 15 minutes onstage, Ana Sia and the crowd found a perfect balance. There was a lot of dancing and hands up in the air.

Among the dancers was UK alumnus Rob Carbin.

Carbin, who was dressed up as an Indian, made some friends at the Beaux Arts Ball last year.

“The group of people I am with today, I actually met them here last year,” Carbin said. “We’ve been hanging out since then.”

Carbin also shared why he keeps coming back.

“I like the atmosphere and I enjoy the music,” he said.

He now feels like a veteran at Beaux Arts Ball.

“My first time here, I’m going to be honest, I was a little intimidated about how people were acting and dressing,” he said.

Wardrobe plays an important role in forming the atmosphere at Beaux Arts.

People showed up as mermaids, in karate apparel and in tutus, with scooters and colorful wigs.

There was even a cookie monster who handed out cookies to everyone he encountered.

For Sirena Hildeberand, it’s a routine to dress “outside of the norm.”

“This is how I dress everyday,” she said, wearing an outfit she made entirely by herself.

Hildeberand makes her own clothes and she said her crafty personality is what brought her to Beaux Arts Ball.

She drove about eight hours from Lancaster, Penn., just to attend the event. “A friend of mine said ‘Hey, this looks like your kind of thing. You should come.’ So I thought, why not?” Hildeberand said.

Ana Sia gave props to the UK College of Design, who helped plan and organize the event.

“Selfless acts like these are really important,” she said.