Students await first winter formal in three years

With the dawn of 2011, Aragon students experience the first winter formal that the school has seen in three years with the theme “Under the Neon Lights.” This last dance before Prom will be held in the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday February 5.

The dance, as the name suggests, will be held under colorful lights at the Hiller Aviation Museum. Tickets began at $20 and $25 with and without PAL respectively, and both rose by $10 this week.

Several rumors spread concerning the theme of the dance, the most notable being that the dance would be a “Sadie Hawkins” themed dance, in which females are encouraged to ask their partners to the dance. Though this was the theme for the 2008 winter formal, this aspect has been removed due to the isolation expressed by the Gay Straight Alliance and several administrators.

Students involved in the dance committee welcome this change, alongside many others, including a larger facility to hold the dance. Leadership teacher Catherine Williamson says, “The winter ball used to be a dance in a small gym. It was a casual informal dance.”

Like other dances at Aragon, the winter formal has faced logistical issues throughout the years, which were responsible for its three year absence. Adequate funding was partially responsible for Aragon only holding three dances the previous year. Dances themselves are held primarily based on the budget and the availability of an appropriate facility for the dance. Williamson says, “If we break even, we [will] [hold a winter formal] again. It [also] depends on the booking of a room.”

However, students need not worry this year with better funding and resources. Being held at a more spacious, off-campus site, Leadership hopes to attract at least 400 students this year to the dance. The new theme will make the cost of the dance less than it has been in the past with easier decorations. Froomin says, “Before it was just a winter-ized theme. Now [we are] going outside that and creating a theme. It is a lot less expensive, but we are hoping for a better turnout.”