Aragon’s “Suit & Tie” Winter Formal took place on Feb. 1 at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City. The Fox Theatre is a change from last year’s venue, the San Mateo Marriott.
Leadership student and junior Julise Hall says, “We kind of felt that everyone just needed a change this year … because I know people get tired of having the same venue every year.”
The main reason that Winter Formal was held at the Marriott for multiple years was space. Leadership teacher Catherine Williamson says, “Our big stumbling block, our big happy problem, is we are apt to have 500 to 600 students at a dance, and we are limited in where we can go with that many.” The Fox Theatre has a larger capacity than the Marriott.
Leadership sold 371 tickets and 367 students attended on Saturday night. Hall says, “That was a little under what we expected.”
It is possible for dances to be held at other, smaller venues, but that would require a limit on how many students can go to a dance. Williamson says, “Aragon is unique in that we don’t cap off a dance. Some schools do … That goes against what we believe. Every student ought to be able to go.”
The Fox Theatre charges $3.50 per attendee for unlimited drinks in addition to the other costs. However, the free soda and water were paid for by profits from Homecoming.
Many students commented on the theatre’s architecture, saying it added to the formality of the event. Junior Sarah Moore says, “The venue was way better than the [Hiller] Aviation Museum … The aviation museum for Homecoming had airplanes, but the Fox Theatre had nice seats and a big staircase and such.”
Hall agrees that the staircase increased the formality of the event, saying, “I think the entrance into the dance is pretty memorable because it looked really elegant.”
The theatre’s distinct architecture was the main factor in determining the theme, “Suit and Tie,” although the name for the theme comes from a Justin Timberlake song. Leadership decided that due to the 1920s architecture, they would do “Suit and Tie ’20s.” They later decided to drop the “’20s” for brevity.
The architecture also reduced the need for decorations, making setup and cleanup much easier for Leadership students. Hall says, “For the most part, it is a lot smoother than last year, at least from what I remember. I know last year we definitely had a lot of decorations, set-up time took a lot longer, and clean up time took a lot longer than it will this year.”
At the dance, students commented on the ordinary nature of the theme. Junior Kevin Ruttenberg says, “I didn’t like the theme. Personally, Suit and Tie—it’s not a theme. It’s what you wear. It’s not inspired.”
While some may consider the theme to not be very inventive, others say that it fit the venue. Sophomore Jessica Westmont says, “I thought it was a safe theme. It worked well.”
Senior Marcy Landes and her friends took an alternative approach to dressing for Winter Formal. Landes says, “I didn’t like how the girl has to wear tight, short dress, and the boy had to wear the nice shirt and tie. I think we spent $10 on each outfit. It shows that you don’t have to spend a lot to look good.”
Other students have a different view of the expectation to dress up. Moore says, “I personally liked to get dressed up, but I think to prove a point, that’s good. I honestly loved the way [Landes and her group] dressed.”
Additionally, the DJ, who has played at Aragon dances before, did not play Justin Timberlake’s song “Suit and Tie,” even though that was the theme. Hall says, “I believe there was miscommunication and he didn’t know he had to play each song we had on the song list.”
Despite the miscommunication, students danced for three hours in varying fashions. What many students said they ended up enjoying most about the dance was their friends. Moore says, “I think [what I liked best was] just having a great time with my friends.”
