Leadership caps year off with farewell dance and rally

On May 16, Leadership hosted the farewell dance and rally. Tickets were $1 for seniors and $5 for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

One hundred and eighteen people were on the dance list before the event, and 121 people showed up on Friday night, according to senior and Associated Student Body Secretary Albert Boe. The majority of attendees were juniors and seniors.

Recalling the event, leadership adviser Catherine Williamson says, “There was a circle, and someone would get out there and really put on a show, and then they’d point at somebody else and out they would go, and that went on for about fifteen minutes. The whole group was out there, and I have never seen students dancing before the sun went down. But they didn’t care—they were just out there having a good time.”

Junior Ahmet Bolak and sophomore Kimberly Eliazo compare this year’s luau to previous Aragon dances.

“My experience at the luau was pretty crazy—I was everywhere. Freshman year I went to the back-to-school dance, which was also outside, so it wasn’t really different from the luau. I was going to go to the luau last year, but they cancelled it, so I wanted to go again this year. I prefer the luau to dances like homecoming and winter formal because I’m busy during the school year,” says Bolak.

“I’ve only been to one other dance—homecoming—and it wasn’t as fun as the luau because it wasn’t outside, and I don’t like being restrained inside a small room. My favorite part of the luau was playing ‘Capture the Lei’ and dancing on the stone blocks,” adds Eliazo.

Freshman Sabrina Taylor, one of the few freshmen at the dance, says, “I think I was the only freshman. It was a little awkward and I felt out of place, but once I met some friends, I felt pretty good.”

The introduction of a new, hoedown-themed dance last year was met with low ticket sales. Though it was anticipated that many seniors would go, Leadership found it difficult to keep track of who was planning on attending because seniors could go for free. Because of this, the dance was cancelled. This year saw the return of the traditional luau-themed dance and $1 tickets for seniors.

“Last year, seniors went for free. See, there was the big problem, because if they went for free we didn’t have their names on the list. This year, we’re charging them a dollar, just so we can get their names on the list, even if they don’t show up,” says Williamson.

Unlike other dances, the luau is held outside in Center Court exclusively for Aragon students and is generally attended by fewer students.

“We never expect to profit—we don’t even expect to break even. It’s kind of an end of the year celebration, a treat for the seniors. It’s only Aragon students. We don’t get a really big crowd, but it’s fun for those that go because you can mill around and just have a good time,” comments Williamson.

Williamson recalls that the luau theme originated from the barbecue and Polynesian club performance that historically happened before the dance.

“It used to be called the luau because the dance was always 7 p.m to 10 p.m., but maybe at around 5 p.m., people were invited in and the Polynesian dancers would perform and one of the campus aides would barbecue and they’d sell the food to those that wanted it. That would end maybe around 6:30 or so, and then we’d get campus cleared out and open the doors at 7 p.m. for the dance,” says Williamson.

“It seems that students had a better time than in years past. It was a nice, mellow way to close out the school year,” concludes Williamson.

Farewell rally

The last rally of the school year was also held in center court on May 16 and featured summer-themed games and a special hula dance performance by seniors Christina Garcia-Rovetta, Sam Haupeakui, Celene Bolanos, Ayah Hamdan, and sophomore Lose Alusa.

“We’ve been practicing less than three weeks. I’m in the leadership class, and I talked about getting us to perform. We performed at the talent show, and we were really good there, so we did it again at the rally,” says Bolanos.

Though the hula dancers performed at the talent show, the location the rally was held in made it a different experience. “It was different, because we’ve never practiced on a hill and in center court,” says Hamdan.

Garcia-Rovetta also comments on the difference between performing in daylight and performing onstage. “At the talent show, you couldn’t see any faces because it was dark, but here [in center court], there was such a big crowd, and you looked at all the faces you actually knew and talked to.”

Additionally, the rally was also a chance for new head rally commissioner and junior Savanna Cyr to adjust to her new position.

“I will be hosting the rallies next year, so this was my first time being in charge of everything. Head rally commissioner is Patrick Lin, but he let me take the reins this time. I’m very happy with the rally’s success, and I’m very proud of myself, because it took a lot of planning.”

Cyr comments on the conception of the two summer-themed games that representatives from each grade level played at the rally.

“Because it’s close to summer, I wanted to do something with water, and that worked out really well with the sponges in the bucket game. I was also told that the hula-hoop game was something they did in previous years, so I wanted to bring it back as a tradition, and I was happy that it turned out to be a success.”

On the rally’s turnout, Cyr adds, “I haven’t seen such a big crowd in Center Court in a very long time. It was definitely a confidence booster, that’s for sure.”