The Aragon Winter Formal was held at the Fox Theater in Redwood City on Feb. 8. The dance’s theme was based on Netflix’s original show, Stranger Things. The dance featured the district’s first-ever student DJ, lower ticket prices, and a visit from the Redwood City Fire Department.
Soon after the event began, attendees were surprised by a fire alarm. All of the lights inside the building were turned on and students were forced to evacuate the building.
“We got to the dance around 7:05 and when we reached the front a fire alarm went off,” said senior Matthew Mukai. “Then everyone had to back out and wait for 10-20 minutes for firemen to clear the building.”
The fire alarm was reportedly triggered by an attendee smoking in the bathroom, setting off the smoke detector.
“Obviously someone was combusting something that they were not supposed to be combusting so the smoke detectors went off,” said chemistry teacher Michael Wu, who chaperoned the event. “But they were young kids making stupid mistakes, as long as no one is hurt and as long as they learn from it.”
With the combination of a student DJ and lower ticket prices, more students attended the dance.
“This year [the tickets] have been a lot cheaper than they have in previous years,” Associated Student Body President and senior Ellen Batsuuri said. “Getting rid of [PAL ticket prices] made the dances a bit cheaper.”
Senior and DJ Shayan Tabrizi made San Mateo Union High School District history by becoming the first student to DJ at a school dance.
“I’ve been working with [Melissa Perino] since freshman [year] and I’ve been doing stuff for school, like rallies. She always has known it’s been a dream of mine to do a dance. And then finally, I turned 18 and everything seems to play out in its own way,” Tabrizi said.
Tabrizi’s wish is for other students to be inspired by his work.
“I want to be a trendsetter. One of my biggest things is [that] I want other people to be inspired by what I’m doing to try to go out and pursue their dreams,” Tabrizi said.
Students enjoyed having a student DJ for a variety of reasons.
“Listening to a student DJ was fun because it was nice to see a DJ who could read the crowd well and understand the Aragon vibe,” Kang said. “The choice of music was impactful and perfect.”
Attendees also enjoyed the venue at Fox Theater.
“I liked the venue because the dance floor was much bigger, allowing us to have more space to dance,” said sophomore Meher Banik. “Also, I liked the fact that there were seats in the theater because you could be close to everyone dancing but also sit down for a moment and relax.”
However, others believed that the process of getting into the theater should be modified.
“Getting people into the crowd is difficult; perhaps opening the doors for longer too,” Kang said. “Bag check was a nightmare since the entire process of getting in was 45 minutes.”
For some teachers, they enjoyed supervising the event since they see a new side of students on the dance floor.
“My favorite part about formal was seeing students in another element and seeing them happy and having fun. That is always fun for me to watch since I get to see students in a different light outside of the classroom,” Wu said. “A specific moment was that the last slow song Shayan played, a lot of people just circled around and it seemed very communal and created a bond between everyone, which was very nice to see.”
Others attended formal to make memories with their friends.
“I went to formal because I hoped it would be a super fun and memorable experience with my friends,” said junior Samuel Pappas.
After Formal, Aragon’s next dance will be Prom, which is held on April 24.
*Additional reporting done by Liam Fournier
