On Feb. 10, Aragon held its annual Winter Formal dance at the Redwood City Fox Theater from 7-10 p.m.
The theme was “Flashback to the Roaring ‘20s”, which was chosen to align with the features of the venue.
“The Fox Theater already has a red staircase and we just picked the color for the lights that we want,” said junior and Dance Commission member Juliette Szwarcberg. “There are vendors that sell props you can rent, so we try to get decorations that fit [the theme].”
In choosing decorations, Dance Commission drew inspiration from past events and social media platforms like Pinterest
In addition, Dance Commission tried to build on students’ opinions on previous dances. Based on feedback, they made changes to styles of the theme and DJs as needed.
The Fox Theater has been the location of Winter Formal for the past several years.
“It’s a really nice venue for the price,” Szwarcberg said. “The amount of money we get from tickets is a big factor in what venue we use.”
The Dance Commission students who planned the dance also set up the decorations. The railings were decorated with blue, black, white and gold balloons and streamers. At the snack bar, there was a selection of chips and Antoine’s cookies available, as well as cups of water.
On the second floor, students could take pictures at the photo booths with themed backgrounds and a variety of props. The auditorium, which served as the dance floor, was lit up by multiple colorful lights. The 2013 version of “The Great Gatsby” was playing behind the DJ on the stage.
For music, the Dance Commission aimed to include a wide range of songs.
“We try to get the most popular songs from the past,” Szwarcberg said. “We also do the form [asking for] music that the students like and we try to incorporate that into the playlist so we can get a bit of everything.”
However, some students attending the dance felt that this was not the case.
“I feel like they should have used more of the song suggestions,” said freshman Jackie Wong. “None of the songs that me and my friends suggested got played. The songs were very 2014.”
Sophomore Tory Maciel expressed a similar opinion.
“They should play more of the student recommendations,” said Maciel. “I think they should have a big playlist of the recommendations of the students instead of having a DJ.”
Additionally, the volume of the music was a concern for some.
“It was a lot louder than I thought it’d be,” Wong said. “My ears kinda ring now.”
Maciel concurred.
“I couldn’t even hear myself half the time,” Maciel said.
On the other hand, some had a different view on the songs.
“The music seemed to be getting people excited,” said freshman Vikram Patnaik. “I liked the music. I probably didn’t know half of it, but it was still pretty nice and high energy.”
Commenting on the food, one attendee compared it to the food of this year’s previous dance.
“The food was definitely a downgrade,” said senior Zion Oliveros. “I was expecting something closer to what they had at homecoming. Obviously, they couldn’t do the same level because homecoming was literally at a restaurant. But I expected something [on a] similar level, so I was a little disappointed.”
Students offered their opinions on the theme of the roaring ‘20s.
“[The theme was] a great choice,” Oliveros said. “Even if other people didn’t dress up, I loved dressing up. [The theme was] definitely super fun for me.”
Attendees shared feedback on the activities at the dance.
“I really liked the photo booth,” Wong said. “I thought that the backdrops were really cool and I love the little printouts that you got. I wish there were more activities to do besides just dancing and taking pictures, [which] were really fun, but at least at Homecoming we had bowling too.”
Despite these issues, many students still had positive comments.
“The dance was really cool, fun and interesting,” said freshman MJ Ke. “It engaged the students a lot because of the loud music and the dancing.”
The next dance is Prom, only for upperclassman, which is set to take place on April 19.
