On Nov. 9, Aragon students gathered at Pinstripes in Hillsdale Mall for the annual Homecoming dance. The dance featured a ‘Neon Glow in the Dark’ theme and over 1,000 students attended.
To involve the student body in the planning, Leadership’s Dance Commission allowed students to vote on the theme in order to get everyone’s input. Still, some students disliked the chosen theme.
“It was really similar to last year’s [Homecoming] theme which was disco,” said sophomore Kaitlyn Hsu. “They could have … made it a theme that has specific accessories for it. For example, [for] a beach [theme], you could have flowers or more of a flowy kind of dress.”
But with the chosen theme in place, Dance Commission faced the task of bringing it to life.
“In the weeks leading up to [the dance], it’s mostly about time management: getting everything ready, loading things [up] and [preparing to] decorate the venue, because we’re only allowed to be there an hour before,” said junior and Dance Commission Head Lia Araneta. “It’s hard to decorate because it’s just Dance Commission, [and] we only have four members.”
Dance Commission also struggled with communication and getting the logistics organized for the dance.
“We [had] issues … [getting in touch with] a DJ [and] a photo booth company that would work,” said sophomore and Dance Commission member Olivia Yu. “The people at Pinstripes weren’t the most active in terms of responding, so we had to push [to get things done].”
This year, Dance Commission changed the ticket sales process to improve efficiency. During the first week of ticket sales, students were assigned a day to buy their ticket based on their last name.
“Last year, there were a lot of people who were waiting in line for all of lunch, and some of them weren’t able to get their tickets … so [the organization this time] was a lot more helpful,” Yu said. “I do think a lot of people forgot, though, especially the people that were [scheduled to get tickets] on Monday.”
Many students looked forward to the event and had plans to make the most of the evening.
“I’m most excited about being able to dance, going to an after-party and just getting ready with my friends,” Araneta said. “Doing each other’s makeup and then seeing each other all dressed up is fun.”
Pinstripes offered a range of activities, including bowling and playing bocce ball. There were also complimentary food and drinks available for students.
Some students mentioned areas for improvement.
“The DJ wasn’t the greatest,” Hsu said. “ People were requesting songs and he was not really listening, he was kind of rude and snarkish. I also thought that the dance room got really hot, and it was just too small of a venue to have that many people.”
Winter Formal will be the next dance of the year, and is currently scheduled to be held on Feb. 15.
