Madeline Allen
On Sept. 6, Aragon held its annual homecoming dance, with the theme “Carnival Lights,” from 7-10 p.m.
This year, the venue was changed from Pinstripes to Devil’s Canyon eventhouse, which was the venue for last year’s winter formal.
“At first, I said that Pinstripes was better because there’s more stuff to do, [and] I liked playing bocce ball,” said senior John Liu. “But then, as I was here longer, I think that this place is better because it’s a lot bigger. There’s more space and the mosh pit is also just as good as in Pinstripes.”
Students danced and formed conga lines in the middle of the dance floor. Several administrators monitored the dance floor from the D.J. stage to prevent dangerous acts like crowd surfing.
“I like the little dance circle,” said junior Scarlett Choy. “[The dance floor] was a little bland at the beginning. It had no singing [and] it was really basic and sad, so no one was in it, and everyone was in the food room and outside. But then one hour in, everyone was singing. It’s because they played ‘Carnival,’ so it got everyone hyped up. Then a lot of people were really sweaty, and that’s how you know it’s a good dance circle.”
A section outside that was locked up last year opened up this year for students to enjoy. There was a shack where Devil’s Canyon Brewery employees served more food and drinks. Several benches and booths were available for students to rest and talk on.
“I like that they opened up that new area with the extra snacks and extra tables … because last time it felt a little crowded, [and] there wasn’t a lot of space to do anything,” said senior Jayden Leo. “The [extra] area gives you a good place to relax and talk in between going in and out. It’s a nice place to take pictures [because] It has nice lighting. It’s [also] nice and cool, which contrasts with the inside [which] is super hot.”
Self-serve hotdogs, mini-hotdogs, pretzels, lemonade, cookies and an assortment of chips and popcorn were provided for students in the cafeteria and outside section. There were also various activities available to play like foosball, pool table, photo machines, scrabble and chess.
“[Something important about homecoming is] inclusivity,” Choy said “If it’s only directed towards singing and dancing, it’s basic. [This dance was] good because it has photo booths, it has food, it has games, it has dancing, and it has little areas [where] you can sit with your friends. That’s pretty important.”
Even so, there were some parts of this year’s homecoming that didn’t hit the mark for some students.
“I expected them to play better music, I feel like they always play the same songs at every [homecoming], and it just makes it boring,” said sophomore Bella Victor. “I feel like the food is bad. The hot dogs for the hot dog stand were cold, and so is the bread, and it’s just not good.”
Other students reflected on their experience at the dance.
“I liked the dancing in the middle,” said sophomore Bassel Younes. “It was fun. The songs were good and everyone had a lot of energy … I didn’t expect much, because it’s a brewery, and I thought it’d be really boring and dull, but they made it really fun with all the decorations, so I liked it.”
Now, leadership will start preparing for this year’s winter formal, currently scheduled for Feb. 7.
By discretion of Leadership adviser Lindsay Bussey, Dance Commission declined to comment about the earlier dance scheduling this year compared to previous years. When asked for an explanation, assistant principal Clarisse Mesa cited the fact that dance scheduling requires the right timing and venue, which varies year to year.
