With a plethora of dances available to upperclassmen it can be easy to feel as if there are only two grades at Warde who like to eat questionable food and dance awkwardly to commemorate the Spring. Since that isn’t the case the sophomores and freshman have their own dance with different (sometimes exciting) themes that change every year.
Yet the question still stands, “Was the dance worth going to?”
In order to get in there was a $20 fee…and a breathalyzer test. Go Warde! After the administration of said test, the gym—and the booming music within it— was open to the attendees. Outside of the gym there was a beverage station and stacks of cups beside it. I did feel betrayed that the gatorade cooler only had water in it, but betrayal aside, the free water was very much appreciated towards the middle of the night when it was clear that no one had brought any from home.
When I actually entered into the dance/gym, there were flashing colored lights which did a good job illuminating the extremely loud room. Seriously, I could barely hear my friends who were standing right beside me. The loudness could be attributed to the DJ, who’s music actually got people dancing.
The dance music in question could be identified by their five seconds of fame on Tik Tok. Now, the argument on whether the app has polluted the music industry is a topic for another day, as what’s for sure is that the polluted playlist featuring “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, “SkeeYee” by Sexyy Red, “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat, and many others were well known among the attendees. The problem is that while the songs got people on the dance floor, they weren’t quite sure what to do when they got there as most tracks weren’t the best for dancing. Ultimately there were only a few songs that got me moving(you can’t sit down when “Gangnam Style” is playing) and I found myself jokingly yelling “skip this song!” to my friends every other song because the choice didn’t match the vibe of a dance party.
In some ways preparing for the dance was more exciting than the dance itself. It was my first high school dance, so my friends and I did our best to fulfill all of our romanticized ideas on what it would be like. We bought our dresses together, talked about it on a number of occasions and when it was time, got ready together. Still, once I got there, I couldn’t help but feeling that it didn’t live up to the hype. To figure out where I stood in the court of public opinion, I consulted some of my peers.
“The atmosphere was pretty energetic” and after a bit “[people] seemed to really enjoy themselves.” One freshman said.
Another freshman felt quite differently noting that it was absurd that “we each [pay] $20 for flashing lights, loud dated music, and water,”
Despite the contrasting outlooks, it was an overall underwhelming experience as both those with high and no expectations left feeling generally indifferent.