With one goal in mind, members of the dance commission and Spring Fling commission arrived early last Saturday afternoon to set up for what they hoped would be a memorable “Partners in Crimes”-themed Sadie Hawkins Dance.
That night, the commission sold around 20 tickets at the door, adding up to a total of 138 attendees at the dance.
Planning for the dance itself, however, started much earlier with the efforts of the head commissioners of the two commissions.
After the low attendance at last year’s Sadies, the administration had originally cancelled the dance, taking it completely off the school calendar. Displeased with its abandonment, head dance commissioner Danielle Berkowitz-Sklar and head Spring Fling commissioner Eileen Toh led a petition to give students one more shot to experience Sadies.
“We really felt we need [this] dance because Sadies is the only second-semester dance that integrates all four grades,” Berkowitz-Sklar said. “Not only is it a tradition, but it [is] also a perfect way to kick off Spirit Week.”
According to sophomore Elicia Ye, who is a part of the dance commission, the administration told them the dance would only happen only if at least 100 tickets were sold by March 18.
By the end of the day on March 18, the two commissions believed they were well over 100 tickets. However, after ticket sales were counted, activities director Rebeca Marshburn told the commissions that they had only tallied up only 96 tickets because some students didn’t have their guest forms for their guests. According to Marshburn, Sadies was only approved because principal Paul Robinson intervened and O.K.-ed the dance.
With Robinson’s approval, the commissions were able to continue to sell tickets and plan for the dance set for March 26.
“After we got the admin’s approval, we had publicized [Sadies] with posters, posts on the Facebook event, and one day, ASB and Spring Fling and dance commission all dressed up as partners in crime to help with the ticket sales,” Toh said.
Both commissions worked hard to meet deadlines and order decorations so that they arrived before the dance.
On the day of the dance, the two commissions spent around six hours decorating the gym with movie posters, backdrops and lanterns to promote the theme of “Partners in Crime.” The commissions were able to reuse decorations from Homecoming and other dances, and also used napkins from Winter Formal which greatly reduced the cost of decorations.
The dance served different varieties of chips, fruits, candies and water for the attendees, a majority of which came from parent donations.
According to Toh, the overall turnout was great because many students came dressed in costumes that corresponded with the theme. Toh was especially happy that this year’s dance attracted not just couples but also groups of friends.
Sophomore Christina Walb said that this dance was important to her because the school doesn’t have many dances in general, and this was a enjoyable place to hang out with friends and socialize.
“It was really fun for me [because] the music was pretty good,” Walb said. “The best part was dancing because I got to do it with my friends and my date.”
If the dance had been canceled, Berkowitz-Sklar thinks many students would have been upset.
“People would have been angry because they prioritized other things before [this dance] because the students attending actually want to go and it wouldn’t be fair to cancel it especially when every other school has one,” Berkowitz-Sklar said. “It’s not their fault that so many other people don’t want to be involved in school activities.”
ASB was able to keep track of who attended the dance with a new ID scanning system that Marshburn said will help keep track of student participation in school activities.
“Hopefully [those who attended] thought it was fun,” Berkowitz-Sklar said. “Because of this year’s dance, I hope the number of tickets sold increases next year.”
The success of the dance proves that the countless efforts of Berkowitz-Sklar, Toh and the rest of the commissions paid off, setting an example for the future.
“It was worth it honestly because we were able to bring back a dance that was originally taken away, but was the only second-semester dance of the year for the underclassmen,” Toh said. “It was just an overall great way to kick off Spring Fling.”
