Students who went to Winter Formal at the Hyatt Hotel in Santa Clara said they were impressed by the decorations and atmosphere. The ballroom was transformed into a Christmas wonderland with red and green lights, artificial snow, mistletoe and giant snowflakes.
All of these decorations came with a price, and after paying this and other expenses, the dance commission reported going over its budget for the dance by $4,000. Dance commissioner Connor Reyes said this kind of deficit may make it harder to have winter formal off campus next year.
Money issues aren’t the only obstacle for next year’s Winter formal. With a relatively high attendance of 520 students this year, next year’s dance could be even more popular. That means that dance commission has to find yet another venue that can accommodate at least 500 students, which won’t be easy.
“Our primary goal is to still have an off campus venue; however, if we are unable to find a venue that can hold 500 students, then Formal next year might be in the gym,” Reyes said.
Reyes said at the Hyatt, the commission spent $3,000 on mediocre hotel food. Ideal venues that would let outside food be catered in.
Despite the pricy bids of $40 per ticket, most attendees said they enjoyed the dance.
The Christmas theme fully immersed them in the winter mood; from the biting cold on the outside and the dimmed lights on the inside, the scene seemed to be straight from a Christmas song.
Winter Formal started at 7 p.m. when the 11 school buses docked in front of the hotel, until 11 p.m. when the buses departed. Students had four hours to enjoy dinner, the Flipbook booth, the dance and time away from the cold.
The Flipbook booth let friends and dates decorate each other with props like hats and glasses before taking a seven-second video which was then printed into a flipbook. The long line of people waiting to take pictures also served as a refuge for those who felt too tired to dance.
DJ Delicious spiced up the dance floor with Tyga’s and XXXTentacion’s latest hits and oldies like “Party Rock Anthem.”
“I thought the DJ played each song for way too long, but his song selections definitely weren’t the worst I've heard,” senior Nicholas Di said.
The DJ did not play songs students especially liked, and the ASB and dance commission are looking to improve the music at future dances. Still, most students enjoyed their time at the dance.
“Overall, I think the dance was really awesome this year,” sophomore Daniel Ning said. “The dance floor was so big, and I hope we can still go to a venue off campus next year.”