With vague posters circling the school campus offering suggestions to “dress to impress” and listing the date Jan. 16, 2015, many students wondered what the Countdown Dance was.
All questions were answered when students arrived in Coray Alumni Gymnasium for the dance on Friday. The freshman and sophomore class council welcomed students to the dance with tables full of plastic New Year glasses, sparkly noisemakers, 2015 headbands, balloons and confetti.
Regarding the idea of the dance, freshman vice president Brielle Lisa said, “Sophomore class officers, Corbin Schultz and Alex Kuo, approached (freshman class president) Lincoln Carper and I in early October about collaborating on a dance … We were all so excited to throw such a big event for the student body!”
Lisa continued, “I think the ambiguity of the dance may have initially made it hard to sell tickets, but I think in the end, people’s curiosity really helped turn out.”
The dark gym was decorated with colorful lights, decorative balloons, refreshments, candy, a large cutout of the city landscape and most importantly, a photo booth where students could have their pictures taken with friends after donning goofy glasses, fake mustaches or wandering balloons. The decorations complemented the attendees who followed the poster’s directions to dress to impress.
An hour into the dance, Stertorous “Tor” Thunder made a surprise appearance. Students then had the opportunity to dance with the school mascot.
Senior Derek Simpson provided upbeat dance music throughout the night, per the request of the freshman and sophomore class councils. As balloons floated throughout the gym, Simpson played music nonstop, allowing students to dance without pause.
A couple hours later, with the dance in full swing, an hour long end of the year countdown was initiated to welcome the second semester. The freshman and sophomore class councils transformed what started as a vague dance event into a fun night of celebration where students had the chance to celebrate their first full week of school and to welcome the spring semester.