“We encourage students to wear jeans and flannel shirts. Line dancing, and the Hoedown Throwdown [by Hannah Montana] will definitely be played,” sophomore class council representative, Frank Haralambakis said.
The goal of the western theme is that if the dance itself is less formal then more students will come. Although it will still be considered a Turnabout dance, girls are not required to ask the guys. Class council hopes to get away from the term “Turnabout” in the hopes of increasing attendance.
Attendance was also a factor in the deciding of when the dance will be held. It was strategically placed between sports seasons to allow as many students as possible an opportunity to go.
The dance has been scheduled to take place on March 2. “ Historically, that’s when all Sadie Hawkins dances – the original name for Turnabout dances – were held,” Associate Principal of Operations, Kent Nightlinger said. There was some controversy as to when the dance would take place but, “It had been on the calendar for March 2 since last year when the calendars were made, it would have been a hassle to change it now.” Nightlinger said.
“We wanted to do something like Club Sky from a couple of years ago, and open it up to the whole district but the administration didn’t like that idea.” Class Council member, Michelle Angelico said.
‘We want this dance to be fun, but we also want to make sure that the students are safe.” Nightlinger said. “We feel that having the dance open to just our school will allow that. Of course, students are allowed to bring dates or guests from other schools as long as they fill out the guest forms.”
Cost was also an issue when planning the dance. The average cost for a DJ is anywhere between $600 and $10,000, plus the cost of decorations, security, and extra chaperones, if necessary. Teachers volunteer to chaperone at the beginning of the school year for things and do not get paid for it, as it is considered to be part of their duty as teachers. However, if more chaperones are needed than what are scheduled, the administration has to pay the additional ones.
“We don’t want to lose money. If we spend 5,000, we want to make around $10,000.” Nightlinger said.
The DJ will be the same DJ there was at Homecoming this year. Tickets will be $10 if bought in advance, and $15 at the door. The dance will take place on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 PM. “That should allow any students in spring sports to have practice that day and still go to the dance that night.” Nightlinger said.
Students should come dressed in their western wear such as, flannel shirts, jeans and cowboy boots. “It should be pretty interesting,” sophomore, Peyton Dezonna said. “I’m not going to line dance though.”