The dance floor shook and music blasted over the speakers as hundreds of students took to the dance floor to show off their best moves at Carlmont’s annual Winter Formal dance.
A night many could not forget, successful only through the hard work that goes into planning and putting on school dances that most are not aware of. Expectations for these events are set high, as students eagerly prepare and wait for each dance to begin weeks in advance.
Dance Commission, a branch of ASB Executive Council, works hard to make sure dances are well thought out and will be a fun event for everyone that attends.
For dance commissioner and sophomore Becky Kosovsky, the process of planning dances can be a long and tiring one because it can take months to set things in motion for each big night.
“We start planning dances after each dance concludes. We don’t really ever have much free time. It takes a lot of work all throughout the year to pull each dance together,” said Kosovsky.
In lieu of planning, Dance Commission is responsible for coordinating everything, from who the photographer will be, to what the decorations will look like. Senior and Dance Commission Supervisor Kimberly Lane said planning all three dances can be a process.
“We contact outside vendors and we communicate with them via email to set up different components for the dance. For example, we get together the Lifetouch photographers, the decorators, and the parent volunteers,” said Lane.
Freshman Aidan Truel said he enjoyed the decorations and the venue that were selected for Winter Formal and appreciated what Dance Commission did to make the night unforgettable.
“The theme was nice and everything looked presentable. I liked the location as well. There’s a reason why so many schools, such as Aragon and Sequoia, choose to have their dances at Fox Theatre this year as well,” said Truel.
While all three Carlmont dances are equal in the amount of work put into them, some dances are harder than others when it comes to execution.
For junior and dance commissioner Michelle Tenin, Homecoming is the hardest dance to plan. Compared to a dance like Winter Formal, where the dance is usually held at Fox Theatre, dance commission is responsible for everything during Homecoming, including setting up and tearing down the venue.
“Homecoming is one of the harder dances to plan because our venue is the gym. So, we don’t have as much outside help coming in. Another thing about homecoming is we spend the entire day of Homecoming setting up and putting up decorations. Homecoming has the most impact on us,” said Tenin.
In addition, Tenin hopes that the student body enjoys the dance and appreciates the work that goes into planning dances.
“We’re doing this for you guys, so that you guys will have a good time. Don’t always critique the bad things. Have fun at the dances,” said Tenin.
