Saturday, October 22, 2022, the MVHS Student Government Association hosted a dance in the school’s cafeteria themed around the 1920s. This meant that attendants were encouraged to be dressed, dance, and party like people who were alive during the decade.
Students paid $15 to have their names placed on a list of attendants. This approach resolved several problems. It eliminated the paper waste that physical tickets produce, and it avoided the chance of tickets getting lost. This process also removed the possibility of non-MVHS students in attendance; an issue that many schools try to avoid at their dances.
According to Mrs. Scruggs, an SGA supervisor, they came upon this theme when trying to find a way for students to dress up. They wanted a dance close to Halloween where students could dress up in disguises, but the administration did not approve of a costume party. A decade’s dance was as close to their initial idea as they could get. To their delight, all but one or two students who came were dressed like characters in “The Great Gatsby,” a common interpretation of the theme.
There were a few songs played that sounded as if they were from the early 20th century, such as “Theme From New York, New York.” However, most of the playlist consisted of the newest Taylor Swift album and common school dance songs like, “Cha Cha Slide,” “Cupid Shuffle,” and “Wobble.” The DJ playing these songs was the school’s former auditorium director, Joy Mills.
Drinks were served in plastic chalices to imitate champagne glasses. The drink options consisted of root beer, sparkling cider, and water. About an hour after the dance began, however, the snack table ran out of beverages. This forced students with later thirst to visit the nearby vending machines or water fountains. Some of the available snacks were: pretzel rods, cupcakes, chips, and Hershey kisses.
A photo station was available with several props, including picture frames, money bags, and a large silver chess queen. There were also two backdrops for photos: a stage with the silhouettes of a jazz band and a silvery gold film with gold balloons shaped like the digits of 1920.
All in all, it was an opportunity to spend time dressed up with friends and have fun listening to music.
In the words of Kennedi Morgan, a senior that attended, “The dance had a cool theme, and I got to show off my expert dance moves.”