Anna Lim ‘27
Contributor
Are Our School Dances Successful?

School dances are some of the most successful student events on campus. Even though they might not be the most perfect and exciting event to some peers, the dances bring an overwhelming sense of community and energy from the students.

The purpose of school dances is to have fun and make memories. These memories are particularly significant at Loomis as they cannot be experienced after graduation and are some of the most prominent and positive high school memories. Even getting ready with friends and taking photos outside is something many students love to do.

Throughout these school dances, students can spend time with their close friends and other peers outside of a school setting. Ji Yee Chung ’26 mentions that this is one of the best ways that students can have a break from classes, extracurriculars, and other factors that contribute to their stress.

“The purpose of school dances is to relieve stress from academic work and to dress up and have fun,” Chung said.

Additionally, during these dances, students often leave the Snug knowing more people than when they entered, as these dances are activities for the whole school, which rarely happens. Many students find this a unique opportunity for everyone to see, reconnect, or even meet new people.

“[The dances] bring the community together, [allows one] to have fun with your friends and to keep a good work-life balance,” Sally Hayes ’25 said.

Importantly, even though the dances are separated between upper and underclassmen for most of the time, there is still an hour block where the whole school can come together to dance, sing, and get to know one another.

This fall, Kelly Kassab ‘27 attended her first high school dance.

“The dances were good at picking out themes and creating purposes behind them,” Kassab said.

However, they are not hosted as often as people may think; the school usually hosts formal dances one to three times a year.

For example, in the past few years, there has been an annual Opening Dance, Halloween dance, Winterfest, and more. There was also the pink dance this fall term, which raised money and helped raise awareness for breast cancer research. It was an exceptional way for students at Loomis to support a beneficial organization by showing up in pink clothing, buying pink breast cancer awareness bracelets to wear around school, and donating.

However, one thing that makes school dances less successful is the music. Even though there were some popular songs during this year’s school dances, there were some songs that were very negatively received. While this may not seem a significant factor initially, these unfamiliar songs stopped the flow of excitement on the dance floor and tended to lessen this positive experience. For example, when the music changes to a song that is unsuitable for school dances, students stop jumping and begin to complain about the music in between.

“Music is overall pretty okay, but maybe they should take more suggestions from students,” Hayes said.

“The DJ is great, but there are some songs that no one knows and not hype, so he needs to be aware of the dance floor,” Kassab said.

Though there are areas for improvement, school dances are nonetheless some of the most successful events on campus. These events gather the whole school in one place to raise awareness for a cause, show school spirit, and give a rewarding break from classes. But most importantly, these dances serve as a core memory for many students past their Loomis careers.