It’s no secret here at Pingree that there is not a lot of participation at school dances. The freshman and sophomore semi formal was recently held in the pond room, and there was not a lot of dancing happening. What can we do to improve the school dances here at Pingree? The students have some answers and suggestions, as revealed on a recent poll!

Sophomore Lauren Tucker thinks that attitude is important. “If people have it in their mind that the dance is going to be bad, then it’s already set up for failure,” she says. 

Freshman Allie Stella agrees with Lauren. “Dances have gotten a bad reputation, so we need to make a change.” 

So how do we make that change? One student, Niev Veloz, says, “The more effort put into the dance, the more people will come.” 

Some students felt that the dance’s atmosphere had a lack of enthusiasm, and this affected their own enthusiasm about the event. 

On a survey, students were asked, “Would you be willing to pay money for tickets to a dance in order to afford more decorations and food or have it at a place other than the school, for example a venue?” The majority of students answered yes! They said this would definitely help the enthusiasm towards a school dance. 

After asking a few students their thoughts, it seems that potentially having the dance off campus might be worth looking into. Niev added, “I think this idea would have a big impact on our dances.” Freshman Claudia Aguilar said, “It would create a much more fun atmosphere.” Future students should look into this idea as it could help improve school dances. Of course it could also be too expensive and logistically difficult, but one can never know until they try.

School dances are generally determined by the atmosphere; if the atmosphere is not upbeat then fun may be lacking. On the weekend, students generally want to have a break from school. If a school dance is held at school, it makes students feel like they have no break. 

Pingree is always wanting to create a stronger bond between all students, improving school dances could improve that bond. If students have a space or a completely new and original experience on campus where they can have fun with their classmates, it’s bound to strengthen their friendships. This, in turn, will make the Pingree community a better place, with a stronger sense of connection. 

One member of the Pingree dance committee for this year’s 9th and 10th grade semi, Linh Nelson, has some valuable pieces of advice on how Pingree can improve attendance at dances. “I think giving people more freedom and not limiting the time they could get there, along with the place the dance is, would improve attendance overall,” Nelson says. “I think a lot of people enjoyed the semi in the AC with the whole school, and I think not limiting the dances to certain grades would benefit everyone.” 

Nelson also gave some suggestions about how to improve student attitude towards the dances. “No matter what people put out there in terms of themes and fun things at the dances, it centers around the people,” she says. “If people aren’t excited to go to the dance, then the overall mood will be bad, and people will leave early. People enjoy it when there’s a mix of people of different grades and the more people there are the better the attitude is.”