Growing up, when picturing the topic of school dances, what comes to mind is the whole school dressed up fancy in the gym and having the time of their lives with friends dancing to music. Nowadays, the student attendance of these dances has decreased, while the ticket sales have increased. To add on, most of those who do show up don’t even dress up. The appeal of school dances is fading, as well as the talk and acknowledgement of them as well.
For dances like homecoming and winter formal, a DJ, food, and staff like custodians and security are provided. To provide these items, they need to be paid for, which is why tickets are priced the way they are. Over the course of the years, ticket prices have risen, since activities at the dance get more and more expensive each year due to inflation. The more students who purchase these tickets, the faster the bills get paid, and the more money that is leftover for the next dance to come.
For these dues to be compensated, there must be a certain number of students attending the dance. For instance, this year’s winter ball tickets are $26 with ASB and $30 without. With all entertainment and food added up, this year’s ball costs $3,159.00. This means that a minimum number of 105 tickets must be purchased to pay these debts, and as of right now, only 46 tickets have been purchased out of our over 2,000 student school.
When asking students their opinions on school dances, freshman and leadership student Emma Bravo rated her experience a 7/10. “I attend school dances when I can, and they’re fun when all your friends go. Something that would improve the dances would be to hold them in the gym rather than the cafeteria, since more room is always better, as well as enhancing the advertisement.” Leadership student freshman Chloe Gray also mentioned that “adding more games and activities to the dances would also improve the experience.”
The expansion of prices for dance activities marks up ticket prices, which overall causes a reduction in student attendance. Due to these statistics, there is a decline in charm for these dances from students, which is what is causing these dances to die out. Students who have planned these dances, as well as attended them, are giving feedback and suggestions on how they can improve advertising, games, and more.
