Ever hear of the hand jive, the jitterbug, or the twist? Such were the names of some of the most happening dance moves during the 1950s, a decade that the Middle School  revived on October 16. The 1950s was the theme for the annual fall dance which was held in the gymnasium. However, although many students came dressed in ’50s attire – poodle skirts, pony tails, and neckerchiefs for the girls; jeans, white t-shirts, and leather jackets for the boys – they didn’t get much of a chance to try out those old-time dance moves. That’s because, despite the theme, the deejay played mostly modern hits such as “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey, “Cha Cha Slide” by DJ Casper, and “Shut Up and Dance,” by Walk the Moon.  However, many students still had a good time. “My favorite part of the dance was raving with everybody, and I really enjoyed it,” said seventh grader Veronica Baker.

In fact, some students liked the deejay’s choice of music.”The deejay was really good because he didn’t take a lot of time to play the song you requested,” explained eighth grader Ben Myers. “He played songs from many different [genres].”

In addition, the students felt comfortable enough to let loose and have fun. Seventh grader Carol Chen, for example, appreciated “how [her] classmates are kind to each other and they never judge each other by the way they dance. Everyone dances and no one makes any rude remarks.” While many students had a lot of fun, some students also had suggestions for the next dance.

“I think the strobe lights should not have been so bright and in my eye[s] because it made me feel nauseous and dizzy and made me want to vomit everywhere,” stated a seventh-grade female student who wished to remain anonymous. A fellow seventh-grade boy who also wished to remain anonymous said he “didn’t like the high volume of the music and the darkness.”

However, some students had suggestions on how to improve upon the next dance. “I think that there should be a costume contest,” said seventh grader Briley Crisafi. “It would urge people to dress up more and it would be a fun competition for the middle school. This is a smaller note, but I think we may need more drinks. Everyone I was with kept getting really thirsty!” According to Middle School Dean Mr. Jeffrey Cavallo, one hundred twenty students out of the two hundred twenty-nine in the Middle School officially attended the dance. The sixth graders danced from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. while the seventh and eighth graders got their groove on from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.

According to Head of Middle School Mr. Charles Hagy, the dances are held “to build community; to give kids who normally don’t socialize together because of scheduling conflicts a chance to be together.”

Overall, the students seemed to have a great time.  Despite never growing up with Elvis and learning how to do the twist, they embraced the fashion of the 50s (even though the music did not reflect the era). As Mr. Hagy stated, “This was one of the best sixth grade dances we’ve ever had.”