School dances are one of the key pillars of high school culture. It’s a time when students can come together to let loose in between the hustle and bustle of the school year. 

But if you ask everyone what their experience was, it would be something along the lines of “mind-numbingly boring.” Students are tired of the same geriatric DJ blasting Taylor Swift and Katy Perry on repeat, the drama surrounding every date to the dance and everything in between. To a high school student, there are only mixed feelings. For this edition, the Editorial Team closely examined every aspect of a school dance and what you need to have the best night possible.

The lifecycle of a school dance starts at a “promposal.” That is, if you can actually get a date, but  we’ll get to that. Promposals are a sweet gesture to ask out your date. The decorative sign, its witty proposal joke and maybe a box of chocolates or a bouquet can really show that you are willing to give your date a memorable school dance. The issue is that it really only works when both are already in a relationship. It’s more complicated when it comes to non-couples. 

Imagine you are sitting in class, doing homework, when you are suddenly bombarded by your classmate wielding a big, sparkly sign and a box of Ferrero Rocher. The room goes silent, and the focus is on you. That’s when you start to weigh your options. You know that they probably spent a long time making that sign and those chocolates look really good, but you also really don’t want a date to the dance.

Nothing stops you from just saying no, but it feels as if a promposal is a legally-binding contract. Let’s say you do accept the offer. The outcome is that you have a bad time at the dance and end up ditching your date. If you say no, your potential-date looks like an idiot in front of the entire class, and your chances of getting those chocolates will seem pretty slim.

This all applies if you are even asked to dance. If you plan to go stag for the dance, don’t feel bad. Most teenagers are too socially awkward to even interact with each other, and they still find a way to have a good time.

So let’s say you somehow figured out how to get a date. The next phase of a school dance is dressing up. Let’s be honest, girls put in a lot more effort than guys for dances. For every suit and tuxedo a male student owns, expect 10 times the amount of dresses from a female. 

Just looking at couples’ outfits already gives it away. For example, you might find a girl dressed in a pink, glittery, sequined dress. It probably took her hours to get ready, and the guy decides to just go with a pink tie. This does not mean the guys have to start spending egregious amounts of money on an outfit. For the girls, it isn’t just for their dates. It’s one of the few times in the year when they can dress up and feel good about themselves.

So you have the date, got dressed up and bought the tickets. Now it’s time for the dance. In the grand scheme of events, you will most likely not remember much of the “dancing” part. School dances are really just a few hours of flashing strobelights and blasting speakers surrounding a moshpit of sweat and screaming. What all that really mattered was that we did it with our friends, and that’s what school dances have always been. Whether you go on a date, tag along with a group, or just go solo, you will walk out of that high school gym drenched in sweat and hopefully will have one memorable night.