How students made a spirited return to the school dance
Spencer Isaacs
Staff Writer
September 21, 2021
For many students at Westfield High School, the Homecoming Dance came as a surprise. Despite uncertainty after last year’s cancellation, plenty of dance goers still packed fun into this school function.
After a year without a homecoming dance, WHS Student Government was prepared to put on a show. Student Government Executive Delainey Wallace (11) shares the details about the positive energy and camaraderie among those coordinating the event.
“We ordered and put up all the decorations for the dance and tore them down at the end of the night… I got ready with my friends at one of our houses and we ate at Puccini’s before the dance, but I had just as much fun setting up with [Student Government] as I did at the dance,” Wallace said.
While some spent the night setting up the dance, others spent the night out and about. Many long-standing homecoming traditions involve festivities, both before and after the function. Heidi Burke (10) explains how to pack the most fun into the night.
“Me and a group of people met at Coxhall Garden to take pictures, and then after that, we went to Charleston’s to eat… after the dance, all the girls from the group got together,” Burke said.
A true understanding of the dance culture can only come from attending the main event. There is a wild magic that only lives where the bass shakes the walls of a school athletic facility. Through the twisted green prop vines strung across the door frame to match the dance theme, “Enchanted Forest,” the heart of the dance was in the students. Peyton Sullivan (12) noticed this, reflecting on the occasion.
“I liked that even though things have been so crazy this year, the dance felt like it did two years ago, and like people had just as much energy… it was so fun,” Sullivan said.
Indeed, it was refreshing to see the Westfield family enjoying themselves at a school dance just as in the past. In spite of a pandemic, the personal connections that tie the community together have persisted just the same. Lars Ozkan (12) took the chance to grow closer to an important person in their life.
“...I was planning on staying home with friends, but then someone amazing came into my life and that changed. I asked them out to the dance, and they said yes. So we went together, and it was honestly amazing,” Ozkan said.
In all the excitement, there was bound to be some chaos. Few expected that chaos to arrive in the form of an army of students strangely clad in black, full-body Morphsuits and bowties. At multiple points throughout the dance, these mysterious figures ran around frantically and caused an uproar on the dance floor. These revelers showed no desire to explain their unique way of seeking fun or anything at all as spontaneity thrived at Westfield Homecoming.
“This is why I wear the mask,” cautioned the dark-robed figure.