Music? Check. Food? Check. Drinks? Check. Dresses? Check. Everything needed for a normal high school dance is present.
But this is not a “normal” high school dance. It’s 20’s night. Maxi dresses are replaced by flapper dresses, catchy, beat-driven music is replaced by tunes traditional to the 1920’s, and heads are adorned in feathered headdresses.
Twenties night, which took take place on Dec 16, is a dance specifically for juniors that allows them to understand and experience a past era of glamour and gilded wealth.
US history and junior English teachers tried to make their curriculums match up by having the students read the Great Gatsby around the same time that they studied the 1920’s and the Harlem Renaissance. Twenties night embodied both of these and helped further connect the history and English classes.
“[The teachers] felt that junior year is really stressful; there is a lot of emphasis on tests and essays and debates that are really high stress and we thought it would be really fun to come up with a totally different kind of assignment,” US history teacher Alison Cota said.
At 20’s night, student’s dressed up to match the time period, learned how to Lindy Hop, a type of swing dance, and had a poetry jam, in which students presented Langston Hugh’s poems.
“The whole spirit was to do something really fun, for juniors, that would be more so like the Medieval Banquet or the Greek Olympics in middle school,” Cota said.
By participating in an event that was kinesthetic and fun, students were able to gain a deeper understanding of the era, said junior Alex Stuteville, who was on the 20’s night planning committee.
“Seeing pictures and readings in our history and English books are much different than experiencing it personally,” Stuteville said. “Today, teenagers have fun by going to parties. Back then, young adults had fun by doing Lindy hop. It is important to compare cultures.”
While students were not forced to go, they were expected to, unless they had another major obligation that same night. One’s attendance counted towards his or her grade, and those who chose not to attend must make up the assignment by doing a solo performance in front of the class or doing some sort of writing component for both their history and English classes. The teachers hoped this would give the students more of an incentive to actually go to 20’s night.
“I completely understand why it is ‘mandatory’, but I don’t think it was a great choice. I mean does ‘mandatory fun’ really sound like ‘fun’? Nope. But does writing a paper sound better? I guess it’s alright that it’s mandatory, but it’s not ideal,” said junior Sabrina Tobe, who was on the 20’s night planning committee.
However, Stuteville thinks it should have been mandatory because it allowed all juniors to experience the Harlem Renaissance era better.
“20’s night should be mandatory because it gives our perception of the era greater depth in an educational and fun manner. Personally loved experiencing the “jazz age”, or “golden era” and I am glad I had the opportunity,” Stuteville said.
One thing that really helped students get into the mood of the 1920’s was the costumes. Though dressing up was optional, some teachers awarded extra credit to those who dressed up and there was a costume contest with a prize for the best or most creative costume. Tobe won first place and junior Sierra Yeh won second place.
“[Winning it] was awesome. It was fun. I think more people should have done it because they all came in 20’s outfits anyways, why not?” Yeh said.
Cota is hoping 20’s night is something PHS will do yearly, she said.
“When you do anything for the first time, there’s always going to be some kind of learning curve,” Cota said. “I think there is initially some resistance to anything new, and I hope it will be the kind of thing that is super fun and people will want to go from year to year.”
