For years student interest, attendance, and enjoyment of our school dances at Cyprus have been waning. In mainstream media, dances are a quintessential part of the high school experience. Who you go to homecoming with is life or death and Prom is the most awaited night of the year. As kids, many of us couldn’t wait until we were in high school to finally experience what the dances were really like. While there are many students who attend every dance and enjoy themselves, there are also plenty of students who don’t. In fact, many view the dances as boring or a waste of time and get most of their enjoyment from their day date or just hanging out with their group. Others have begun to view attending dances as more of a routine than a special and fun occasion. So, when did this shift happen? Why are our dances declining?

In an interview, Ariana Afa, Cyprus High School alumni and former SBO Historian spoke about her experience during her high school years, spanning from 2018-2022, “When I started high school, the dances were cheaper and more fun. The following years, prices increased and rules became stricter. They were still fun my senior year, but different… I think the dwindling attendance has to do with the prices and strictness. Dances should be fun. When there are too many rules about what you can and can’t do, it’s more of a chore and a bore.” Afa’s insightful remarks show a downward trend from dances that started many years ago. 

The details, rules, and prices of dances have changed a lot as time has progressed. These changes may be small, but they add up. In previous years, dances began at 7:00pm and ended at 10:00pm, however they’ve now been moved to 6:30-9:00pm. Advisors found it better for the dance to begin sooner so that it can end as soon as possible and the chaperones can go home early, since they have to stay until all students leave. While understandable, these changes bother a lot of students. Because the dances now start before the sun has set, the first chunk of the dance is often awkwardly spent in a room decorated to look best in the dark. Many kids also plan day dates, activities, and photos during the day of the dance and this early start cuts into much needed time. Also considering time to get ready for the dance and eat dinner, the earlier start is extremely frustrating for many students. Raising expectations for CPA to be able to attend has also prevented dozens of students from going. While this restriction is intended to encourage students to get their CPAs up, it also cuts students who may already be struggling to show up and connect within the school further off. 

Cyprus student Alezay Rodriguez commented on his experience going to dances, “I mean they are usually fun, but it's mainly just going on a day date and spending time with my friends that I like so much. The dances themselves can get pretty repetitive.” Rodriguez went on to describe how because he often goes to dances with his friends in student government that he sees and appreciates how much work they put into every dance. As thespian president, he’s also faced a lot of challenges with extracurricular activities overlapping with dance dates. This year, Prom happens to fall on the same day as the theatre programs' state competitions, making it much harder for students who are active in the school to attend. 

It’s clear that there is a lot of work put into the planning, promotion, and decoration of each dance Cyprus puts on. However, much like many of the problems Cyprus faces, the gap between admin and students causes discontent. Dances at Cyprus suffer as little by little more changes are made to the detriment of students and their experience. Obviously, teachers and administrators have reasons for everything they do, but the disconnect between us just breeds unhappiness.  A little consideration from both sides would go a long way, but the only way to achieve this is if there is more consistent and mutual communication between admin and students moving forward. High school dances are such an important part of our youth and experience growing up. Rules may be important but so is a little bit of freedom every now and again. They don’t have to be exactly like the movies, but we can’t let our dances continue to decline.