Confessions of a dancehall dunce
The Sadie Hawkins Dance: school dances and moving forward
November 21, 2007
Mason Judy
On November 5, I found myself, along with approximately 100 other Trinity Western University students, inside the Fort Langley Community Hall. No, we weren’t going over appropriations for another unsightly subdivision; it was the Sadie Hawkins Dance.
Now, if you are not up on Christian music or pop culture, you may not know what a Sadie Hawkins Dance is. Essentially, it is a reversal of traditional cultural stereotypes and prompts young lassies to ask young lads for a foxtrot or two. I pondered the significance of this detail as the hips shook and the music blared courtesy of DJ Self Evident. Judging by appearances, there was little to separate this dance from the others that TWU has put on since the amendment of the responsibilities of membership. No doubt, the TWU Student Association class reps did an exceptional job at putting together this shindig. There were prizes for best dressed couple, snagged by Lyndsey Buchan and Andrea Lambert, that totaled to a combined $250 gift certificate to the new lower cafeteria. Yet, despite all the fun, it just did not feel distinct.
As I stood by the punch bowl and caught up on my intake of vitamin C, I felt transported back to the turn of the millennium. A younger self stood on similar tiled floor, knees quaking at the possibility of contact with the opposite sex. What separated this Sadie Hawkins Dance from my eighth grade school dances? Both had chaperones, both had songs by Britney Spears, both involved copious amounts of awkward body movements, and at both no one really asked each other to go: we all just showed up.
After a couple more Sodexho fresh pineapple squares, the answer became clear: slow dancing. I fully remember the excitement when I slowly swayed in a small circle to Chantal Kreviazuk’s cover of “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Is there any reason the students at TWU shouldn’t be able to experience this same terror and joy? Although, on one hand, it is understandable. As an institution, my middle school had a veritable career in offering dances to the students. TWU is relatively new on the block as far as dances go and, as with any new relationship, we cannot expect it to move too fast. But maybe it is time we moved to second base in this relationship. The Sadie Hawkins seemed like a prime opportunity to elicit the forgotten romance of the slow dance, but it has passed us by. If you feel as I do, make your voice heard! Having done that, all you need is someone to actually ask you to dance.
Now you go...
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