Behind the Scenes of StuCo’s Spring Dance
Photo Credit: Krista Shum
After months of planning and deliberation over a possible theme, Hamber’s Student Council (StuCo) hosted a Paris-themed dance on Apr. 16.
StuCo member Stephanie Lee (10) shared that the planning for the dance was a process that took multiple months, starting in September at StuCo’s retreat. “[We] spent a lot of our weekly meeting time discussing ticket sales, poster-making — which often happens at lunch and FIT blocks — our budget, and decorations.” She added that “a huge part of the planning process goes to brainstorming themes, which all StuCo members are very involved in.”
According to Sizakele Mkasi (12), StuCo’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion representative, “another [theme] idea was 2016. We did a poll with the whole school, and in general, most of the students voted for the Paris theme.” From there, StuCo Secretary Yuree Na (11) explained that StuCo members took inspiration for decoration by searching Pinterest for Parisian images, which were then incorporated into this year’s dance theme. The dance featured an Eiffel Tower backdrop, French props, and a themed photo booth.
And, the photo booth ended up being a highlight for many of the students who attended the dance.
Maya Sato (11) said that while she wasn’t there for the entire dance, she especially enjoyed “taking pictures in the photobooth.” Krista Shum (11), one of the yearbook photographers at the event, also noticed that the photobooth drew many attendees who were “taking really cute photos with their friends.”
Mikayla Fung (8) attended the dance and described the event as “fun, loud, enthralling, and bright,” although she wished there were more food options. Similarly, Alex Lovett (8) commented on the bright and energetic vibes. “Everything was super fun and hype,” he said. Similarly, Christina Wyllie (8) found the experience “amazing and very memorable.”
However, Sato said that while “it was a good price and [she] liked the setup,” she wished the dance floor could have been a little darker, with less natural light flowing in.
This year, ticket prices were lowered to help increase sales. “We’ve heard a lot of complaints about tickets being too expensive. So we lowered the prices, hoping that more people would come out, said StuCo Co-President Tony Chow (12).
Na said that she hoped that with the cheaper tickets, “more people [would] feel more inclined to go.” She added that the resulting ticket sales were higher than expected.