The annual Class IV Dance, hosted in Goodwin Room on Saturday, April 11, gathered 31 students and featured spring fling themed attire, music, food, drinks, and colorful decoration. There was even a handmade photobooth cutout for students to take photos with. Class IV representatives Tatum Lee ’29 and Isabella Chen ’29 welcomed the attendees enthusiastically when the dance commenced at 8:00 p.m. Originally set to happen in February, the dance was postponed due to exams, which limited the representatives’ ability to prepare properly.
The Class IV dance was organized by mainly the Class IV representatives, who received guidance and additional help when it was needed from faculty. The faculty reserved rooms and ensured spaces were available, but according to Class IV Dean Brian Simoneau, most of the work was “student-driven.” When asked about one of the challenges during preparations, Chen responded that she found difficulty “aligning all the resources and decorations with the teachers,” as Simoneau, Class IV Dean Katherine Kelleher, and Director of Student Activities Kelly Reiser were often very busy. “It took us months to prepare and make sure that we were all on the same page,” Chen noted.
Chen hoped that the class could “be more cohesive, and feel more like a family instead of just like a grade.” Previous dances, which included all classes, aimed to facilitate relationships across the grades. Conversely, Simoneau explained that the Class IV dance’s goal was to “develop the community further for the Class IV kids to come together.” “We finished the third quarter, so [the dance was] a chance to celebrate, have some fun, blow off a little bit of steam, and get to know some people in their class a little bit better,” he added.
The community building was prominent throughout the gathering, as students formed a circle, danced, and sang together. While the event was meant for the entire grade, the turn out did not reflect this intention. Abe Laznik ’29 admitted that “there [was] not a really big turnout, surprisingly, for our almost 200-person grade.” He added, “seeing around 30 students attend, it’s a little underwhelming.” Laznik continued to say that if future events’ turnouts were similar, [the events] would not be as fun to look forward to, though he would show up to support the organizers regardless.
Among the students that didn’t attend, Elin Han ’29 explained that she didn’t have the right attire for the spring-themed dress code, and she therefore “wasn’t able to attend.” Laznik added that many students did not attend the dance because the nature of the event was “awkward and embarrassing.” On the other hand, the event seemed appealing to Lycée International Georges Duby student Lucy Miguel ’28, who enjoyed the dance and met many new people. “I really wanted to go to the dance because in France, we don’t really have that many of them,” she explained.
Jaydon Sun ’29 was also interested in the event, but for a different reason. Sun arrived at the dance with a suit he designed himself: “I sewed the fabric, so I’m going to attend. If I spent 50 hours sewing a suit, I’m going to attend because I don’t want to waste the suit.” Though the 31-person crowd in Goodwin Room did not match the event’s hopes, Chen expressed her gratitude: “I’m really grateful for [that turnout].”