Everyone is trying to survive school until the next break (and in this case through an uncharacteristically hot week). To break the tension, PGHS had the annual Sadie Hawkins dance. Sadies is characterized by the switched gender roles, inspired by a 1930’s comic. Opposite of the tradition of boys asking girls to dances, this time pictures of girls proposing with posters covered the PGHS Instagram page. Tickets for the dance were sold in the weeks prior ($5 for ASB and $10 without) and helped to build excitement for the event along with March Madness and Powder Buff/Powder Puff preparations.
Where did the idea for the Sadie Hawkins Dance come from anyway? The idea originated from Al Capp’s 1930’s comic strip, Li’l Abner. The comic was centered in the fictional town of Dogpatch, Kentucky where Sadie Hawkins and her father, Hekzebia Hawkins, were worried that she, being rather unattractive, would not find a husband. So, her father organized a race for the town’s bachelors.
They were given a head start and Sadie chased them, whoever she caught would be obliged to marry her. This became a tradition not only in the strip, but also at many colleges, who in the next few years organized their own Sadie Hawkins events. One school’s students dressed up as Li’l Abner characters and they had their own race, whoever the girls caught had to take them to the Sadies Dance.
Unfortunately, there was no race at PGHS, but our dance was western themed. The Student Union was decorated with hay bales and banners and the playlist consisted entirely of country songs. All the attending students dressed in jeans, plaid or flannel shirts, flowy dresses, cowboy boots, cowboy hats, and anything that fit the rugged, stylish theme. The DJ was PGHS’s very own Giorgio Rosa who took charge of the music and played a variety of country songs. Luckily, most of the songs were easy to dance to or widely known, so even people with minimal country music knowledge could sing along. Spotlights that shone everywhere also lined the sides of the gym, adding energy without taking away from the country theme.
However, this dance was not without its downsides. The Student union, packed with students and tables, was incredibly hot and the dance floor felt cramped due to the hay bales (which were easy to trip on). The dance also lacked a photo booth which usually attracts many groups of students and the snacks, though delicious, were also minimal and pricey.
The PGHS Sadie Hawkins dance is a super fun tradition and a great place to de-stress and hang out with friends. Even with some of the downsides, the casual and engaging theme made up for the cramped conditions. The switched roles of this dance add make it both unique and interesting and the ever-changing theme creates a dance to look forward to every year.
