Revamping a nostalgic blast to the past

Mk Palaris, Editor-In-Chief|March 16, 2023

The ‘80s-themed dance, stylized as the pun “S80’s” (Sadies,), marked a comeback of the formerly popular Sadie Hawkins dance—where women invite men to the venue, opposite to the traditional custom. It was organized by all class committee levels, from freshmen to seniors.

“This is a collaboration between all class committee levels, freshman all the way to seniors. We wanted to have a [theme] to commemorate our school’s 40th anniversary,” class of 2025 advisor and AP Biology teacher Jazmine Silver said. “We were founded in 1982, so what a perfect [time] to have this ode to the 80’s.”

The class committee event boasted numerous activities in correlation to the retro environment, including playable arcade machines, Shrinky Dinks keychain crafts, bracelet-making, free popcorn and ‘80s movies showings.

“Back then, you would go to Sadies informally with your date, and they would set up a marriage booth or kissing booth,” athletic director Alexis Feix said. “Activities stemmed from that, and we took a spin on it and made it more 21st-century friendly.”

Additionally, an inciting factor to host the dance on school grounds was to have an accessible event for all DBHS students—all in the comfort of their own campus. Due to this, tickets were set to the $25-30 price range and off-campus dates were restricted.

“We felt like homecoming and prom were kind of pricey. Homecoming is open to everybody, but it’s expensive, versus a Sadies [dance],” Feix said. “On campus is more low-key, and you can have different events that you wouldn’t for a more formal type dance.”

Event coordinators encouraged students to follow the theme in terms of dress code, advising students to dress ‘80s-style, semi-formal or a combination of the two.

“Sadies in general is a more laid-back dance. It’s not as formal as homecoming, and you have more freedom to dress up within the theme,” Silver said. “If you came in-costume, that would be totally cool. Or if you came dressed in a nice dress, that would be fine too.”

Like with all school dance events, an asking competition took place up to Jan. 19; the video with the most likes on the @db.sadies Instagram page won a pair of free tickets.

“As we really progress in 2023, a lot of people are asking each other regardless of gender. To us, we wanted to move away from that and keep it name only,” Feix said. “It’s supposed to be fun, and I think that represents where we are in society: not traditional.