Ahhhhh, high school dances. A night most girls look forward to for months, and most guys dread. Girls spend months picking out the perfect dress, while girlfriends (and moms) try to force boys into button down shirts and khakis. These nights consist of hairspray, glitter, makeup, and hundreds of pictures. They consist of fighting with friends over where to eat prior, and yelling at dates for not getting the right kind of corsage. They have post-dance late night trips to the bowling alley or the local 24 hour diner. But most importantly, they consist of a night of music and dancing in the school gym. And as far as music goes, the soundtrack always seems to be the same.
1. The Line Dance
The Cupid Shuffle or The Cha Cha Slide (sometimes both) is always played at school dances, and everyone forces their friends and everyone else onto the dance floor. There is no getting out of this dance, especially if you came with a huge group of people.
2. The "Club" Song
These are those songs played at the school dance where the popular kids congregate in the middle of the floor to grind on each other and jump around like they’re at a club. The “non-popular” kids jumped around on the perimeter of the room, and were always the ones who got caught for grinding by the teacher who immediately regret volunteering to chaperone. These are also the songs in which half of the words are bleeped because, ya know, …high school.
3. The Slow Song
When the DJ decides to play the only slow song all night, three possible scenarios happen. One, People run to get drinks, go to the bathroom or get some air. Two, Friends gather in a circle with hands on each others’ shoulders/waists as they sway back and forth. Three, Girls grab their dates and try to make all the other girls in the room jealous as they dance.
4. The Sing Along Song
As soon as this song comes on, friends grab each other and scream, “IT’S OUR SONG!”. Everyone then proceeds to scream the song at the top of their lungs while dramatically gesturing their arms and jumping in a circle (because jumping is the only thing anyone ever actually does at a dance).
While school dance playlists tend to never sway from a never-ending loop of these four song types, they become some of the best memories that we make in high school. And for the record, the soundtrack doesn’t change much in college. There is just a lesser amount of bleeped out words and more grinding without fear of being reprimanded. They are still one hell of a good time.
