You and your friends step off the loud, busy streets of downtown Seattle and walk through the large doors at the entrance of the Seattle Art Museum. It’s 8:00 pm on Saturday, September 27th, and the museum has closed, but you’re not there to look at paintings. You’re there for UPrep’s ‘Starry Night’ Homecoming dance. Beyond the sign-in table and up a few steps, you can hear music blasting through the open space, you can see colorful lights flashing in the darkness, and you can see students taking photos at the Starry Night-inspired photobooth. You feel a rush of excitement at the thought of dancing with your friends, saying hi to other students, taking pictures at the photo booth, and having a great time.
This year, UPrep held the Homecoming dance at the Seattle Art Museum, a venue that was strategically chosen to ensure everyone at the dance had a good time.
“Part of the reason we decided to go with the Seattle Art Museum is because it is such a large open space,” Assistant Director of Upper School Meg Anderson-Johnson said. “There are still places for people to go if they want a little more quiet or to get off the dance floor.”
Senior Paige Johnson agrees that the venue worked well for the event and the number of people attending.
“I think it was a good location size-wise,” senior Paige Johnson said. “I think it’s hard to find a place that’s not too big but not too small.”
However, finding a venue does not come without its challenges.
“UPrep is growing, so it’s been more difficult to find dance venues that work for a larger number of people that are also in our budget,” senior Larissa Rosenthal said.
As one of the four ASB (Associated Student Body) Execs, Rosenthal’s obligations include working with the Assistant Director of Upper School to plan dances. One part of dance planning is choosing a theme, which will inspire decorations and outfits. This dance’s theme, Starry Night, is a reference to the famous painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
Junior Adina Wei painted the mural that served as the backdrop for the photobooth at the dance. Closely resembling the Starry Night painting, it took Wei 12 hours over the span of 1 week to create.
“I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, even though I didn’t completely finish it,” Wei said. “It would’ve also been nicer if I’d made it a bit bigger, but I didn’t due to time constraints.”
The inspiration for this dance’s theme came from the venue itself, according to senior and ASB Exec Owen Bradley.
“Being in a unique venue like the SAM, a lot of our brainstorming and ideas were trying to play off the idea of the museum and art, and combining those into themes for homecoming,” Bradley said.
Students like Johnson not only liked the dance but also enjoyed the week leading up to it. The week before Homecoming, ASB organized dress-up days such as Twin Day, Blue Out, and Pajama Day. The day before homecoming, Friday the 26th, both the Boy’s Varsity Ultimate team and the Girl’s Varsity Soccer team played homecoming games at Shoreline Center.
“I thought Homecoming week in general was fun,” Johnson said. “And the dance was a great way to end the week.”
Homecoming week and the dance itself are beneficial for students as they begin the school year, according to Anderson-Johnson.
“It’s just a fun way to kick off the year; people still have a lot of energy and are excited to be back together,” Anderson-Johnson said.
