“Do you like school dances?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

After Saturday night’s Morp, the question has arisen: do students actually enjoy going to dances?

It seems that every year and every dance at Air Academy there is an uproar of students either for or against dances. From homecoming to prom, every dance has its fair share of attendees who don’t like to dance. So do Kadets actually like dances and if not, then why do they still come?

“I wanted to be social,” said senior Jason Lee. For some students, dances aren’t even about the actual dancing. Lee didn’t enjoy his last dance experience but he wanted to be with his friends so Lee said: “I might go to some after parties.”

So some go to dances for the sake of being social, but if that’s the case then why aren’t they doing something they actually like?

Senior Jaxon Mahoney said, “Some people go because they feel obligated to or their friends make them.” Mahoney likes going to dances because they’re different from what he already does while hanging out with friends. “I can hang out with friends whenever I want. School dances only come around once every few months and I don’t want to regret skipping them once I graduate.”

Friends or not, some students just really love dances in general.

“I love the atmosphere and getting ready for dances with my friends,” said sophomore Samantha Van Arsdale. “Dancing for three hours nonstop is a good way to forget about the stresses of school and just let go and have fun.”

Arsdale’s friends all enjoy dances too “I know some people who say [they don’t like dances] but none of my close friends who I dance with. Overall, dances are a super fun time.” Arsdale even believes that we should have more dances. “I could think of so many fun themes for dances. I just feel like dances aren’t as advertised as they should be.”

It’s true that dances have been struggling in the modern era. According to Educationdive.com school dances are struggling to stay afloat in the modern era. Students want to buy tickets online, so attendance is down unless schools switch to the digital platform. This low attendance rate is also due to the rise of social media. Students choose to interact digitally more than splitting the dance floor with a friend.

All this being said, Kadets are still going to dances. Morp was a success, and last night many students came back to the school to celebrate and dance together. Students dressed up in various outfits of the decades and rocked to the sounds from many past years.

It’s safe to say that dances aren’t for everybody and even I can’t confidently announce that they’re my favorite thing in the world but I can guarantee that some of the same kids who say they don’t like dances will inevitably be standing on the edge of the dance floor at Prom this spring.