On Saturday, Dec. 10, Sidwell held its annual Winter Dance for the first time since the pandemic.

The majority of the student body highly anticipated the dance. A poll of Upper School students revealed that 64% of respondents looked forward to the dance, 25% were impartial and 11% claimed not to be excited at all. When asked what was most compelling about the event, a common answer was having an opportunity to dress formally. 

Student Government clarified the dress code for the event, announcing that a dress or suit would be appropriate. Sophomore and Student Government representative Nicole Sosnik elaborated further, advising students to dress at a level of formality between that of Homecoming and Prom.

Many students were also concerned about the location of the dance. 

“It would be nice if the dance was someplace other than the cafeteria,” sophomore Leia Neilson said.

Other responses to the poll suggested that the cafeteria, where Homecoming was held, is not seen as a favorable location for dances.

Freshman Sophie Haar explained her preference for a different location, describing the lack of “space and freedom” provided by the cafeteria. 

“Homecoming was [kind of] weird with that crowded space, and we couldn’t go anywhere,” Haar wrote.

Despite the concern of the venue, complaints regarding the dance arose mostly due to the event’s initial date, Dec. 9. Many juniors took the ACT the morning following the proposed date, meaning some would be unable to attend out of a need for a good night’s sleep. To address the issue, a petition circulated around the Upper School, which successfully pushed the dance to Dec. 10.

The dance also replaced the tradition of the Sadie Hawkins dance as Sidwell’s new all-school formal dance of the year, leaning away from the tradition of a “girls-ask-guys” event. Singling out one dance as a “girls-ask-guys” dance reinforces the social norm that boys must ask girls to all other dances.

“It was exciting to bring back a tradition,” Sosnik said.