NDA’s annual winter dance is making its return after an absence in the 2020-20221 school year. 

The gap year has resulted in this event being a new experience for both the freshman and sophomore grades—half of the student body. 

“My freshmen are all talking about it,” said English teacher Carolyn Brown, who has a freshman advisory and teaches freshman English classes.

Frau Jen Laaksonen, the school’s German teacher and head adviser for Student Government, is excited about the February 12 event.

“Our dances have changed a little bit,” she explained. “They used to be really heavy with a lot of decoration, and we put funds and money into decorating, and what we learned is that kids are really more appreciative of us putting the money into our DJ setup.”

This means that the task of coordinating the event is a lot less labor-intensive than it may have been in the past. 

Each of the school’s annual dances has a difference all its own.

“The fall has the Fall Fest dance which we do as a really big back-to-school event with a lot of setup, but it’s really expensive to do a setup like that, so we only do that once,” said Laaksonen. “It’s still going to look and sound great but it won’t be as large-scale, and it’s very different from the Academy Ball which is held off-campus so that looks very different as well.”

Since the organizers are trying to remember what hosting events like this is like, this year’s dance will not differ too greatly from those of the past. 

“As always, we will have the Triton Center open so that people can congregate away from the music for a while or chat or just to do something different,” stated Laaksonen. 

All students are encouraged to attend, especially if they have never attended one before. 

Tickets can be bought for $10 on February 9 and 10 during lunch, or at the door immediately before the dance begins. 

If students would like to bring a guest from another school they must pick up a guest pass application form in the main office and have it filled out and returned by February 8. This announcement has been made repeatedly on the Morning Show and in the written announcements.

After that form has been filled out, students can buy tickets for their outside guests during their lunch period and not at the door before the dance. 

Why go to the event?  

“Because you don’t want to look back and say ‘oh I wish I would have done that,’” explained Frau.  “It doesn’t have to be the best night of your life, but it’s good to get out, enjoy time with friends, enjoy the music and have fun.”