The annual Eros dance is sure to be a fun time for all students this February.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
The traditional Valentine’s Day dance, Eros, will be on February 12th at 8 p.m. at the Thomas Jefferson High School gym for all TJ students, so be sure to buy tickets before February 10 for ten (for singles) or fifteen dollars (for couples).
The dance will be Sadie Hawkins style, wherein the girls are supposed to ask the guys. The boys now have the opportunity to take a break from the pressure of asking a girl out. Senior Ian Melnicoe was asked to Eros last year by then Junior, Melanie Walker. “It was nice to be in the position where she did the asking. It was cool because it was easy. All I had to do was sit back and get asked,” said Melnicoe. It’s not uncommon for the girls to get creative when asking out guys. For example, Walker spelled out “Eros?” in pepperoni on a pizza she gave to Melnicoe.
While the guys enjoy the break they get from the traditional role of asking out the girls, the girls now feel the pressure to get creative and courageous. Senior Nicole Brown asked Senior Hayden Johnson to Eros during their junior year. “The whole process was stressful. We have to choose what to do and we can’t be sure if the guy really wants to go with us, but we just hope for the best. Plus, for me, there was a lot of pressure from my family to ask him, so I knew it had to be good,” explains Brown.
Brown used props, teachers and word play to creatively ask Johnson to the dance. She explains, “I made a fake packet of butter and gave it to his teacher to give to him that said, ‘I just want to butter you up.’ And then in his next class there was fake popcorn with a note that said, ‘Before I pop the question…’ After that there was a pillow that said, ‘You might want to sleep on it.’ Finally there was a foam soccer ball that I made that was broken up into puzzle pieces that when you put it together it said, ‘Eros with Nicole?’”
Sadie Hawkins style dances started in 1934 and have left a legacy ever since. English teacher Matt Santambrogio says, “We didn’t really have any dances like that in my high school but I’m for it. As far as the girls asking the guys, it’s nice to see the shoe on the other foot every now and then. Whenever high school students try to engage in relationships it always involves some kind of awkwardness and it’s interesting to see it switched around.”
For the girls who are thinking of asking a guy to the dance this year, Brown has some advice for them. “I would say make it memorable and have fun with it,” she said. It’s that time of year Spartan ladies, give the guys a break and make them say, “Aww!”
Tickets cost $10 for single and $15 for couples. They can be purchased from Treasurer Derek Steffes until February 10th.
