After much anticipation, students filed into elevators that took them to their prom destination: the 78th floor of the Columbia Tower. Despite rumors of Under the Sea sparked by our Senior Class President, this year’s theme was A Starry Night—which was fitting coupled with the gorgeous skyline view of downtown Seattle after dark on June 3. 

The main display of decorations was featured on the spiral staircase—clouds and fairytale lights—and provided a perfect fairytale entrance to the dance. Senior Lola Foti, the advising arts director on ASB who helped decorate the dance, rated it a “solid 8.5” (out of 10) and said her favorite part of the dance was the music and the rewarding feeling of stepping into the room and seeing her planning come to life.

“My favorite part was walking up the stairs and seeing everything come together because we’d been planning [the dance] for so long,” Foti said.Alongside decorating the dance, Foti helped facilitate the democratically-chosen music.

“For the DJ, we had made a survey and had people fill out songs they wanted to hear, and for some reason they weren’t playing our playlist,” Foti said. “I walked up to him and asked if he had the playlist and they hadn’t received it so once they started using our songs the vibe was instantly better, which was my highlight because I felt like I saved prom a little bit.”

Foti also advised the other classes on preparations for future proms. 

“Make a Pinterest board of things that you like and what your plans are and make sure to figure out your plans early,” Foti said. “ Don’t wait till the week before, and don’t book an Airbnb; they never work out.” 

Senior Leonard Paya who also attended the dance gave it a “solid 8,” complimenting the chosen venue and the vibes on the dance floor.

“Having it mostly just seniors was fun because it felt like we were all really connected to each other,” Paya said. “The dancing was my favorite part, and I loved seeing people I hadn’t talked to in a while and getting to catch up.” 

Although he enjoyed the overall experience at prom, Paya’s one critique was the parking situation.

“The information about parking was honestly terrible,” Paya said. “ I drove to prom with my friends and when we got to the parking area the school suggested the gate was closed. We didn’t know until later that if you drove up to it it would open by itself.”  

Paya’s advice to future prom attendees was to ditch your date and attend with friends instead.

“Don’t get a date, it was a lot more fun without one,” Paya said. “You weren’t bound by one person, and you could talk to as many people as you wanted. Go with friends and don’t be worried about not getting a date.”

Senior Jane Holt had a harsher review of the dance, rating it a 6 out of 10. Unlike Foti, Holt was disappointed by the selection of music and felt there could have been more decorations.

“The music could’ve been better, and I wish they played more Taylor (Swift),” Holt said. “ They only played ‘Shake it Off’, and didn’t even get to the bridge.  I also didn’t see many decorations apart from the fuzzy stuff on the ground and they could definitely go harder next year.”

Holt advised future prom attendees to not take the dance too seriously.

“Enjoy it because it only happens once, especially since we don’t have a junior prom,” Holt said. “If you put too much pressure on it, then it’s really stressful. Just hangout with your friends, and it will be fun.”