E J Cooper High School - Talons Yearbook (New Hope, MN)

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Dancing craze strikes The dancing spirit revived as many opportunities arose for students desiring to trip the light fantastic. In addition to Cooper's three traditional dancing events, the Homecoming Dance, the Mistletoe Dance, and the Jack-of-Hearts Dance, new dances, sponsored by organizations wishing to raise funds or parents hoping to provide safe entertainment, peppered the fall and winter social calendar. The parents' attempt to encourage benign Friday night activities faltered somewhat when slam dancing, a dangerous ritual of masses running into each other, occurred at fall dances. The National Honor Society organized the first dance of the year to celebrate Cooper's first home football game and Friday the thirteenth. The sale of black carnations contributed to the dance's superstitious theme. Fifth-Quarter Party dances, sponsored by the football Booster Club, marked the start of a seasonal tradition of post-game dances. The Talons staff's plan of raising money backfired when the Halloween Dance they sponsored for all the ghosts and goblins succeeded only in covering its cdsts. The dance fever cooled slightly until mid-December when the Girls Gymnastics team hosted a St. Nicholas Dance for a fund raiser. The Cheerleaders' Jack-of-Hearts Dance offered the girls a chance to invite their favorite beaux to the only formal dance inside the school. Dances this year, to the objections of many students, took place in the cafeteria instead of the larger gymnasium, because of the gym's newly installed floor. The renewed interest in dancing proved that the skeptics who thought the small cafeteria would be the grave of all dances were wrong. Dancing — 17

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 16 — Feature

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Good grief! Drama for kids! The Drama Department added a new dimension to Robbinsdale Cooper with the production of the children's musical comedy, Good Grief, a Griffin, presented November 21, 22. and 23. Traditionally, plays catered to the more mature audiences. The fall play broke this trend by performing for an audience of children. Russ Erickson, an elementary school teacher and the president of the Association of Childhood Education International. Initiated the idea of providing a theatrical experience for area elementary children. The Drama Department cooperated with the A.C.E.I. to produce a musical for the children. Students from several elementary schools attended matinee performances of the play. Director Julie Rask. with the assistance of Erickson, created a special effect for the performers and the audience by having the children verbally respond to the question. Have you seen the Griffin? The children also often attempted to touch the characters when the cast carried the play into the audience. Rask explained to the cast, Acting in front of children means getting on the same level and playing the story right to them. After the audience roared with laughter, Tim Quady said. It made me feel important because I touched the children's hearts and made them laugh. Children of all ages enjoyed the combination of suspense, philosophy, and humor; and they related to the Griffin and his antics. After seeing the play, one elementary school%student had this comment for the cast: I love you! | The Griffin. Dove Peterson, describes the magnificent statue of himself to the Minor Canon. Rob Berdahl. — A cowering Willie. Matt Johnson, stands paralyzed as he awaits the appearance of the Griffin. 18 —Fail Ploy