Valparaiso High School - Valenian Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

Page 22 text:

Dances Promote Festive To many people throughout the world, holidays are synonymous with decorations, candy, flowers, and gifts. To many VHS stu- dents, however, holidays also were synony- mous with semi-formal dances. On Saturday, December 13, 210 couples were able to stroll down New York City’s Time’s Square and Broadway. The dance, “Christmas on Broadway,” was sponsored by Student Council. “Although the dance turned out pretty good, I was disappointed with decorating. Only one-fourth of the club helped,” said se- nior Mary Bielich, Student Council presi- dent. Music by 3-D blared in the north balco- ny, pictures were taken by Dennis Crane, and students sat on “Santa’s” (social stud- ies teacher Sid Reggie) lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. After the excitement of Christmas spirit ended, interest focused on the King of Hearts dance, “Fortress Around Your Heart,” which occurred on Saturday, Febru- ary 28. Tickets were $6 per couple. Mrs. Kar- en Hartman, V-teens sponsor, added that the funds raised from the dance were desig- nated for a specific purpose. “The money was donated to the Porter County Heart As- sociation.” she said. Ordinarily guys are the ones who buy dance tickets and pay for dinner. However, roles were reversed at this dance, and the girls experienced the joys and heartaches of a guy’s role. To end the King of Hearts dance, Mike Barone was crowned King while Jeff Leffew was named Prince. Though not as tangible as other items used in promoting the holiday seasons, VHS students agreed that these dances truly served to lift holiday spirits. by Lori Sier holiday SOPHOMORE TARA FIFIELD and senior David Doelling sway to music played by 3-D at the Christmas dance. In keeping with the “Christmas on Broadway” theme, located on the north wall were stars for each couple. 18 AN ASSISTANT FROM Spasoff Photographers positions freshmen Gail Beidron and Keith Bickers to look “picture perfect.” Christmas King of Hearts

Page 21 text:

Hop, skip oncl For VHS clubs, they were huge money-makers. For student bands or DJ’s, they provided active, interested audi- ences. For the typical VHS student, they were just part of the Friday night routine. They were, of course, sock-hops. For those involved in planning these casual dances, however, sock-hops proved to be more than just routine. “The nuts and bolts stuff in planning sock-hops is very important,” said Assis- tant Principal and Director of Student Ac- tivities Steve Cronk. According to Cronk, the “nuts and bolts stuff” of planning weekly sock-hops included “arranging off-duty police offi- cers for security, recruiting faculty to chaperone the dance, coordinating which doors are to be open and which are to be locked and, even, making certain that we don’t violate any fire codes,” said Cronk. The most important element in any sock-hop, the music, is also determined by Cronk. “It’s my job to book the DJ or the band — depending upon the circum- stances.” jump “I usually ask the dance sponsor which DJ or band he or she wants, and then I do my best to satisfy them,” said Cronk. While Cronk feels both bands and DJ’s are good sock-hop performers, he feels DJ’s are more advantageous to weekly sock-hops. “On Friday nights, you need someone who can set up very, very quickly, and a DJ can do that,” said Cronk. Dick Strahm, head VHS custodian, agreed with Cronk: “After a game, you only have about 15 or 20 minutes to get the floor cleaned and ready for the dance,” said Strahm. Cronk also added that DJ’s have an added advantage over bands in being able to “shift gears with music.” Tom Fiegle, DJ for 3-D Music Company, felt that DJ’s are able to accommodate differ- ent tastes in music but are unable to please every sock-hop attendee. “Although satis- fying everyone is extremely difficult, I be- lieve that most people have a good time, and that’s the main idea, right?,” said Fiegle. While DJ’s such as B and B Music and 3-D Music Company have dominated the sock-hop scene, they don’t, according to Cronk, have a “stranglehold on the mar- ket.” Student bands like Blue Elvis and Digital Hair have also graced the VHS sock-hop stage during the 1986-87 school year. According to Digital Hair guitarist se- nior Paul Gold, bands, unlike DJ’s, have the ability to perform original and less- common songs at sock-hops. “Digital Hair feels that playing at sock-hops is great. Digital Hair’s music is geared toward our age group and, at the sock-hops, there are 600 kids who are gonna hear our music. Our main concern is getting our original songs across to our audience,” said Gold. by Pete Yelkovac DUE TO TREMENDOUS crowds, sock-hops in 1986-87 were moved from the gym ' s north balcony to the main floor. 17 Sock-Hop Feature

Page 23 text:

COUPLES EMBRACE EACH other as they dance to a slow song at the King of Hearts dance. Music was provided by B B. IN ORDER TO see the main attractions on Broadway, seniors Michelle Klinefelter and Chad Clifford had to give their ticket to the “Tix-Booth person. Tickets cost $7 per cou- ple. KING OF HEARTS COURT: (front) King Mike Barone, (back) Paul Gold, Prince Jeff Leffew, Jeff Osterhout, and Larry Wright. 19 Christmas King of Hearts