Laura Joy Phillips
With JSB about a week away, the 10th through 12th graders have a number of things to prepare for. The first thing that comes to mind in the weeks leading up to JSB is the whole ordeal of asking, and the second is probably the knowledge that the juniors are down to their last few days to polish their program. But this year, the sophomores and seniors have a new aspect of preparation beyond finding a date: learning to dance. For the first time, Dalat is sanctioning students to dance as part of the banquet.
Several times a week during lunch, students were free to go to the chapel and learn the basics of the dance from Mr. Pagee. During the lesson on Monday, April 17, the first few minutes were a flurry of finding partners and getting positioned in a circle around the chapel. Mr. Pagee demonstrated arm positions and then led the students in learning the basic steps. After allowing a bit of time to practice and correcting some common mistakes, Mr. Pagee explained how to modify the steps to add a little turn. Another few minutes passed before the bell rang and the students scurried up to main campus to get to their classes.
But even with this, it is still the juniors who really have a lot on their shoulders. Rainbow Chan (11) admitted that the class was starting to get “pretty anxious for it,” but noted that that was probably to be expected. Zachary Tan (11) added that he was looking forward to it and thought they had some “good ideas,” though he agreed with Rainbow that “every class probably thinks that” about the JSB they put on.
The juniors seem to be approaching it much as the other classes are approaching the dancing: Accepting that it won’t be perfect, but anticipating it with a sort of frenzied enthusiasm nonetheless. Indeed, there are few other times when excitement and stress mingle quite as intensely as the days leading up to JSB.
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