It’s springtime in Atlanta, and a warm breeze chases through FORTY’s event terrace. Students gather by the snack bar, picking apples and chocolate to load their plates while their friends pose for pictures at the photo booth. A DJ mixes people’s party favorites on the soundboard, ready to impress an anxious crowd of college students who haven’t had a chance to dance like this since high school. The dress code is Spring Semi-Formal. Some float by in their swirling, pastel gowns, moving like light on water. Others wear suits inspired by bygone eras, and flower crowns sit on their heads as Greek laurels. People look like paintings — making an impression for a night of new memories.
Whether it was memorizing the moves to a 2000s pop song, wearing glittery makeup or finding a “date,” everyone seemed to know the ritual of a Semi-Formal before hitting the dancefloor. Most college students aren’t debutantes of old-money families or trained professional dancers, so where do they learn?
Latin America has the quinceañera, a coming-of-age celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday. Meanwhile, Sweden hosts the studentbalen, where university students gather before graduation or final exams. In the United States, high school “prom” is one of the most significant dance events, and it’s open to all students and their dates. Regardless of background, people gather to enjoy a night of social and physical activity that transports them from everyday work and school responsibilities — that is, if they can afford it.
A 2017 survey by Yahoo! found that 76% of Southern high schoolers attended prom, making it the region with the highest attendance. The survey also found that teenagers and their families spend between $600-$700 for the single-night event. Clothing, dinner, tickets, makeup and transportation are pretty things that factor into an ugly price.
Money aside, school dances also have social costs to weigh. For example, an event emphasizing binary gender expectations and societal ideals may be daunting to those who don’t fit those narrow parameters. Single, LGBT+, plus-sized and disabled youths may have a particularly challenging time. Even upper-class teen Lebron “Bronny” James Jr. and girlfriend Peyton Gelfuso faced backlash for being an interracial couple at prom.
Some might think school dances are superfluous, overrated activities for wild teens, while others remember them as celebratory traditions worth every dime. But no matter which camp you’re in, many students mourn having the option to participate in school dances, weddings, dinners and graduation parties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now that some of the COVID-19 high school generations have entered college, SCAD Atlanta’s Residence Life and Student Involvement organizations gave them a shot at redemption with the Spring Semi-Formal — a safe space for students of all backgrounds to express themselves. Senior photography student Parrish Hargraves covered the event.
“Being able to see all of my classmates dressed up and feeling as confident as ever made the events and photos even more lively,” said Hargraves. “So many people didn’t get to have a prom or formal dance in high school due to COVID, and having these moments once again, with close friends, made me want to make each photo I took that much more memorable. Even though I was behind the camera half the time, I had just as much fun as everyone else that was dancing, posing and mingling with friends and classmates.”
The Spring Semi-Formal allowed students to have a great time without the social pressures or financial commitments of proms, homecomings or weddings — and nobody’s style suffered for it. At a creative college with an elite fashion program, attendees made sure to show their true colors with impressionist-era-inspired outfits and sharp statement pieces (as in, someone brought a sword). It doesn’t get more avant-garde than art kids having a ball. Whether they were in the middle of the party circle or chilling by the snack bar, everyone carried the tradition of the American dance with carefree fun and memories sustaining beyond their college years.
