Dear Maggie —
I saw someone ask for a face painter for an upcoming SMOS event and when I looked at the comments I realized it was for the Family Dance!! Holy cow – am I excited! My family has a kitchen dance party at least once a week so WE. ARE. READY! Our favorite movie is Sound of Music, so we’ve also been practicing our own version of “So Long, Farewell”. AND… my Grandma has these awesome retro curtains, so I plan to cut down her drapes and make us all matching outfits – my hubby of course will be wearing coordinating lederhosen! OMG!! I am so freaking excited! The thing is, I’ve been checking my emails regularly like you told me to, and I haven’t seen anything come through with details about the Family Dance. Can you give me the ole one-two step on this shindig? Thanks!
— Fraulein Florence
Dear Fraulein —
Do Re–Me! I wasn’t expecting this level of excitement on a Thursday morning! I can understand how this would get you pretty jazzed, but I have to break it to you – this family dance is a little less “frolicking in the swiss meadows” and more “screaming ‘Peaches’ from the Mario movie at the top of your lungs” 😬. Family dances have come a long way in the last several centuries. I certainly enjoy them more now than I did when I was in school. I hate to be all “back in my day…” buuuut back in my day, it wasn’t the “family” dance, it was just THE dance, and girls weren’t invited since they were all but considered property back then. MY girlfriends and I would usually sneak in anyway – I’ve never been one to be left out of the fun. I am glad SMOS has left the Stone Age behind and embraced a more jovial tone for these types of events. There were, however, some similarities between then and now. There was face painting, but think less unicorns and rainbows, and more Mel Gibson from Braveheart. There wasn’t a Mambo #5 back in the day, but the Scottish were not above a bagpipe line dance – and it was usually the parents doing their best to embarrass their kids when those songs came on. This also reminds me of the infamous Kilt-Gate that occurred one year when one of the dads decided to do the worm in a kilt. He not only ended up dislocating his jaw in the process, BUT also traumatizing the school children. Let’s just say…there were tears; LOTS OF TEARS – from everyone!
Well now that I’ve brought up some of my most disturbing memories, let’s pivot a bit. This year’s Family Dance will be next Friday, April 26th from 6:30-9:30 in the school gym. For some of you who’ve been here a while, you may have noticed a slight change – this used to alternate between the Father/Daughter dance and the Mother/Son dance. The PTA decided last year to make the permanent switch to the “Family Dance”. This way, no one is left out and honestly, it’s just more fun when we’re all together!
There will be a DJ spinning sick beats, a face painter, and some cookies and water to nosh on – just water… no need to reenact the great Lemonade flood of 2023 from last year! Another fun change the planning committee has made is to split up the night. From 6:30-8 PM will be geared toward the younger students and 8-9:30 PM will be geared toward our older students. This simply means that you’re more likely to hear ‘Let It Go’ in the first half of the night and Beyonce’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ later in the evening. Now, there won’t be anyone kicking the little guys out at 8 PM, but they just figured this might create an easy break in the night for the early bedtime crew. Plus, it gives parents the perfect excuse to usher overtired 5 year-olds out the door. They won’t correct anyone if we hear them say, “Sorry honey, you have to be in 5th grade to stay for this part of the dance. It’s not my rule, it’s theirs!” 😜
The theme for the dance this year is Beach Ball so get your grass skirts and Hawaiian shirts out and get ready to hula the night away! Maybe hold the phone on those lederhosen – but you do you. (And you can still be on theme and celebrate ala Julie Andrews – you know, she was in the movie Hawaii after SOM!) Be on the lookout for a fun little treat coming home later this week with more details.
If you still can’t contain your excitement and attending the dance just won’t totally scratch that itch, consider volunteering before, during, or after to help make this event as smooth as the cha-cha slide. Check here for more volunteer details. Go brush up on some of those Michael Flatly-Lord of the Dance videos and start practicing because it’s going to be a ball! See YOU on the dance floor!
— Maggie