Get ready... It's PROM season!

High school students posing for pictures.

Prom season is here! Bring on the dresses, tuxedos, shoes, hairspray, and limos!

Miss Tess in center (2007)

I saw quite a few high school students dressed in their finest prom gear when I was out having dinner with my fiancé this past weekend, and we reminisced about our own prom experiences as we saw these excited kids posing for pictures and stepping into their limos. I even dug up one of my own prom pictures to share with everyone. (What in the world was I doing with my hair??)

Prom, short for promenade, is a long-standing high school tradition where students nearing the end of their high school career gather together for a semi-formal/formal dance. While the event is popular in the United States, many other countries share similar events for graduating high school students.

1922 prom with crazy costumes

While proms were not officially documented in U.S. high school year books until the 1930s and 1940s, many historians believe that proms could have started at colleges as early as 1811 as a sort of social gathering for young adults, almost like a coming-of-age event like a cotillion.

1951 high school prom

Since then, proms have become less of a quaint social gathering to full-out formal affairs. In the early 1900s, prom was described as a "tea dance" where high school seniors would dress in their best Sunday clothes, and have a little dance.

By the 1920s and 1930s, proms had expanded into more formal banquets where seniors would dress in party clothes and dance.

Post WWII in the 1950s brought money to the U.S. economy, which lead to bigger and more extravagant proms, much like what we have today. Instead of hosting the event at the school, venues are rented out to ensure the grandeur that is prom. Prom became all about finding the perfect dress, the mode of transportation, and a good-looking date.

As for the dancing itself, the style changes with the times. Early dance styles included the Charleston and the swing, all danced to big brass bands. Gradually rock'n'roll became the popular style and everyone incorporated dance styles like the Lindybop, swing, or jitterbug. Most proms today hire a DJ to play the most popular songs heard on the airwaves and dance moves mostly consist of moving to the beat. 

So, if you're headed to prom this season, bust out your best dance moves, be safe, and have fun!

Happy prom-ing! 

 

Miss Tess

tessc@balletpetite.com