Winter Formal: “A Night in Tokyo” exceeds expectations

By Noah Miyamae

Assoc. Sports Editor

Photos by Thomas Forman

South Pasadena High School students spent the night dancing and conversing at Hollywood’s Yamashiro for the 2016 Winter Formal on Saturday, February 6. Attendees were surrounded by Japanese-inspired architecture dating back to 1911 fitting the dance’s theme, “A Night in Kyoto”.

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“Both the student body and planning committee seemed very happy overall,” senior Commissioner of Activities Olivia Chu said. “The decorations were definitely one of the best aspects as we put a lot of hard work into them and got a lot of positive feedback.”

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The venue had additional dining space very close to the commons which served as the impromptu dance floor. The central zen garden allowed students to socialize and take a break from dancing. Additionally, guests had the opportunity to commemorate their time spent by taking photos at the photobooth. Complimentary finger foods and drinks were also provided throughout the night.

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There was speculation that the Winter Formal theme and location would insinuate cultural insensitivity. However, ASB members took additional steps to attempt to prevent any possible instances of stereotype or insensitivity by insuring that the activities and decorations were authentic and had cultural significance.

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“ASB did not believe that the theme reflected stereotypes as it was an authentic place with genuine decorations,” senior Commissioner of Noontime Ian Geiberger said, “For example, we insured that there was a cultural significance behind the origami water bomb decorations before making them.”

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The SPHS ASB Commission was very satisfied with the turnout as all tickets were sold within the final few days before the dance.
“The turnout was beyond our expectations and everybody was enchanted with the site and view that set the scene for a wonderful night,” senior Commissioner of School and Community Sheridan Nansen said, “ASB worked very hard on the dance and it seemed that all aspects of the night were fantastic.”