Dance Fever

Imagine that it is homecoming weekend.

Instead of buying a dress, renting a limo and making reservations at the most exclusive restaurant in town, your friends suggest driving up and down Fremont Street and pulling into a fast-food joint for some soda and fries.

Chances are you would look at them like they had gone insane.

Fifty years ago, however, it would have been the highlight of the year.

Bart Cohen is a Las Vegas High School graduate from the class of 1956. He says he regards homecoming memories as some of the best he has.

Back in the '50s, homecoming was celebrated with huge pep rallies that included the marching band and cheerleaders. The halftime show included floats decorated by student clubs on campus.

"I remember how exciting it was," Cohen says. "Everybody either took part in or went to the game and all the events surrounding it."

Homecoming has been around for as long as even the oldest high school graduates can remember. It is one of the first events freshmen look forward to and one of the most important memories seniors want to capture before graduating.

"The anticipation of who I was going to go with, what our plans were going to be, and which 'cool' senior girl was going to be homecoming queen was definitely something I was excited about as a freshman," said Sierra Vista High School senior Samantha Benites, 17. "Now, as a senior, I get to live that dream. It is not just about a football game, it is an entire experience."

The question is when did the "experience" change from a casual, school-spirited event into a football game accompanied by an over-the-top formal occasion?

Most high schools have a homecoming week, which is a week of spirit dress-up days, assemblies and other functions, culminating with a formal dance.

"I think sometimes people get too wrapped up in the superficial aspects of homecoming," says Green Valley High School sophomore Asli Kupoglu, 15. "The event is meant to create school spirit and unity, and it is easy for people, especially girls, to forget that when they are too busy worrying about where they want to get their nails done."

Sierra Vista student body president, Kiera Newman, 17, says the formal event is a great way to end homecoming week. "It is like the grand finale."

Not only does Newman support the extravagant affair, she believes that the dance only betters what was already a spectacular occasion.

"New traditions are just a continuation of old traditions," she says. "We never get rid of old ones, we just improve them. Homecoming is a perfect example of that."