Bancroft Bash
Despite a dreary forecast of cold temperatures, wind and persistent drizzling, Bancroft Hall set out their trademark pink flamingos, hung strings of pink lights and welcomed a crowd of people onto the dorm’s front lawn in an effort to lighten the mood for their annual dance, Bancroft Bash, last Saturday. Coming soon after proctor announcements, the dance provided, if not a satisfactory mosh pit for the student body, an opportunity for members of Bancroft to bond while working together to decorate the lawn, set out an assortment of food and oversee the details of the event.
The new and old proctors in Bancroft collaborated to plan the dance and were assisted in the setup and cleanup by fellow members of the dorm. Upper Zoe Marshall, a new proctor, said “There was lots of help from the Bancroft community, from lugging strawberries and lemonade to stringing pink lights and pink lanterns.” In addition to the lanterns and lights, a flock of pink, plastic flamingos, the mascot of Bancroft Hall, embellished the lawn. Contributing to this theme, light-up flamingo pins were distributed to attendees, adding to the fun, festive atmosphere of the dance.
“It was a great dance to just dance in a circle with your friends and have fun.”
Though the proctors recognized the risk of hosting the dance outside due to rainy forecasts, their desire to preserve the traditional lawn location outweighed their weather concerns. “We decided to keep the dance outside despite the rain and cold because our [only] other option was to host the dance in Agora,” upper and new proctor Autumn Herness explained. Marshall pointed out that “Being outside is signature for the ‘Bash,’” so the dorm location persevered despite the drizzle.
However, the poor weather deterred many students from attending the dance and contributed to the a turnout. Lower Taylor Walshe described the cold and dreary weather as his reason for only staying shortly. Herness acknowledged that this was to “to be expected,” and admitted that “dorm faculty were even wearing winter coats.”
In contrast with the parka-clad faculty, however, some groups of students, unfazed by the weather, found the dance to be more relaxed. Describing it as “really fun,” prep Bella Alvarez noted that this dance differed from others such as Back in Black because “There wasn’t a lot of grinding.” Likewise, prep Kate Denny believed that “It was a great dance to just dance in a circle with your friends and have fun.”
However, many students complained about the mediocrity of the DJ provided by the school. Marshall expressed disappointment that the DJ played a variety of songs that were old, but not classics. She added that she was still, in fact, able to have “fun off to the side when the DJ did manage to play some good tunes.” Similarly, Alvarez described some of the music as “out of date,” but still enjoyable.
For lower Maya Kim, the songs played during the dance were reminiscent of the music she heard at her middle school dances. She blamed the DJ for the dance’s lack of popularity. Listing one moment when the DJ replayed an unpopular song, lower Michael Bamah echoed these complaints.
While upper Kelsey Detels believed that the majority of the songs played during the bash were “good for dancing,” other proctors in Bancroft such as Herness felt that “Everyone was a bit disappointed with the DJ,” and noted that “The music wasn’t loud enough, despite what our neighbors might think.” Prep Maxx Murray agreed that the music was too quiet due to the poor acoustics of the outside lawn.
Alvarez also described a moment during the dance when a group of alumns approached and started filming. The feeling of being watched and filmed while she danced made her “uncomfortable.”
Some students felt that outdoor dances in general are less fun. Murray described the dance as too luminous and spacious. He concluded that “Outside dances are in essence just a bad idea.” Denny also felt that the dance’s wide space only detracted from the overall fun, noting that what makes the other dances “worth it” is “the fact that you’re just jumping up and down in a big mosh pit.” Walsh agreed and said, “I think it is hard to have a fun dance that is outside.” He also thought the dance had been overshadowed by Wheelwright Whiteout, a very popular dance a few weeks before.
Nevertheless, many of the dance’s attendees, especially residents of Bancroft, still enjoyed being outside and dancing with their friends. “I had a great time dancing with all the Bancroft girls even though the DJ wasn’t too great,” lower and Bancroft resident Jacqui Byrne said. Prep Isadora Kron, one of her dorm mates, commented that “ It was still super fun to dance with other people from the dorm,” even going on to say that the dance “could have been one of the best of the year if the DJ was better.” With high hopes for better weather and higher campus turnout next year, Detels said, “I already can’t wait for next year’s dance.”