WPEA Hosts Second Winter Formal
When students first walked into Grainger Auditorium for Winter Formal on Saturday, they were greeted by a swarm of Exonians eating, chatting and dancing. A group of students played jazz music at one end of the room, and dresses glittered in the swirling and flashing lights as people danced. Students waited in line to get their pictures taken by senior Rachel Luo at a staged photography station. When not dancing, students chatted with their friends, dates and dorm-mates.
The evening began with a student performance that elicited positive responses from all. The Big Red Blues, a student jazz band consisting of senior Ahmad Rahman on the tenor saxophone, upper Lucas Stevens on the bass, upper Oren Stern on the drums and lower Dylan Yin on the alto saxophone, received rave reviews. Senior Sang Park found the jazz music especially fitting for the event. “The student band at the beginning was amazing,” he said. “They really set a great mood for the rest of the evening.” After The Big Red Blues’ performance, professional cover band Ready in Ten, who played at both Winter Formal and Prom last year, took the stage.
"I liked how it was a big get-together, and how in the beginning the students performed, then it changed to the live band."
Winter Formal was organized by WPEA, a noncommercial educational radio station run by Exeter students. The dance was first held last year, to much praise. This year, WPEA opened the doors of Grainger earlier than the officially announced time in order to avoid congestion. In addition, student bands performed in Grainger, whereas last year they played from the lobby instead.
WPEA members arrived two and a half hours before the dance to start setting up. One member from WPEA observed that “wrapping the lights around the staircase railing took the most time to complete.” According to lower Anna Clark, the radio’s general manager, these efforts paid off. “When all the decorations came together, it looked really nice and wintry,” she said.
The successful advertisement from WPEA members appealed to a large crowd this year. They advertised to people they didn’t know as well as to friends, and sent out Facebook invitations to as many Exonian students as possible.
The board members started planning the event several months in advance. They discussed whether or not there would be a live band and whether the WPEA members would invite Assistant Director of Student Activities Kelly McGahie to be the DJ for the dance. In fact, McGahie ended up playing a significant role in the success of the evening. “The dance’s success can largely be accredited to her [Ms. McGahie],” Clark said.
For the second year running, the WPEA Winter Formal was lauded by students and expected to continue in the coming years. Prep Sebastian Beck commended WPEA for their organization of the event.
“It was fun,” he said. “I liked how it was a big get-together, and how in the beginning the students performed, then it changed to the live band.” Lower Miranda Hall echoed Beck’s sentiment, saying that she enjoyed the live band very much. Other students expressed enjoyment at the opportunity to dress up and have their pictures taken for social media. For Senior Audrey Hahn, Winter Formal is superior to other dances because students get to dress up and dance in a spacious auditorium.