Annual ALES Regional Dance
Heavy bass resonated through the Grainger Auditorium this past Saturday night, flashing lights dazzling the dance floor during the annual ALES Regional Dance.
Every year, the Afro-Latino Exonian Society (ALES) holds a dance, inviting the ALES equivalents of other schools in the New England area. Students from the St. Paul’s School, Tilton Academy and Governor’s Academy attended. The Board of the ALES expressed that the aim of the dance was to bring together students of color from other schools and foster a greater sense of community with students in the area. Upper Amanda Sherwood said that the dance was intended “to foster solidarity between the students of color at other prep schools.”
Despite this intention, many dance attendees noted that at first, students from other schools were clearly divided into their own school-based groups. “It didn’t seem like people from different schools interacted that much,” upper Victoria Glidden said.
“Although I don’t have much experience with Exeter dances, I believe the ALES dance was the best one yet.”
Another goal of the dance was to create an event open to the entire Academy community where all students could feel welcome. “I think another big goal is to have an event that’s open to the whole school,” said ALES co-head senior Lauren Wilson. “A lot of what ALES does is activism, but I think it’s good having one fun event for everyone.”
Based off of feedback from last year, the board tried to create a dance playlist this year that catered more to people of Black and Latinx descent. In particular, they tried to incorporate more Latin-American genres to help Latinx students feel more included. Upper and ALES board member Athena Stenor said, “the dance was meant to celebrate the creativity and resilience of black and Latinx communities. We thought it would be appropriate to limit our songs to Black and Latinx musicians.”
Wilson shared similar sentiments on the topic of music played at the dance. “As the years go on, we try to tinker with music to get it right, and I think we could have gotten more upbeat music. As for the Latin music, we are the Afro-Latino Exonian Society, so it was necessary to be more inclusive.”
Many students agreed that the change of music helped make the dance a better experience. Prep Genesis Baez said, “I loved the variety of music at the dance, and I was able to relate to it more. I hope next dance the committee will be able to add some of the songs that were played last night.”
While some enjoyed the music choices of the ALES, others wanted a more diverse playlist. “I wish they had a wider variety of songs, but the DJ did play what the kids are listening to right now. I liked the bachata, salsa and other Latin music that was played,” prep Neruda Perdomo said. Other dance-goers responded negatively to the DJ’s style. Lower Sebastian Bango expressed his dislike of the music. “I did not enjoy the DJ, but the people that were there made the energy fun.”
In preparation for the dance, the ALES board met with its advising faculty and established that to some members of the community, grinding would be a potential problem due to the nature of the dance. However, Stenor explained that Black and Latinx music was not synonymous with grinding and explicit dancing.
A few students noticed that the ratio of adults to students at the dance was significantly higher than that of many other school dances like Dunbar’s Back in Black. “There were more chaperones from other schools,” Wilson said, “but I think that from the faculty point of view, [they thought] that there would be a lot wmore grinding.”
One factor that lowered attendance to the dance was the uncertainty amongst some students on campus who felt like they could not attend the dance because they were not of Black or Latinx descent. Uncertainty among students on campus who felt like they could not attend the dance because they were not of Black and Latinx descent lowered attendance. In addition, some students were concerned that they would not recognize the songs that were played. However, those who did go found that this was not the case. Lower Ella Parsons said, “to be honest, I didn’t even think about feeling uncomfortable. It was overall just a very fun experience!” Wilson understood how people might have felt uncomfortable in the dance’s atmosphere but made it clear that an all-school dance such as this would never be meant for just one segment of the student body.
While various factors affected the dance’s attendance and atmosphere, the dance was met primarily with positivity from the community. Despite its success, the board members of the ALES stressed that they will continue to tweak the music to find the right feel for the dance. Many people, including Prep Genesis Baez, enjoyed seeing a completely new group of faces on campus. “I believe having the other schools at the dance was a great choice, and overall it made the dance a lot better. Although I don’t have much experience with Exeter dances, I believe the ALES dance was the best one yet.”