Beach Ball

Inflatable flamingos and palm trees dotted the lobby of Phelps Science Center this past Saturday. The second annual Beach Ball, hosted by Student Council’s Recreation Committee, welcomed students to the dance floor with bright lights and upbeat music. In addition to the free sunglasses that were also available last year, the group promoted attendance by offering free shirts to the first fifty students that arrived at the dance. The blue shirts featured a colorful beach ball on the front with the name of the dance beneath it and the date, “04.06.19,” on the back.

Students rushed to Grainger Auditorium even before the dance started, and all shirts were gone within the first five minutes. Many did not stay for the rest of the dance. Although members from Student Council and the Student Activities office attempted to discourage these actions, students left the science center through alternate exits. The fact that some students were away over the weekend to attend games or public speaking tournaments exacerbated the situation. 

Upper and Recreation Committee Head Tise Okeremi expressed her disappointment, stressing how the shirts were meant to promote the dance. The dance started off slowly as some students left after discovering that the free shirts had already been distributed. 

Upper Talia Rivera recognised the disadvantage of having the full Grainger Auditorium open. “This year, because we didn't have the partition in Granger, it looked very empty,” she said. “I feel that, if the partition were up for this year's Beach Ball, it would have felt more full.”

Although the busy lives of Exonians prevented Beach Ball’s large turnout from last year, some of the attendees enjoyed the extra space. “There was a lot of free space,” said Okeremi. “I played a dance Dodgeball, which was really fun.”

Like the dance last year, the DJ booth was well decorated. The lasers and fog machine set the mood of summer and were often synchronized with the music. Club T Productions, an entertainment group featured at other dances this year, brought an exciting and rare idea. Students were allowed to request songs, similar to the Wheelwright Whiteout dance a few weeks ago.

As a result of Exonians’ diverse music tastes, the genres of music played ranged from EDM to rap and 2000s pop. Unsurprisingly, some songs were played several times due to popular demand. “Thotiana” by Blueface and “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes blared through the speakers three times each, while songs like Sean Kingston’s “Fire Burning” played twice.

"Right Here" by lower Osiris Russell-Delano was requested and many of his friends happily sang along. Similar to the ALES dance, this was an opportunity for a larger audience to hear work from such a local source.

Although many took advantage of the opportunity to hear their favorite songs, others were not as interested. Lower Annabel Ramsay recounted her initial disinterest in the dance. “It was hard to really get a feel for the dance because the music was so different and random,” she said. 

Rivera held similar thoughts about the experience and commented on the work of those who organised the dance. “I really liked the look of Beach Ball, but it was just the actual music and the lack of people that kind of brought it down,” Rivera said. “Last year's Beach Ball was actually so much fun because there are just so many people. I guess it was [that popular] because it was a new dance and a lot of people wanted to check it out.”

StuCo’s Recreation Committee hopes to continue Beach Ball and learn from both years. As the end of the school year continues to move closer, Beach Ball stands as one of the last dances for the senior class. Although the original founders of the dance won’t get to see its future, Student Council is sure to continue the great work of this year and the past year.