Why Prom When You Can Sock Hop?
by admin - October 11th, 2013
Proms, or “receptions” as some schools call them, are formal dances sponsored by the school. They usually take place in May or June and are generally not a cheap endeavor. The boys have to rent tuxedos, the girls get their nails, hair and makeup done and buy long elegant dresses that they will probably wear once and then hang up in their closet for a few years before they donate it to Salvation Army. Flowers are bought, limos are rented and couples head off to whichever venue they have just paid $100 dollars for tickets to.
Couples arrive at the prom and take formal pictures, admire each other’s dresses and sit down to a nice dinner. Once plates are cleared, the youngsters migrate to the dance floor, where they do anything but dance. The popular form of dancing known as “grinding” has become the go-to dance style for most teenagers of today, and frankly it’s a little discomforting!
During all this “dancing” and commotion, shoes are ditched under the tables, costly up-dos fall out, and makeup runs. All of the money and effort that is put into prom quickly goes to waste. So what is the appeal to prom? Is there even an alternative? Well, in the 1950’s there was! In the 1950’s informal, school sponsored dances happened quite frequently and were known as sock hops. Sock hops were relaxed gatherings in the gymnasium of a high school where kids could go to dance, (actually dance, not “grind”), listen to music and spend time with their peers. The dance was called a sock hop, because the kids had to take off there shoes so they wouldn’t scuff the floors.
I’m not sure how sock hops evolved into proms, because dancing around in your socks with friends doesn’t seem like something that needs to be changed or improved!
–Allie D.
You make such a great point. It is disgusting how teenagers today dance and it always made me feel very uncomfortable at school dances to watch them. Sock hops sound like a great time. One of the Youtube videos we watched back when we were learning about 1950s artists displayed this type of dance. I wish it could be as innocent as that today.
I agree with Allie and Courtney on the vulgarity of today’s dances. I think today’s dancing lacks a sense of modesty and respect for the person you’re dancing with. Sock hops appeared more innocent, but they also seemed more nonchalant. Until like the prom, when everyone is worried how they will look in pictures or how much their ticket and dress is going to cost, sock hops were more about spending time with your friends. Dances in the 1950s seem more meaningful to the dances we have today, because it was an event where the most important thing was who you were going with and being comfortable in a fun setting. Whereas today, dances are more about what other people are doing and how they look doing it.
I think that this blog raises a very good point, when did social dances at school turn from something so innocent and fun into what it has. Now proms are more about the process of how a person gets ready for prom than the actual prom. Sure, many people enjoy and have fun at prom but the process of it all has gotten very intricate. I wish that proms today were as simple now as they were back then.