A Night to Remember. A Night Under the Stars. Both are themes you may have had at your high school formal or prom way back when. Whether or not you had a good time or even attended, school dances have always had a high school feel.
Student government leaders wanted to bring a little of that feeling to our community college with the Masquerade Ball on April 16. So, with a date guaranteed and a glittery gold and black mask in hand, I set out to attend the ball and see how the first school dance at Fresno City College since the 1970s turned out.
8 p.m. — My magic carriage (a hand-me-down Crown Victoria) and my prince (the boyfriend) picked me up and we left for the ball.
8:30 p.m. — Arrived “fashionably late.”
8:35 p.m. — Walked into the cafeteria, where the ball was being held. Upon admission, we were handed a ticket for raffles to be held throughout the night and a ticket for a complimentary photo. Also included: a shiny, gold pin with the words “California’s First 100, Fresno City College 1910-2010,” in honor of the Centennial celebration.
The “ballroom” was half lit, separated by pillars. On one side were tables and chairs and the other side was the dance area. People were already getting their groove on. We saw some friends and chatted a bit. Not long after, Adrian (the bf) was ready to grub down on finger foods.
8:45 p.m. — We made our way to the staff dining area in the back, where the food and drinks were located. We made a conscientious decision to take our picture first, before we stained our black and gold attire.
9 p.m. — Everyone seemed to have the idea of taking their picture about this same time. While we waited in line, I was complimented on my mask, which had a pretty good shot at looking good in the photo.
9:08 p.m. —After the picture, Adrian headed straight to the food tables and I followed him. The food, catered by Taher Inc., the campus caterer, wasn’t all that bad, to my surprise. There were meatballs with pineapple, little sandwiches, pot stickers, fruit, cheese and crackers, and an assortment of cookies and my favorite brownies.
9:17 p.m. —Still at the food area and Adrian is still eating. If you know my bf at all, you know this guy can eat.
9:20 p.m. — The DJ informs us that a dance troupe made up of FCC students was going to be making its debut performance. All were wearing black and white, with masks. I thought they could’ve used a little more practice, but I applauded them for really getting the dancing started.
9:24 p.m. — Adrian and I took our first dance of the night to Journey.
9:43 p.m. — After more dancing, we took a seat and talked for a bit with friends while people continued to hit the dance floor.
9:55 p.m. — “Let’s Get It On” plays. Had to dance to that one.
10:15 p.m. — DJ says it’s an “international block,” with Latin songs and the “Punjabi dance of India.” At first, no one even attempted to dance to these. But in the corner of the dance floor was a group of people dancing in a circle. The next thing I knew, Adrian and I and pretty much everyone on the dance floor were in a long line, following this girl who knew all the moves. I lost track of the time, but this song must’ve been at least 7 minutes long! By the end of it, I had broken a sweat.
10:30-midnight — Danced off and on – mostly on – to various jams, both slow and fast.
Midnight — Break time. We got bummed that the punch had run out and all that was left was watered-down iced tea. By this time, the ball seemed to be winding down. We decided to pack up and head home. Besides, even though I ditched my heels about a half-hour into the night, my feet hurt from all the dancing!
We were literally walking out the door when “Nobody Loves You Like Me” started to play. The bf and I exchanged a few words. Do you wanna dance? No, but do you wanna dance? We turned around and danced one last dance for the night.
